We’re SO CLOSE!2015 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Beth Jackson, Board Chair

Steve Hall

Pete Hansen

Sid Taylor

Paul Swenson

Dave Crockett

Alison Storm Lowry

Robbie Hall

WATER OF LIFE STAFF

Roland Bergeron

Amy Wasserman

Hallie Bertling

Sarah Kelley*

Rebekah Mintz*

*Sarah and Rebekah started Spring 2016

If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

M AT T H E W 1 8 : 1 2 – 1 4

Water of Life well-drilling teams and pastor partners around the world have reached nearly a million and

one! Each one, a story of a life transformed with access to clean water, and with the hope of a new life.

B U T I T ’ S N OT A B O U T T H E N U M B E R S . I T ’ S A B O U T E AC H P E R S O N .

THAT ONE MORE SOUL WHO COMES TO TASTE AND SEE.

Keep reading throughout this booklet to see how God’s Kingdom is expanding at a rapid pace,

what a difference clean water makes, how YOU can help, and who that ONE may turn out to be.

S I N C E 2 0 1 2 , WAT E R O F L I F E T E A M S H AV E R E A C H E D

PEOPLE WITH FRESH WATER AND THE GOSPEL.

Dear Water of Life Friends and Family,

Yet again, we reflect on the year past, and stand amazed counting the ways God has been at work. We stay faithful to what He has called us to do, and He continues to bless and grow the ministry’s impact in West Africa and India. Our well-drilling teams and pastor partners are working hard, risking all to share the Gospel across their respective countries. And sometimes all it feels like we can do here in the States is stay on our knees and watch God move through these faithful men and women.

Thank you for being along for the ride, continuing down these crazy jungle paths and treks through the bush and barren lands to bring HOPE and HELP to these villages. As you’ll see throughout 2015’s Annual report, we are SO CLOSE to reaching a MILLION (& One!) Individuals who were once without access to clean water, who now have that life-saving resource and have been brought the love and hope found in the message of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your continued financial support. Thank you for praying for the least of these until help arrives, and then as they grow in their local churches. Thank you for enabling these indigenous teams to act out the love of Christ.

Enjoy the stories within these pages. Even though they don’t begin to represent the full scope of every single person that together we’ve touched with such a life-changing gift, you can multiply the impact knowing that we’re not just reaching statistics and numbers, but we’re out to reach that ONE.

Go team!

Roland Bergeron Founder & President, Water of Life International

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We're so close!

Photos in Water of Life’s 2015 Annual Report marked ©HPS are © Hansen Production StudiosAll Scripture passages are NIV.

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

I I C O R I N T H I A N S 4 : 5 – 6

Sierra Leone48 villages got a brand new fresh water well.

48,660 people heard the Gospel from Pastor Alphonso Barry and Africa for Jesus.

Liberia102 villages got a brand new fresh water well.

59 additional existing wells (abandoned by other organizations) were repaired by the CRCA Team to give fresh water abundantly.

105,319 people heard the Gospel from Pastor Dennis Aggrey and the Christian Revival Church Association.

India121 villages got brand new fresh water wells.

2,614 street churches established by Pastor Praveen Chakravarthy and the Sylom Pastors League.

1.3 Million new believers received baptism.

11,978 Jesus Film showings in various Indian languages and dialects.

Water of Life takes pride in strategically partnering with indigenous teams in the countries where we

work. Nationalist teams makes it easier to identify villages in need, efficiently route where to send

the trucks and drill rigs across often uncharted territory, and most importantly, to freely communicate

with the villages getting a new well why the team is even there—“Because Jesus sent us!”

This partnership means Americans aren’t taking jobs from the locals who are working to rebuild their

countries after civil war and unrest. Crews are trained, discipled, and given a way to make a modest

living while helping their neighbors continue the economic and social growth necessary for survival.

After crews move out, villages are given reachable contacts, who speak their own language, so that

if anything ever goes wrong , the problem can be fixed and a clean water source can be restored.

We are not a get-in-and-get-out kind of humanitarian aid organization. Water of Life meets people’s

needs for life by establishing relationships, building trust, and proclaiming the goodness of God.

Water of Life is doing more with less.With a small stateside staff, we’re able to use as many resources as we can to empower our West African and Indian teams to minister in their own countries. That’s why you give: to reach the world with fresh water & the Gospel.

