Filters for Jesus

It is hard to believe that in the year 2022 access to clean water is still a dream for some people. In remote villages among the green mountains of Honduras this truth plays out everyday. People retrieve water from creeks, rivers, springs, and sometimes wells for their daily needs. Unfortunately the water is not clean. Instead it has parasites, bacteria, dirt, and other debris in it. Many people feel the effects of drinking dirty water on a daily basis.

Job Gámez is a missionary to his own country along with his American-born wife, Adria. For years he has joyfully served with bucket ministries in Honduras. He actively seeks families in remote villages to bless with water filters as well as the gospel of Jesus Christ. Research is key for this ministry. He needs to know which communities do not have access to clean water. Then he needs to know who leads the community because this is the first person he needs to approach. Without his/her support, the bucket ministry will fail in that village.

Once he demonstrates the power of the small, gravity-fed water filter. Most people are sold. They can see the crystal clear water in the glass and the almost muddy looking water still in the bucket waiting to be filtered. Then Job removes the filter to show how to clean it. With one or two plunges of clean water through a syringe to backwash the filter, watery mud flows out of its opposite end. Amazingly, this filter if used and maintained correctly will serve a family for 20 years!

We arrived at the village of La Caliche after bouncing up and down the mountainous dirt roads for about two hours. Immediately we met the town's leader, Norman, as is Job's custom. He agreed after watching a short demonstration that the water filter project would be a priceless gift to the people of La Caliche. He was excited for his family and all 48 other homes in the town. So we went through the town with Norman's blessing showing key people and whoever passed by the ability of the water filter to clean their usual water. We announced that we were returning to demonstrate to the entire community in two days. Word spread throughout the village and people were waiting for us at 2 p.m.as we arrived two days later.

Excitedly they watched as clear water filled buckets, glasses, and containers from the dirty creek water. Job explained how to clean the filter, which is key in maintaining its ability to filter and filter quickly. It can clean up to 5 gallons of dirty water in 10-20 minutes if properly managed. My husband and son, Isaac, supervised the practice area. Women and men practiced filling the syringe with filtered water and then pushing it forcefully to clean the filter. They learned to do this five times after each use.

Job also announced that whoever wanted a filter could receive one. Men and women in the United States and Canada sponsor them. However, the Honduran families would have to pay for the bucket. With the help of the community leader, Job came up with a fair price that each family could afford. In this case, he charged 100 Lempiras, which translates into just over $4. This step is important. It allows the families to have the dignity of providing for their family. It also gives a financial incentive to care for the bucket and filter. Another advantage is that the bucket is brand new and clean. It has never held cooking oil, chemicals, or anything that might leave residual contaminants. Honestly, no one seemed deterred from having to buy the bucket. Family after family eagerly signed up to receive the bucket filter when we return for distribution day.

In Siguatepeque, the largest town near these remote villages, is a well supply store. This is where Job gets the new buckets and water filters. We picked up 60 sets so that we could take them to his demonstration farm to drill the necessary hole on the bottom side of each bucket. This hole is where the dirty water will leave the bucket to be filtered as it is forced by gravity to flow into the waiting container. With my husband and two sons helping Job, this project did not take too long.

Two days later we returned to La Caliche. Representatives of each family were waiting to pay for the buckets and receive the water filters. I recorded names and marked paid as I collected the lempiras. Job walked them step-by-step to attach the filter system to the bucket while my family checked on people's progress. It is important that they have it attached correctly. We briefly discussed how to clean the filter as well as how important it is to keep it clean. Then we got down to the real reason we were there.

Clean water is wonderful, but it is just for this life. Each one of these villagers is made in the image of God and has a soul that will live for eternity. Like the muddy water from the creek, we are all sinners stained with sin. This sin separates us from our Holy God, the one who created us and everything else in the universe. It is as if we were on one side of an abyss and He was on the other side. We can do all the good things we can think of to cross that chasm, but it will never be enough. Isaiah 64:6 says, "all our good works are like filthy rags." It doesn't matter how good we are; we can never earn our way to heaven. But God!

God sent His beloved Son, Jesus, to live the perfect life here on earth. He was 100% God and 100% human. Therefore, he could be perfect and without sin (God) while at the same time he could die (human). Jesus gave Himself up to be crucified on the cross. He died the death we deserved. He paid the price for sin. And three days later, He rose from the dead. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." It is as if the cross created a bridge over the abyss that separated us from God. By putting our faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we receive not only forgiveness of sin, but He clothes us in His righteousness so we can be "holy as he is holy" (1 Peter 1:16). We are no longer separated from God, but called His children.

Ephesians 2:-8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith.And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Jesus offers a free gift to all of us. The question is: will you accept it?

In a similar way the families have a dirty water problem and they need the filter to clean the water. With the filter their stomachs don't ache and the children don't suffer from diarrhea. The filter takes care of the dirty water problem. It is also a gift. They have to accept it. Putting it up on a shelf will not benefit them nor their family. They must use it. The water filter becomes a great illustration of the Gospel.

Additionally, each of us had an opportunity to share a brief testimony as to how Christ has changed our lives. It was a sweet time when one of the women, moved by the illustration of the filter, asked me to pray with her. She especially wanted Jesus to clean her from sin like the filter cleaned the dirt and debris from the water. What a precious moment!

Each month Job travels to each village with the bucket ministry to check on the families. Of course, he checks on the filters and buckets, but his heart is always the people. It is good to hear testimonies of good health and changed lives from house to house. Job always encourages the family in prayer and shares the Gospel in a variety of ways with each visit. The filters are wonderful tools to give people clean water. And it is a tool by which Job can build relationships with people. By God's grace, many lives will be saved by hearing of the Word.

These are truly filters for Jesus. Each one plays a huge role in the quality of one's life and hopefully will continue to save one soul at a time. It is not a drop in the bucket. One's eternity is at stake.

To see a video of our time in Honduras, click here. If you want to join in this important work, you can. To donate money for the Bucket Ministry so they can continue expanding into more and more remote villages offering both clean water and the hope of Christ, then it would be a huge blessing. Another way to participate is to pray. Pray for God to save and "transform lives by the renewing of their minds" (Romans 12:2).