Local church project shows water even more precious By ANNETTE ESTERHELD Staff Writer
Tracy Backus, like most Americans, used to take drinking water for granted. "If you're thirsty, you grab a bottle of water or you go for the old-fashioned way and fill a glass with tap water," she told the Blade-News. "Not anymore."
She and her husband John, along with Marjorie and Charles Tanner, all of Christian Community Presbyterian Church, recently attended Clean Water U, the training school for Living Waters for the World. There they learned that "water is precious," Backus said. What they learned they will be sharing this fall in Guatemala, probably in the village of Gwastoya.
With the financial support of CCPC, the couples will travel to this village several times and while there will not only install a water purifying system, but teach the villagers how to purify the water and teach them about health and hygiene.
Backus said that worldwide about half the water available for drinking and cooking is contaminated. "Because of that, around 3 million people, mostly children, die each year," she said. "Safe water is so abundant in the United States that it seems unimaginable that there are so many worldwide who are without safe water."
Living Waters for the World is a mission resource for the Presbyterian Church. Through its Clean Water U, it trains and equips mission teams to share the gift of clean water with communities in need. The organization, started in the early '90s, has installed clean water systems in over 183 sites in 19 countries worldwide.
"When Marjorie Tanner was the chairman of missions at CCPC a couple of years ago, she got involved with Living Waters and tried selling it as a mission option for the church," said Backus. "My husband John and I felt very called to this ministry as something we could do."
Backus is an interior designer whose job in the furniture industry moved her into an awareness of the environment. She has been Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified for several years and teaches that to architects and designers for a global company based in Canada.
"My husband works in water quality standards for the Maryland Department of Environment," she said. "We feel this mission involvement is a personal alignment of our job skills and our beliefs."
Marjorie Tanner told the Blade-News that she and her husband Chuck have been interested in participating in a global, or international, ministry for a long time.
The Tanners have already participated in two work camps helping to clean up after Hurricane Katrina, one in New Orleans in October 2007 and one this spring in a town along the Gulf of Mississippi. They've also been involved in missions locally for some time, including running CCPC's Christmas families project for the last 10 years.
"I've known about Living Waters for several years, but really got interested in doing something in 2006. My husband and I are retired. He worked for the Department of Defense for the federal government and I worked as a medical lab technician," said Tanner.
At the training held at Hopewell Camp and Conference Center in Mississippi, it was a natural fit for Marjorie Tanner to learn the health and hygiene component of the training, while Tracy Backus focused on leadership and the two men learned how to build and install the water purifying system.
"The next step is for our team to go to Guatemala and propose a business plan to locals who will decide where we place the water system," said Tracy Backus. "Part of the week will involve sharing how to make the system work and our husbands will be scoping out where to buy local parts like PVC piping."
Marjorie Tanner will work with the women of the village, telling them how important it will be once the system is in that they use the water just for drinking and cooking, not for washing animals or other uses.
"We will be telling them that if they don't use the system correctly, they'll be no better off. There are many people in villages like the one we will visit in Guatemala that view intestinal illnesses and deaths in the adults and children as simply a way of life, said Tanner. She also said there is a spiritual message along with the practical one - water is a gift from God.
The team's second trip will be after the first of next year and that's when they build the system and continue teaching about health and hygiene. But it doesn't stop with the building. The team makes a third trip, a year after the second trip, to make sure the system is being used correctly and see if the villagers need additional education.
"CCPC was looking for a mission project that has the potential of making a difference in people's lives," the Rev. James Brassard told the Blade-News. "We didn't want to fly in, work a week and get out. We wanted something sustainable and we wanted to be involved in the local community."
He said the church is forming a "long-term relationship" with the village in Guatemala. He's hoping that not only will other church members form additional teams to go build water purifying systems in Guatemala, but that other churches in the community might want to join CCPC in this effort.
Backus said the team will be doing a presentation on their Guatemala mission sometime in July. For information, e-mail ccpcbowie@verizon.net or visit http://livingwatersfortheworld.org.
