"Living Water" for Children at Bocas del Toro

(Written by Jennifer Cabezon - Jennifer and Alex are Youth With A Mission Panama and Mission Trek International Team Members)
Bocas del Toro means "mouths of the bull", a name that Christopher Colombus gave to an area of the Panama coast. The area has many islands, and the bays and inlets he assumed to be the mouths of rivers. The roaring of the waves on the coral reefs reminded him of a bull, and so the name.
We were in Bocas del Toro (or just Bocas) this last week with a team from Oregon, installing a system that will provide clean drinking water to a small community near a YWAM outpost there.
The community had a system that brought water from a nearby stream, but at every rain the water would turn muddy, and the people would not be able to drink it or cook. When you consider that Bocas recieves about 350 inches of rain per year, you can understand why that would be a problem. The community had requested YWAM's help with the project, and so we teamed up with Mission Trek International and Eternal Perspective Ministries to buy the materials and complete the project. Not long ago a small baby had contracted a bad case of diarrhea, most likelyfrom the water, and died soon afterwards. This kind of thing is not unusual and seemed to awaken the community to the need.
The small village is on land owned by one man. The others came to the area when they found work with a nearby luxery housing development. The workers went on strike last year over unfair wages, and now the whole project is at a standstill. So, the people don't have any work, or anywhere to go. They had uprooted their families to come at this promise of steady work, and now are at a dead end.
As the men were working on the water project, Abigail and I got to know some of the ladies and children. We passed out some coloring books, and talking about life in the village. Abigail is a great conversation starter, and seemed to enjoy the attention.
The project was a success, and the day we left it was pouring down rain, so as we speak they should be opening the faucet to drinking water that won't make them sick. Some from the village also have been attending church services now held at the YWAM house. We hope that many others would also find the water of life that will never leave them thristy again.

Check out Alex and Jennifer Cabezon's blog - www.cabezonywam.blogspot.com

If you would like to help a village with a "Living Water" project like this one, contact us at Mission Trek International.

Check out this great video of the "Living Water" Project in Bocas del Toro