Kenya: Water Well Drilling

The company I worked for at this time was sponsoring a water well in Kenya with Living Water International.  We had such a profitable year that my boss (the much loved Bryan Johnson, BC Johnson Associates) noted, if we don’t give to the poor with all of our abundance, we might risk losing His favor if we keep all the money to ourselves.

Contacting LWI, they asked if we were with First Baptist Church Pearland who had also wanted to partner with LWI for a water well in Kenya.  We weren’t but we took that opportunity to meet our neighbors at FBCP and turn the effort into a Church+Business/Pearland>Kenya collaboration.

After what seemed like a forever amount of paperwork, emails, quotes, drilling samples, a contractor was lined up and the work was ready to begin.  Then a government crisis  broke out in Kenya, the capitol was upside down in violent protests, and the project was delayed.

We set a new date for October of 2008, but when Hurricane IKE hit Galveston and wrecked roofs, trees and fences across town (including my own) it was delayed again for April 2009.

More news again- the Bird Flu is causing fear across major cities around the world, airports are especially prone to spreading it across the globe… but this time we couldn’t let one more thing set it back.  Flights were bought.  Three guys from FBCP and I set out across the Atlantic to confirm the water well drilling effort.

We arrived in Nairobi and drove 7 hours across the wide plains of the Great Rift Valley.   Quite a view, with mountains, hills, giant satelite fields like in the movie Contact, exotic trees, farmers markets and trading stations, and the occasional glance at wildlife.  Was that a giraffe?!?!

We reached our destination at Homa Bay, set near Lake Victoria.  The hotel was simple and comfortable.   The view was amazing.

The partnership with FBCP was amazing, because they had decided as a congregation to fund an orphanage.  We had it in our hearts to fund a water well.  And the LORD brought those two visions to work together.  So our company funded the water well to be built on the property at the orphanage – what a blessing!   The water could be sold to the neighboring village for pennies to help fund the generator and provide for the fuel and upkeep- a sustainable solution.