Bill Robins in El Salvador.

Who | Bill Robins

Where I’ve Traveled With Kingsland | I traveled to El Salvador in February 2011.

Why I Helped Drill a Water Well | Actually, I decided to go on the trip to learn more about El Salvador and to learn more about drilling a water well. I have to say I knew so little about this missionary trip that I primarily was going to satisfy my own interests and to see if this could get me started in missionary work.

What I Will Remember Most | All of the men, women, and children we met in the small villages in El Salvador have a desperate need for clean, safe water as they do not have water distribution systems. If water wells are not properly drilled, the people use water from unsafe sources for all of their needs such as cooking, cleaning, bathing, etc.

I will always remember that our small team of Christian men and women, following the direction of the Living Water El Salvadoran staff, interacted and had a positive impact on the men, women and children of all ages in the villages where we were drilling or repairing water wells. Drilling, repairing wells, and educating children about water safety were very important activities our team accomplished. While those activities were important, I personally benefited by interacting with El Salvadoran people of all ages and I also grew spiritually because of the contact I had with other team members. The whole trip was what I would call a “memory maker” as I will always remember the El Salvadoran people we met and our team devotional sessions. Jim Coleman, our team leader, did a great job of encouraging team members to interact with the villagers and each other. He also did a good job of sharing M&M’s with me and others!

How I See Things Now | Our country, our community, and the people I routinely come into contact with are really blessed to enjoy the standard of living we have grown to accept as normal. I hope I have the courage, time, and commitment to put myself in a position to help others who need assistance from Christian men and women.

My Encouragement to Others | I will always remember my missionary trip to El Salvador as every person I met relative to water was extremely happy and very appreciative to have clean and safe water. The most significant realization, I believe, is that the happiness and appreciation those people had could not compare to the emotional satisfaction each member of our team received while on this trip. I believe we all realized that we had helped some of God’s own meet the basic need of having access to safe and clean water.

Missionary work provides the opportunity for anyone to use their talents and people skills to dramatically impact the lives of many less fortunate people. Even a rookie like me was able to piggyback on the information other team members willingly shared — and that is the way it should always be!

First Trip with Kingsland | My first trip with Kingsland was to Uganda. While there, we met with pastors of village churches to teach about the sanctity of human life. I chose this particular trip because I know the unborn need a voice and I felt God calling me to speak for them. I knew that God was calling me out of my comfort zone — and just about everything on this trip pushed those boundaries.

The Purpose of Our Trip | The purpose of our trip was to teach pastors of local churches about the sanctity of human life. Specifically, I taught about the scientific aspects of life from conception to birth and what God’s Word says about life.

My Favorite Memory | My favorite memory took place at the first village that we visited. The group of pastors were so eager to hear the Word of God that they sat on the edges of their seats, pressed in closely to hear us over the rain that was falling outside, with Bibles open, taking notes and soaking in every word. It made me wonder how often I listen to or read God’s Word with that much anticipation. This experience challenged me in a new way.

My Most Recent Trip with Kingsland | Last month, I went to El Salvador and helped drill a water well for the people of San Lucas. Not only did I get to help with some of the aspects of providing clean water and teach about hygiene, but I also had the privilege of spending time speaking with the women and children about the Living Water that comes through Jesus. Once again, God showed me that He can use me with all my faults, failures, and imperfections to accomplish His will. He doesn’t require perfection or need me to have everything together; He just wants me to be willing to step out and follow Him in obedience.

My new friend Dacques Nini in El Salvador.

One of the things I enjoy most about what I do is having the opportunity to meet and to serve alongside so many people who love Jesus. Last month, I had the privilege of serving with a team that drilled a water well in El Salvador. Our team demonstrated God’s love to the people of the poor village of San Lucas by drilling a water well and also by making meaningful personal connections with the people. We spent time in homes and also interacted with people at the drilling site. I was inspired by how our team loved and cared for the people of San Lucas. It was clear that our team members were compelled by love to serve people they had not previously met.