If you do the math, that’s less than $5 to give ONE person clean, disease-free water for life! No other organization we’ve found can reach ONE person with a sustainable clean water source for such little investment on the donor’s behalf

god has provided, increasing impact:

277,410+PEOPLE SERVED With fresh water & the Gospel

3COUNTRIES Where Water of Life works

330WATER PROJECTS Essentially tripling production in

just 3 years (includes 271 brand

new village wells)

Well done, good & faithful servant!

You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.

Come & share your master’s happiness!

MATT. 25:21, 23

4 5

2015

©HPS

BRAND NEW WELLS:

2012

2013

2014

2015

Sierra Leone

5 3 35 48

TOTAL PROJECTS:

2012

2013

2014

2015

109

164

284

330

35 58 93 102

Liberia

7834 53 78 121

India

Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,013,752

Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89,461

Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218,584

Total Expenses . . . . . . . . . $1,321,797

Programs

76.7%

16.5%

6.8% Administration

Fundraising

2015FINANCES

PROVIDED ONE PERSON CLEAN WATER FOR LIFE!

$5.00LESS THAN

©HPS ©HPS

1,000 childrendie every day from

waterborne illnesses, most of them under

the age of 5.Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst…

He will lead them to springs of Living Water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes

R E V. 7 : 1 6 – 1 7

Giving someone a clean water source, by drilling a new bore well in the center of the village, relieves mental stress for mothers knowingly giving their children dirty water. It relieves the physical strain of long walks

and heavy loads—multiple times a day. It gives mothers time to grow crops, care for

their children, and wash people, dishes, and clothes in clean water.

Less school is missed because of waterborne diseases. Fewer mornings

are wasted collecting water before school starts. Clean water saves lives, particularly of children under the age of 5, who aren’t

strong or healthy enough to fight diseases, and often mortally succumb to diarrhea. It

helps neighbors care for the sick, pregnant, and elderly. It saves lives. It gives hope. It reveals the free gift of Salvation in the

Living Water, Jesus Christ.

facts & challenges

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©HPS

443 million school days are lost

each year due to water-related illnesses.

80% of all illnesses in the

developing world come from waterborne diseases.

CLAY OR SOIL

AQUIFER

ROCK

Hand pump

Sanitary Seal(Cement Grout)

Solid Well Casing

Rising Main (Drop Pipe)

Formation Stabilizer

Borehole Wall

Pump Cylinder

Gravel Pack

Slotted Well Casing(Screen)

CLAY OR SOIL

AQUIFER

ROCK

Hand pump

Sanitary Seal(Cement Grout)

Solid Well Casing

Rising Main (Drop Pipe)

Formation Stabilizer

Borehole Wall

Pump Cylinder

Gravel Pack

Slotted Well Casing(Screen)

3.4–6 million+people, mainly children, die annually worldwide as a result of preventable

water-related diseases.

On average, women in Africa & Asia collecting water have to daily walk

3.7 miles.

663 million people around the world lack access

to safe water.

a 5-minute shower in American households

will use more water than a person living in a developing world slum

will use in a whole day.

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our wells are 40'–400' deep.

(Depending on the village's terrain) They are always deep enough to run consistantly—even through

the Dry Season.

In Sierra Leone, The Jesus Film is another

powerful tool for telling the village about Jesus

while the well-drilling team is in town for the

week building the bore well. When the sun

goes down and the team can’t work anymore,

the villagers will gather for movie night—in

villages without electricity, a movie is quite the

event. They get to hear the actors speak in their

own tribal language! And not just any story, but

a story that often elicits audible gasps from the

crowd when Jesus performs a miracle.

Pastor Alphonso and the Africa for Jesus team,

Water of Life’s ministry partners in this small

West African nation, currently show The Jesus

Film in seven different languages—Krio, Temne,

Fula, Susu, Mandingo, Limba, and Mende. How

grateful we are for these men who are able to

communicate all across the country with the

Good News of Jesus’ love and salvation!

There are no communication, language or

cultural barriers when Sierra Leoneans are

presenting the Gospel to other Sierra Leoneans.

They speak eloquently of how Jesus Christ

has transformed their lives—sustaining them

through the civil war, calling them out of Islam,

showing them the Truth and how to live a life of

service for Him.

SIerra Leone

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Stories from

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2015 highlights from sierra leone1. In 2015, 48 brand new wells were drilled in Sierra Leone by the

Water of Life drilling team, and more than 48,660 people were reached with fresh water and the Gospel!

