Todd Luke - February 2021 Update
Mexico
Dear friends,
Our partners in Mexico are very busy even though we do not plan to send American mission groups to build cisterns this year. Victor, Raul, and Isaias are leading a team that will work with at least twenty-two families to build twenty-two family-owned cisterns during the next couple of months. Generous financial support from our American church and family partners makes this possible. We hope to build up to forty cisterns in 2021, but that number depends on the response we receive from our American partners.
We are also doing something new and exciting. In addition to the many support tasks he already performs to support the cistern process, our associate in Xpujil, Felipe Torres now leads a small crew that visits each of our cistern partners who have repaid at least $2,000 pesos of their cistern materials loan. The purpose of the house call is to:
1) Check the current water level in the cistern
2) Make sure all inlets and outlets are in good working order
3) Replace any worn-out or broken parts
4) Talk with the family about their cistern
5) Remove any mold and dirt from the cistern’s exterior walls and roof
6) Apply a fresh coat of white paint
All of this is done free of charge. All expenses are covered by funds from the previous repayments made by the family that Felipe’s crew is visiting.
Let me give a quick reminder about our cistern loans. When a family agrees to work with us to acquire a cistern, they take on many responsibilities. Among them are a commitment to provide a lot of manual labor. This sweat equity is not just for their own cistern, but also for the cisterns of several neighbors. The cistern owner also agrees to repay—little by little—the entire cost of the construction materials used to build the family’s cistern. This loan is interest-free, no collateral, and no signed contract. Repayments signal to us that the family’s cistern remains important to them.
With each cistern service call, Felipe shows the family that we remain interested in the family and their clean water situation. We really want to make sure their cistern provides clean water for decades to come. I like that we can fund these visits without making a special appeal to our American partners. If you or your church ever donated money for a cistern in the past—and the family that owns that cistern is making repayments—then your initial investment continues to make an impact.
It is great that our work in Mexico continues even when our American partners are unable to be directly involved. In a way, we have been planning for circumstances like these for a long, long time.
Back in 2002, when we built our first cistern, we purposefully created a process that our local Mexican friends could perform themselves from start to finish. But at the same time, we resolved to include—as often as possible—unskilled American hands to assist our skilled Mexican partners by moving tons and tons of sand and gravel. Many hands make light work.
But lightening the physical load is not the only way our American mission teams support our Mexican friends. Rather than explain what I mean by that, I ask you to take a few moments to watch two videos. The first one shows an American mission team working with our Mexican partners. Think about the impact this scene has on the neighbors and onlookers who rarely see people from another village, much less another country. It’s a living parable with many lessons at different levels. At the very least, we see men and women of different ages and backgrounds serving together. And that’s just scratching the surface.
The second video was taken on February 1, 2021. God willing, the generosity from so many American partners, will enable our Mexican partners to build dozens of cisterns. But as you can see, the worksite atmosphere will be very different. The job will get done. Our brothers will faithfully lead and teach families how to work together to give themselves the gift of an abundant supply of clean water that will last for decades. But . . .
There is a Proverb that says: “Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but provocation by a fool is heavier than both.” We don’t think a fool is provoking us. As a group, we decided to move forward. But we are certain that cistern construction will be much more difficult without the combined strength of our American and Mexican partners. This year, the mental, physical, and spiritual costs will be greater than ever before. Year after year, our Mexican partners share how important it is for them to have us work, laugh, worship, and pray by their side. They don’t just say that to be polite.
Cistern construction requires more than strength, experience, technical skill, and endurance. It has an unquantifiable spiritual component. Our brothers need encouragement. They are full-time farmers, not full-time construction workers. Cistern building is not their career. It is their ministry. They are Christian cistern owners who know firsthand how access to an abundant supply of rainwater makes a family healthier. They want to share this gift with others.
Year after year, the odd mix of Americans and Mexicans working together lifts spirits and adds encouragement through our mutual trust in God. We hope their mental outlook and spirits will remain strong even though this body of Christ is not as united as it normally is. Please pray for our friends. Pray for our partnership. Text me a pic of some familiar faces and some words of encouragement for our good brothers in Mexico. I will forward those to them immediately.
Together, we look forward to that day we can faithfully serve together, face to face, side by side, with the Body of Christ united and fortified. By God’s Grace.
Todd Luke
tluke2300@aol.com
224-808-9825
Read more about Todd Luke’s ministry HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts totaling $50,400 for Todd Luke’s support and $2,000 for the cost of one cistern. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.