Motivation matters, especially when it comes to serving God. Paul left no doubt about his motivation for ministry. It was “Christ’s love” that compelled him to serve (2 Cor. 5:14-15). This may be understood to mean “Christ’s love for Paul” or “Paul’s love for Christ.” Although Greek grammar permits either interpretation, Christ loved Paul first — which explains why Paul loved Christ. The word “compels” means to constrain or to hold fast a person to a course of action. Christ’s love was at the core of Paul’s motivation for ministry. Christ had demonstrated His love for Paul by dying for him. Paul demonstrated his love for Christ by living for Him. The magnitude of Christ’s love left Paul with no choice but to live for the One who had died for him. In light of Christ’s death for all, we have no right to live selfishly. Every follower of Christ should abandon their old and selfish ways. We must no longer live for ourselves or to please ourselves. Instead we should die to ourselves and live for Christ.

Christ’s love also compelled Paul to share the love of Christ with all who did not know Him. Paul saw himself as someone under obligation or in debt to those who did not know Christ (Rom. 1:15). He felt that because he knew and had experienced the love of Christ, he owed Christ to everyone who did not know him. Christ’s love compelled him “to evangelize where Christ has not been named” (Rom. 15:20) and to “plead on Christ’s behalf” that others would “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). Like Paul, every Christ follower is under obligation to share Christ’s love with those who do not know Him. The greatest crime we can commit against others is to withhold the message of Christ from them. We owe Christ to all people. Christ’s love is the greatest motivation for serving Him, demonstrating His love through practical acts of kindness, and sharing His story with others. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the people of San Lucas with new friends who are motivated by Christ’s love to serve others.

What I Do | I am a groundwater engineer by profession and serve as the point man for Kingsland’s mission trips with Living Water International. I have been a member at Kingsland for over 15 years.

Where I’ve Traveled with Kingsland | I have led three mission trips for KBC to El Salvador. These trips include the installation of new water wells for villages without access to clean drinking water. And, the trips also allow us to repair wells which are no longer functional.

How This Experience Changed My Life | Living Water International trips have allowed me to engage with people on a very personal level. We are able to meet the most basic physical need on this earth – the need for water. This act of service provides an immediate opening to the hearts of the people where they are willing to hear about Living Water – the love of Christ.

Most Meaningful Connection | I have been able to forge close bonds with the in-country staff of Living Water. Not only do we establish relationships in the villages where we work, but we also impact the entire ministry of Living Water in El Salvador by partnering with their staff. 

My Continuing Commitment | I now serve on the Advisory Board for Living Water International and am committed to continuing the partnership between Kingsland’s Missions Ministry and Living Water – a strategic partnership that allows Kingsland members to Go Beyond and deliver a cup of water in Jesus name.

Yesterday afternoon we went to an area called La Balastrera to begin the process of repairing their water well. The people have patiently waited for fifteen days for their well to be repaired. Some men and children from the community met us at the site and watched us work under the heat of the mid-afternoon sun. Once we determined the problem we assured them that we would return the following day with the proper parts to complete the repairs. Before we left, I spoke with one man who was seated in a shady spot across the road from the well. He told me that there is an elderly woman in the community who comes to the well every morning at 5:00 AM to fetch water. He said that on the day the well stopped working the woman wept. His words reminded me of how important these water wells are to the people who live in these small villages and communities. Nobody here is asking for indoor plumbing, just access to clean water. And when that water is no longer available it has a huge impact on the people.

This morning we completed repairs on the water well at La Balastrera. It was a community event. Moms and kids showed up. One man brought a couple of liters of Pepsi for the team. Bystanders watched as we replaced the pump, lowered it into the ground, and then reassembled the pump mechanism and handle. When we finished, one of the men started pumping the handle and within seconds clean water began to flow again. He “whooped and hollered” in delight and, along with the others present, expressed his gratitude. This well will again provide clean drinking and cooking water for the people of La Balastrera. Over the years I have had to call a plumber on a few occasions but I have never “whooped and hollered” in delight when he completed his repairs. However, I suppose that if I had to live without convenient access to water for two weeks, then I too might whoop and holler over a simple repair. All of the rejoicing at La Balastrera reminded me of how important these water wells are to the people who depend on them.

The people of San Lucas, El Salvador.

This afternoon we returned to San Lucas to dedicate their new water well. This too was a community event. Norma, one of the Agua Viva El Salvador staffers, talked to the crowd about how to care for their new well and reminded them of what she had taught them in the hygiene classes. Jim Coleman and I shared a brief word with the people and then folks from the crowd came forward to express their gratitude. One woman said that they have been praying and longing for this day for quite some time. She thanked us on behalf of the entire community. We concluded the celebration by hanging a piñata from a big tree and inviting the kids to break it open — which they did in short order. We had fun watching the kids have fun. Today, the people of San Lucas rejoiced and thanked God for their new water well. I will miss the people of San Lucas and remember their joy.

