Michael's Missions Musings: Sensuality in Sustainability

Why do I love my wife so much? Is it her big brown doe eyes or perfectly wavy hair? Is it her smile and contagious laugh? Is it her work ethic and commitment to being the best nurse? Is it the way she commands a room through honest analysis, or is it her natural curiosity and intelligence? Is it the way she loves me? Yes. And. So. Much. More.

I could never pick just one reason I thank God each day for introducing me to my soulmate. But I can think of an awesome reason God sent her to Honduras. One of the most powerful contributions Lane has made to Río de Agua Viva has been the bonding of Water With Blessings to our team's mission.

AHMEN's Río de Agua Viva team has been all about sustainability and teaching Hondurans they can be the solution to their own societal problems. We can say that better now than we could when we began in 2013.

When I first began explaining how our water education plan worked, Lane questioned why we were not using an in-c0untry solution. Lane questioned whether people who have never known a life without potable water, or who did not speak Spanish, could truly help families buy into the idea of the water filter technology we preached. The woman I had been dating for a year had major sway at this point in our relationship, but so did her argument.

Our team rallied around Lane and the quest which led our team to a 4-year partnership with Water With Blessings, a clean water cultural project based in Honduras specializing in empowering women with their own mobile water filtration unit. WWB works all over Honduras but now also has a presence in the indigenous Garifuna and Miskito communities where our team works. Lane is also working on an approach to modify the WWB Water Women training for use with children.