Beginning Again with Clean Water

Many families in developing nations dream of having clean drinking water just outside their door. As a special gift this Christmas, you can make that dream come true by choosing Gift #10 from our Holiday Catalog!

See how the lives of Gao Xiaxia's family was changed...

The elderly Chinese farmer was determined to finish building the house. In order to accomplish this, he had to walk to a neighboring village and haul water back home. On a particularly hot day the farmer’s village leader tried to stop him from working so hard. This father wouldn’t; he had learned it took sacrifice to provide for his family. The farmer made the ultimate sacrifice that evening. Exhausted from carrying the water home, he laid down, never to rise again.

That horrible night is a vivid memory for Ms. Gao Xiaxia; she is the farmer’s widow. How would she manage the field, care for the children, and haul water by herself? Some time later, the family’s neighbors came and told them some wonderful news – Operation Blessing was coming to the village to build cisterns for each family. Gao Xiaxia’s hope began to return when friends began digging a hole in her yard so our team could come in and build the cistern.

The water cistern was completed in two month’s time. It wasn’t even rainy season when it unexpectedly began to rain a few days later. All of the village’s cisterns began to fill up with clean water. Gao Xiaxia didn’t know whether she should have cried or laughed. “My dear husband, my children’s dear father, where are you?” she whispered into the rain. “Do you know we now have a cistern in our yard, and we can gather rainwater easily? Our children will never have to travel several miles away to fetch water again.”

Xiaxia and her children have had a healthier and more productive lifestyle in the last few months. She’s also observed more laughter and kindness throughout her village. The days of worrying about the lack of water have evaporated, allowing Xiaxia’s family to believe that there is a fresh new future waiting for them.