Water for the people of San Lucas | 2011 | El Salvador

One of the most rewarding things about leading short-term teams to serve around the world is the opportunity to meet people. I have especially enjoyed the kindness and hospitality of people all over the world. This trip is no different. The people of El Salvador are among the kindest and most hospitable people I have ever met. Every day, one of the families that live near the site where we are drilling the water well invites our team to eat lunch in their home. These are people of humble means who live in homes constructed with a hodgepodge of materials. Every home we have visited has a dirt floor, no running water, no indoor plumbing, and some or no electricity. And yet, they do not hesitate to invite us into their homes and to share with us what little they have. This is one way in which they express their gratitude for what we are doing for their community. We have enjoyed our meals with the people this week. Every dish has been delicious and has been served with a smile.

Everybody in the village of San Lucas is excited about the water well and the fact that it will give them access to a clean source of water. You can sense gratitude in the air. Our hygiene training team has spent additional time with moms and kids talking about why it’s important to wash hands, brush teeth, and guard against the things that can pollute water sources and spread disease. These are the kinds of things we take for granted and that we teach to our children from the time they are very young. But, for kids in San Lucas it is all new information. Our hygiene team members have also been the beneficiaries of sweet expressions of gratitude, including gifts of mangos and other goodies.

Perhaps the most touching expression of gratitude came to us in the middle of the afternoon. After inserting the casing into the well we started the process of blowing out the muddy water in the well with compressed air. This is a process that takes a little time. As we sat under an awning waiting for the water to clear up, an elderly man approached us. Smiling, he took my hand and kissed it. He did the same to each of the men on the drilling team and then quietly went on his way. We were deeply touched and humbled by this man’s humble expression of gratitude. He did not come to us with fine speech or lots of words, only silence. The only thing he had go offer us was a simple kiss on the hand. That was his Hallmark card to each of us. This man’s kiss on the hand encouraged us, blessed us, affirmed us in our work, and spurred us on. Although we do not know this man’s name, we will never forget his kiss on the hand.

This morning we drove our equipment-laden vehicles from Playa Salinitas on the Pacific coast to San Lucas. This small and nondescript village is nestled beside a dusty road that winds through the hills in an area called Cuisnahuat. There are no signs to tell you when you have arrived. Unless you know where you are going you can easily miss this place that ten poor El Salvadoran families call home. After we off-loaded our drilling equipment, we spent the morning going from house to house to meet the people. The folks in San Lucas don’t have much money but they do have something better. They have family. As many as two or three generations live in each home. Kids grow up here under the watchful eyes of parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Life in San Lucas is simple but also hard because of a lack of access to safe water.

As we walked along the stream that bisects the village, we met several women who were doing the family laundry. Folks here do their laundry, bathe, and wash their food all in the same stream. The water in this stream is not safe to drink. Our host and guide told us that diarrhea is a big problem, especially among the children, because of the poor water quality. At one home, an elderly woman asked me if we are the folks who have come to drill a well for them. She was thrilled when I told her that we were here to do exactly that — to provide the community with safe and clean water. I could not help but wonder how many hours she has spent in her lifetime performing water-related tasks like fetching water and doing her laundry at the river. The gift of a water well will be a gift of time to all of the women who devote as many as five or more hours each day fetching water for daily needs.

After eating lunch with one of the local families, we started the process of drilling the well. Unlike the well that we drilled last year for the people of Monte Rico, the Living Water staff decided that we would use a drilling process that uses compressed air. In areas like San Lucas, where they do not expect to drill through rock, it is a much faster process. They were right. After three hours and ten minutes of drilling we found water at a depth of one-hundred and five feet. It was a beautiful sight to see water shooting out of the hole and spraying into the air. We were all a muddy mess but happy to find water so quickly. Folks applauded and audibly praised God at the sight. Tomorrow we will take the next steps to complete the well.

We concluded the day by praying with the local families. We said our good-byes and then made our way back to Playa Salinitas in our wet and mud-caked clothing — happy for the privilege of providing this community with safe water in the name of the One who alone can satisfy our deepest thirsts with living water. Today, the future of San Lucas changed in three hours and ten minutes.