2. People affected by the civil war moved to Kissi National Community and had only the swamp for water. They make their livings as farmers and breaking stones to sell. The people thanked God for seeing their plight. The Jesus Film was shown in the village, and Pastor Conteh believes that with this kind of goodness from WOL Sierra Leone, a lot of souls will be brought to the Lord in this village.

3. It’s dangerous to cross the road for drinking water. And politicians ignore this place because of its poor sanitary condition and lack of infrastructure. Rice farmers and fishermen, “our lives will now change because of this well, the water is so clean for drinking and cooking,” said Mr. Kamara. “We thank God for Jesus for giving us this gift through Water of Life Sierra Leone.”

4. In Makoko Community, they showed The Jesus Film in the Krio language while the team was in town drilling the new water well. The response to the Gospel is more positive now, and Bible study is happening 3x a week.

5. Kania Village used to be dominated by Muslims and a lot of secret societies (tribal religions). Pastor Sillah thanked the Lord for the gift of this new well, a good tool for evangelism in serving the unreached. He believes that people will have confidence to drink the water now, the people and the surrounding villages and village elders are “very happy for this great help.”

6. 75 year-old Mama Fadika told of how villagers have to go fast and early to collect water, and will spend the whole morning searching for water if you don’t get to the dry stream first. Pastor Jabbie showed The Jesus Film in Mende outside of the school building. 65 new church members, all from the Muslim faith, have started attending since the gift of this new well.

7. “We thank God for having this water, it will ease our water problems.” Pastor Sesay says this well has brought an additional 50 souls to the church in Morabin Community Village, and the gift of the well has opened the eyes of many Muslim believers of how Jesus is. It is “another eye-opening for the Gospel!”

8. Pastor Joseph Freeman is doing a great job winning Muslims to the Lord in Mo-Baapay Village. Two neighboring villages disputing over land with vows to kill trespassers, a new well has brought more peace and health to the divided community.

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LiberiaAs of 6 years ago, the Gola people of Bomi County, Liberia were classified by global mission organizations as “Unreached.”

These half a million Liberians, with their own language, have since been reached with the gifts of the Gospel and clean water.

In 2004, Water of Life made its first trip to Liberia. Through strategic partnership with Pastor Dennis Aggrey and the Christian

Revival Church Association [CRCA], we've been able to give Bomi County access to the Gospel and clean water sources.

2015 highlights from liberia1. When David Weah, the country director of Water of Life

Liberia, asked the well-drilling team after daily morning devotions why they worked for WOL, they responded, “To serve God by helping those in need of Jesus through Water.” That’s exactly why we do what we do.

2. The third drill rig arrived in Liberia in August. Now three full-time drilling crews are reaching 12 villages across Liberia every month. We’re moving north, past Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, to reach the more desolate areas of the bush that have no outside help or access.

3. The goal of CRCA Liberia is to make multiplication a part of the DNA of the church. Young men are trained in the Timothy Initiative Training program. All students will have planted a church before graduation!

4. CRCA currently has 96 churches, with 49 more “preaching points.” CRCA always enters a village with the intent to grow a healthy church—not just declare victory and move on! There’s a heavy focus on discipleship, not just raising a church, but moving beyond converts to disciples.

5. The CRCA Well Rehab & Repair program visits malfunctioning or abandoned wells, sharing Jesus and performing free maintenance to get wells drilled by other humanitarian organizations back in working order, if possible. If not, the team evaluates the area to see if they are in need of a new water well that Water of Life can provide—which will probably be drilled deeper than other “in-&-out organizational standards” to ensure the well will not run dry in the Dry

Season. In 2015, this program was able to get 55 existing wells back in working order, reaching almost another 33,000 people with clean water and the Gospel!

6. In 2005, Beajah Town lost 15 of their children because of dirty drinking water. After the completion of the new well, the drill team assembled village leadership to gather for the dedication. The team shared the Good News of God’s salvation. The town is very grateful.

7. Now that the people of Colman Hill-Gbelleh Town have safe drinking water, they are released of the stress of their water problems. Some villagers said they were very happy about this new well that God has sent them as they have suffered from the creek water for a very long time. The message of Jesus was shared from Isaiah 44 and they heard of Jesus’ salvation. They thanked the team and its partners for a job well done and promised to keep praying for the team.

8. Buying water in the midst of the Dry Season wasn’t an affordable or plausible option. But now that the Duport Road, Zubah Town Village has clean, safe drinking water, the people are happy and grateful to God for giving them water. Having lost children to diarrhea because of the creek water, the village is grateful to drink this water with confidence and promised health.

