Today is Blog Action Day

The following post is by Erin Swanson, who attends Woods Chapel ::

Who am I? Well, I commonly refer to myself as the prodigal violist, who makes sporadic appearances each month at the 10:10 Branch service at Woods Chapel. When I do so, I have the immense pleasure and blessing of helping lead worship with Megan Hobbs and team.

Jeff offered to let me guest post today because it’s one of the biggest days on the web: Blog Action Day. This year’s topic: water.

I’ve had the privilege of working on the team at Water.org for more than two years — a Kansas City-based international nonprofit that helps bring safe water and sanitation to those in need in developing countries. We seem to be a best kept secret in KC, but have been leaders in the sector for 20 years and are co-founded by Matt Damon and KC-local Gary White. As you can imagine, water is near and dear to my heart and thoughts each day.

[My first trip to visit Water.org project sites this past February in Dhaka, Bangladesh.]

One of the reasons I’m most excited right now has to do with you, my church family! This Advent season, Woods Chapel is going to participate in Advent Conspiracy, a neat time for our community to focus on being a part of a clean water project that will transform thousands of lives and simultaneously answer the call, “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” [Matt. 25:35]. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays.

The area that we are going to support together is the two rural communities of Pignon and St. Raphael in rural Haiti. This project will give 60 communities, totaling 18,000 people [!], clean water, toilets, and health and hygiene education for the first time!! Water.org just began to work there a few months ago with our well-respected partner organization, Haiti Outreach, but the program desperately behind in funding. And as you know, Haiti was in dire conditions even before the quake.


[Hard to stomach, but a water reality in Haiti, pre-quake. No one's child should have to drink this!]

Another reason I am so excited is because I believe whole-heartedly in the way Water.org implements projects. I’ve learned a lot over the past few years, and one of the main things is that good and lasting work takes time. Sadly, water projects in the developing world have a more than 50 percent failure rate because of people who just want to dig a well - they swoop in, drill a well, and leave. You know what they say about the road to good intentions….

In our mind, if it’s not sustainable, it’s not worth doing. To make this a reality, our focus is on local partners and community ownership. Over the past two decades, we’ve worked closely with more than 640,000 people all around the globe to help them get safe water and sanitation for the first time.

To me, this model resonates with God’s character, and has been a main way my faith has been able to express itself in tangible ways here on our earth. I’ve become really passionate about educating others of the importance of knowing exactly how work to help others is done, the importance of being good stewards with our money [knowing what it’s going towards], and how to make the most impact. The HOW matters. The how has lasting affects and consequences. It is a statement. And I believe this is true for all areas of our lives, not just in giving or in development work.

This water project in Haiti, Advent Conspiracy as a whole, is a huge opportunity for us to be a part of something life-giving, together. It is a chance for us to be alert and intentional with our energy, time, and money this holiday season. It is a time for thoughtful reflection, engaging conversation, and creative expression. My prayer is that it will be God-led and beautifully counter-cultural. I am excited to see what He has planned for us in this time.

[I took this pic in Bangladesh in Feb. Cute kids, but I was trying to show the hanging latrines behind them. More people on earth have cell phones than toilets!]

Thank you for reading, for your willingness to learn, and for joining me on this important day. If you also want to donate your voice in the name of water today, post a status update or a note on your Facebook. Send an email to your closest friends. Create a post on your own blog. Find some good facts, photos, videos, and quotes here, to get you started. And if you want to learn more about it all, check out blogactionday.change.org.

Dear friends, I’m grateful to work beside you!

With great anticipation and love,
Erin Swanson

P.S. Stayed tuned in the coming months to learn more about Advent Conspiracy [watch 2 min promo video here] and the communities we’re supporting in Haiti. Read more about Water.org’s work in Haiti here.

P.P.S. And if you haven’t, I encourage you to talk to the WCC team that just went to Haiti a few weeks ago, including Bob Jeppson and David Dancy. I’m sure they have some amazing things to tell.

[Kids in Salepur slum in Bangladesh collecting clean water because of a Water.org project. It made my heart happy! :D ]