I first became aware of the scope of the human toll exacted by lack of water while in Darfur, Sudan in the winter of 2004. While there, I visited the Abu Shouk and Zamzam camps for internally displaced peoples. The United Nations guys working in the area told our team that one of the greatest needs in this arid and unforgiving region is water. Each water well located near these camps serviced two to four hundred people per day. Simple math revealed that there were not enough wells to provide sufficient water for the tens of thousands of people struggling to survive the extreme heat under scant shade. What shocked me most was learning that diarrhea was the number one cause of death in the camps. People died because they did not have enough water to rehydrate. The second leading cause of death was man-made malaria. Water stored in open containers became a breeding ground for mosquitos.

Those of us who have access to clean water are fortunate and blessed indeed. Today, 844 million people on the planet lack access to clean and safe water. Of these, infants and children are the most vulnerable. Almost two million children die from diarrhea every year. To put this number into perspective, one child dies every fifteen seconds because of a water-related disease. 5000 children under the age of five will die today because they lacked access to safe drinking water, because they lived in places that had inadequate sanitation, and because of poor hygiene — all water-related issues. Access to clean water would change everything for these children and their families.

I have returned to El Salvador with my friend Jim Coleman and a team from Kingsland. We are going to spend the next few days drilling a water well in partnership with our friends at Living Water International. Last year, our missions ministry sponsored the drilling of two water wells in El Salvador. These wells are providing safe water for hundreds of poor El Salvadorans. We are sponsoring two additional wells this year. I appreciate the work of Living Water. They mobilize thousands of volunteers every year to drill water wells in countries around the world. Living Water International states that they exist “to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and to experience ‘living water’ — the gospel of Jesus Christ — which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.” And, without question, Living Water is living up to that purpose every day in big ways all over the world.

Our missions ministry is committed to partnering with Living Water to be a part of the solution and to work toward the day when children no longer die every fifteen seconds because of water-related issues. And, we are also committed to helping people taste the living water that alone can satisfy our deepest thirst. We believe that demonstrating God’s love in such practical ways will help hasten the day when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). The next time you enjoy a hot shower or a cool and refreshing drink of water, remember those whose lives are at risk because they lack water. You can be a part of the solution by supporting initiatives that make water accessible to those who need it most.

   I have enjoyed a great week serving with a Living Water International volunteer team in El Salvador. We spent the week working among the people of Monte Rico, a rural community where we drilled a water-well. One of the things I noticed while there is how much time people without access to a convenient source of water spend fetching water. The people of Monte Rico spend hours every day in the pursuit and acquisition of water for a variety of daily needs. They have no choice. It is a part of their daily routine. Every day, some member of the family must be engaged in the pursuit and acquisition of water.

   Those of us who enjoy unlimited and unrestricted access to clean and safe drinking water do not always appreciate how good we have it. We don’t worry about running out of water before the daily chores are completed. And, we enjoy the benefit of hot water to wash our dishes, clothes, and ourselves. If a family member suffers a bout of diarrhea, the thought never crosses our minds that they might die from it because we have more than sufficient water to help them rehydrate. If anything, we are drowning in excess. We have more than enough water to wash away lots of our worries. And, our excess is, in part, responsible for blinding us to what life is like for those without convenient access to water.

   On the day we completed the water well at Monte Rico I heard a woman say, “This is such a beautiful place. I wish that I had a little house right here because then I would be close to the water-well.” This woman did not say she wished she had a home with running water because she can’t conceive of that possibility. But she can dream about living in a home closer to a reliable source of clean and safe drinking water. We would be miserable if that were our only option. But, to this woman it would be a dream come true.

   Should we feel guilty because we live in homes with running water? No, absolutely not. But we must be careful lest our convenient access to excessive amounts of clean and safe drinking water lulls us into indifference. Jesus said that we are responsible for assisting those who are thirsty (Matt. 10:42). We can’t support every good cause, but Jesus did provide a guideline for causes worthy of our support. Among others, these include feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, offering shelter to the homeless, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and the prisoner (Matt. 25:35-36).  Organizations like Living Water International are worthy of our support because they are making a life-saving difference. Please prayerfully consider giving some of your excess to bless those without access to clean and safe drinking water.