9. The legend of the creek water in Gballakpa Town to take lives was reinforced by their ancestors. We know it’s because of the diseases in the water, but Brother Sumo explained that this new water well will serve as a way of knowing Jesus Christ in this Muslim community.

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Stories from3 4

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The commandments [ … ] are summed up in

this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is

the fulfillment of the law.

ROM. 13:9-10

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2015 highlights from india1. “Papam" is ONE. She is an 19 year-old girl in India. Four years ago, Pastor

Praveen was sharing the Gospel in her village where Water of Life was drilling a well. She was being abused and tormented, misused by men upon threat of death, and daily begging for food. Papam was without proper clothing even to greet guests to her village. Praveen pulled an extra shirt out of his bag, covered her, and got her to his mother’s home. Cleaned up, cared for, safe and secure, she learned about God’s love. Four years later, she is traveling from village to village, sometimes with Pastor Praveen’s sister, to share the Good News and tell how Jesus saved her and loved her. “Papam,” a nickname everyone calls her which literally means “sin,” has planted 6 village churches and has led MANY to become believers in Jesus Christ.

2. Giving an Untouchable Village a well allows pastors access into areas that have never heard the Gospel. Every village that has received a well has become a “Christ Village” where they have all destroyed their idols and banished all the Hindu priests who come around at festival time. Through much prayer and fasting, Pastor Praveen and the Sylom Pastors League now have 1,315 Christ Villages established!

3. Showing The Jesus Film always draws a huge crowd to hear about the Lord in their own tribal language. Each viewer could be ONE more to change the world. The film was shown 11,978 times in 2015 across Southeastern India.

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IndiaWater of Life is quickly headed towards a really BIG goal:

To reach a Million and ONE with fresh water and the Gospel.

Each of those Million and ONE is ONE more who can change

this world. ONE more life Jesus wants to rescue. ONE more

who will make an eternal impact in reaching people for His

Kingdom. ONE more that Jesus is sending us to save out of

a hopeless situation.

Stories from

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4. Building relationships in villages allows pastors to go door to door, family to family, sharing the Gospel. Changing ONE soul at a time for the glory of God. Pastor Praveen oversees the Sylom Pastors League, Water of Life’s ministry partner in India, comprised of more than 4,000 Indian men who travel village to village to tell others how Jesus Christ transformed their lives.

5. Pastor Praveen has started evangelizing Bihar, a violent Hindu state, where 99% do not know Jesus. Even there, there is more than ONE who Jesus loves and wants to know the Truth of the Gospel.

6. This village medicine woman is making harmful “remedies” for the villagers. This ONE life could change hundreds when she becomes a Christian.

7. 2,614 Street Churches have been established throughout Orissa, Cuttack, Bihar, Gujarat, Indore, and Ujjain and 1.3 million new believers were baptized.

8. Pastors take the Gospel to villagers who have never heard of Jesus. They face threats, martyrdom, and persecution along the way from the RSS, India’s radical Hindu police, who bribe people to break legs, murder pastors, and stop Gospel advance.

9. Every well we drill opens up a whole village to be reached with the Gospel. Establishing relationships, earning trust, and showing the compassion of Jesus contrasts with the vindictive 330 million Hindu gods they used to worship with unanswered prayers, animal sacrifices, and payments to the Hindu priests for extra prayers or ineffective healings.

10. Vijayama waves her hands proudly in the air and says “Pastor Praveen has brought water to our village and all the villagers near to Jesus Christ!” With clean water, the people of Rowthulapudi feel healthy and energetic for the first time, and feel a new hope they have never felt before.

11. The newly constructed well is a witness to pagans about the love of Jesus Christ. There is a market on weekdays in Tirumalagiri, and hundreds flock the market for buying and selling vegetables. This well is a blessing to all these people coming from distant villages to quench their thirst. Many are being led to Christ through the faith displayed by the Christian community here.

12. The village of Kapavaram says that the water has given them new hope and new energy. No one is falling sick anymore. They believe God himself sent Pastor Praveen to bring this new water well. They’ve started going to church, and told Praveen that “We could not ask for more, because of water and Jesus around, everything is possible!”

13. “But for Jesus’ grace, water to my village would not have come,” said Rani. The villagers of Kapavaram are joyous over their clean water which has come from God, Jesus Christ. Rajini says women would faint in the heat gathering water and lugging it home another 2.5 miles. There are no more diseases from the polluted water. Their troubles are eased.

