One of the things I have to do is drink more water. Most doctors and dieticians tell me that I should be drinking at least eight, eight ounces glasses of water a day. If you have ever tried to do it, you know that this is a lot of water. To make consuming this much water a little easier, we usually by those 2 1/2 gallon containers of spring water from the store and put it in the refrigerator so that it is always available and always cold.

Perhaps it is only physiological but the spring water we buy always taste better then the tap water in our
house. A bias I have toward spring water may be due to my memories of drinking water from the spring house when I was a boy. My dad owned a farm that was several miles from where we lived. When my brothers and I would go there to work, digging thistles or cutting brush, there was never a need to bring water to drink. We could always go to the spring house and be refreshed with the clearest, coldest water in the world.

I am sure many of you can resonate with what I am saying. The fact of the matter is, being refreshed by the waters of a spring is nothing new. It is a concept that is as old as time itself. That is why the imagery of Jesus as "living water" is such a powerful image in the New Testament.

No where is this image more powerful than the story of Jesus and his encounter with a Samaritan woman at
Jacob's well. (John 4:1-42) This woman was not only a social and religious outcast, but also a person of questionable moral character. However, because of her encounter with Jesus she was able to drink from the well of "living water." And the most amazing thing is, not only was her life changed, but because of her testimony, "many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him." (v. 4:39)

Just as water was a source of life to people in one of the most arid regions of the world, Jesus was and continues to be a source of life to a thirsty soul. During this season of Easter I urge you to come to the spring
house and drink deep from the waters of the well. My prayer for you is that you will experience the life giving
and life changing powers of the "living waters" of Jesus Christ.

God's Blessings,
Pastor Pat

It is with great joy I share with you the good news from Vakpo Todzi, Ghana.  This is one of the many villages we visited on our trip in August.  The church members shared with us the need for a daycare center in the village where mothers could leave their children while they went to the fields to work.  Tom Lloyd and I shared the need with you, and you responded.  The St. Luke’s Daycare is finished, and it is filled with children.  Please visit our St. Luke’s webpage to see a full pictorial report of the school because a picture is worth a thousand words. 

A sister congregation to Vakpo Todzi is Vakpo Fu.  Fu is a remote village in a very rural  area.  Like Todzi, they are farmers growing pineapple.  Their challenge is with educating their children from the village and the surrounding area.  The children find it very difficult to get to school in a timely  fashion.  There is no services offered to them for travel.  Very few people in the area own a car.  It was suggested that the church could buy bicycles for them but that would be a logistical nightmare. 

The solution I suggested was to buy a van or a bus to transport these children.  The congregation is in full support of the idea.  The St. Luke’s Mission Committee has embraced the idea of raising funds for the bus.  They have set a goal of at least $10,000 to go toward the bus.  The Ghana account has about $5000 earmarked for the bus.  The Missions Committee will be promoting this projects in the months to come with various fundraising ideas.  I hope you wholeheartedly support this very special project. 

If you have any questions, let me know.  We are also looking for other church communities or civic organizations who might be interested in hearing about our work in Ghana and the opportunity to support this mission project. 
Pastor Pat