Building in Faith: A Volunteer's Perspective
March 8, 2013
Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) at Vanderbilt University spent a day of their spring break trip volunteering at our new facility in North Charleston.
We hope you enjoy this guest blog, courtesy of a student volunteer from Campus Crusade for Christ at Vanderbilt University.
It’s hard to maintain focus on the long term when you’re hammering rebar into recycled railroad ties. Of course the end goal is there in the back of your mind: build a (massive) flowerbed so that Water Missions’ new headquarters can look less like an abandoned naval structure and more like a life-giving nonprofit. But you’re mainly focused on not taking a trip to the hospital courtesy of a sledgehammer to the fingers. I could have just as easily been on a different job entirely, so I count it a blessing to be invited to reflect.
Before today I had no idea what Water Missions was—their mission, the scope of their operations, or the people behind their mission. But by the time one of the co-founders finished briefing the volunteers in a larger room of Water Mission’s still rough-around-the-edges headquarters, I knew a few things. I knew that the headquarters will not stay incomplete for long, and not primarily because of one day of volunteer work. You can see it in the way everyone talks about their mission. They know where they want to go. And they’re excited about providing both clean water and living water, right down to the man responsible for their work in Haiti who rolled up his sleeves and helped out with the landscaping.
I’m an English and Computer Science major at Vanderbilt University, so I don’t have much of a handle on the technical aspect of water purification. But I can understand the part of Water Missions’ story where God interrupted the founders’ lives. I spent 2 and a half months in Charleston last summer in conjunction with the college ministry Cru, working a full time job, engaging in evangelism, and serving the people here. Like all of missions, it was a risk—a small one, but a risk nonetheless. And much like building the flower bed, I often forgot why I was here. What did my small part do to help? Ultimately, though, we are called to serve in faith.
You can’t by any means call Water Missions’ impact small, nor is the need small. They work and think on an impressive scale. It’s a privilege to be a part of that, if only for a day, and to allow my life to be in order to serve those who are serving others consciously and well. I thank Water Missions for that.
At the end of the day the flower bed is outlined—not built up to its full height. It lacks soil and plants and irrigation. It’ll need more effort and resources. But one day soon it will be complete. I pray the same for Water Missions, which has built, planted, and watered in faith.
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