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P R AY E R P O I N T S : • For God’s provision through donors’ generosity to maintain or

expand the current pace of drilling 12 wells per month. Water of Life drills with a contractor who became a Christian after seeing Water of Life's and Pastor Praveen's work. (The well-driller’s father, once a Hindu high priest, also converted!)

• To establish culturally-sensitive pastoral training within the Sylom Pastors League.

• For safety of those proclaiming the Gospel as they travel.

• For the slum in Mumbai where Pastor Praveen has found 1 million Untouchables in need of clean water and the Gospel.

• For an overhaul of traditional culture that tells the 1.3 billion people of India that Untouchables are technically not even a “caste” because they’re not even human. For a resurgence of basic human rights: the end of child slavery and of traditional child brides. That this nation would know Jesus’ peace.

Now…The church in Sierra Leone can thrive because Christian brothers and sisters are giving the gift of water not just to other Christians, but extending the gift to their neighbors in predominantly Muslim villages because Christ has called them out of this religion to know Him in all His glory.

Now…The remote villages of Liberia have an option. No longer compelled to don scary masks and costumes and dance for the spirits of the forest, or become them, they can cease the animal sacrifices because Christ already paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Now…The Untouchables of India are reached with a Divine love. A government who neglects them and a national religion who tells them they are less than human is debunked by strangers who come in with a life-saving gift and a message of hope. Hope that turns them from their deaf idols to the Living God alone for salvation and worth.

Will you reach Water of Life is nearly to its goal of reaching a Million and ONE with fresh water and the Gospel. Every gift gets our teams closer to that goal. It’s a big number. One we feel called to reach and exceed, but each ONE is a precious lost sheep that Jesus wants to bring home.

Water of Life’s impact continues to increase year-after-year. With your support, teams

are able to drill more wells for more communities in need. And with your support,

pastors are mobilized to travel village to village and share the Gospel in a wide range

of tribal languages. Both the free gift of water and the free gift of salvation are together

transforming villages for eternity and the glory of God.

As Christians, we are commanded to love and be generous with our own resources.

And what better investment than saving these precious lives God has created and

showing them how they are cared for, regardless of what their own cultures tell them.

The gift of water is more than just refreshing. It is a tangible gift that reflects Christ’s

love for all. Giving a village a clean water source immediatvely opens the door for brave

men and women to share the Gospel message with others in their own language. And

the clear, abundantly flowing water tells of the abundant love of Christ for all mankind.

the one?

The commandments [ … ] are summed up in

this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is

the fulfillment of the law.

ROM. 13:9-10

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GiveWe believe Water of Life is one of the best

investments you can make in changing the world, one village at a time—by giving both a life-saving

resource, and the Good News of Jesus Christ. Because we use indigenous teams to do the work

and take the Gospel, as many resources as possible are used to Do the Work for those in need.

Any gift amount will help create impact. $5 will change someone’s life. A coffee, a dinner out, a cable subscription—little sacrifices on our end can add up

to BIG results on the other side of the world.

AdvocateBecause you believe in what Water of Life is doing in West Africa and India, you can tell others about what a great opportunity they have to get involved

in the Lord’s work from afar.

Share Water of Life’s social media posts, invite your friends and neighbors to Water of Life

events, host a dinner to show people what a difference clean water makes, start a birthday fundraiser to drill a brand new village well, or

anything else you can think of to let people know what a difference clean water makes.

AdoptFor $3,000 you can adopt an entire village. You will have funded the entire village’s water supply with the gift of a brand new bore well, giving local ministry teams the opportunity to share the Gospel

with the whole community.

preach the gospelIF WE ARE CALLED TO GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND TO

BUT WE DON’T SPEAK TEMNE, KRIO, SUSU, VAI, GOLA, MANINKA, MENDE, HINDI, TELLEGU, BENGALI,

OR ANY OF THE OTHER DOZENS OF LANGUAGES ONE MIGHT F IND IN THESE REGIONS,

HOW ARE WE TO TELL THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD?

Use the enclosed giving envelope to give any amount, or visit givefreshwater.org to make your donation and learn more online. You can also contact us at info@givefreshwater.org if you’d like to speak with a staff member about further giving opportunities.

Here’s How:

15

204 Randall Street • Greer, SC 29651info@givefreshwater.org • 864.469.9500

GIVEFRESHWATER.ORG

Water of Life is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization meeting people's most basic need: the need for clean, disease-free water while taking the Gospel of Jesus and church planting in West Africa and India. Your gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.