“Do you think I could go and ask them for water?” Heather pointed to a cement truck that was parked on the side of the road.
“Sure, go for it, you never know,” I responded.
I had also noticed the cement truck park earlier on the side of the road, just outside the hotel parking lot. It seemed rather odd that he had parked in that particular location at this time of night.
Our ministry, Wings of Life, was in the middle of a short-term mission project in Costa Rica with a group of teenagers and chaperones from Walla Walla Valley Academy. We had just finished supper and our evening worship. It was Friday night, and a large group sat in a common semi-outdoor area at the hotel.
But there was a smelly problem on our hands.
There was no water. Meaning no water for showers, toilets, and sanitation. After having worked outside under the tropical sun in 90-degree temperatures on our building project, showers were a definite necessity for us, not a luxury.
From the hotel manager, we had learned that further up the road, a water pipe had burst and that no one in the area had water. While we heard that local crews were working on restoring the water, it had already been many hours, and there was just no guarantee when we’d have water again. Tonight? Tomorrow? We just didn’t know.
Ignoring the backed-up toilets and the grimy, sweaty feeling, our group of 44 volunteers and 10 Wings of Life staff gathered for a heart-moving time of worship together. As our voices raised in song, our spirits were encouraged. At the end of worship, several testimonies were shared by people about God answering the prayers of His people for water. We remembered the story of Elijah during the time of no rain. Inspired, Bob, the volunteer group leader, asked if there was a volunteer to pray for water for our group. Another chaperone responded and led the group in a simple but moving prayer asking God to provide water for our group. Worship over, we all were relaxing as best we could.
Sometime later, I was watching as Heather spoke with the cement truck driver. To my amazement, I noticed the truck driver start his engine and begin to back down the hotel driveway into the parking lot. Parking the truck, he got out and went to the back of his truck. Unfurling a garden hose from the side of his vehicle, which was connected to a pressurized water holding tank, he opened the nozzle. A group of students gathered around as someone shouted, “It’s shower time!”
Quickly changing into swimsuits and grabbing shampoo and soap, our group gathered around for a large open-air shower courtesy of the cement truck driver. In fact, there were so many students that he called a colleague who also drove up with another cement truck. While most were showering, others quickly took buckets to run and fill/flush the various toilets. Finally, the water ran out of both cement trucks. But everyone was now clean.
We all stood back in amazement. Not long before, we had prayed for water, and the Lord had answered in a most dramatic and creative fashion. We were praising the Lord! But we wondered about the rest of the surrounding community. We had prayed that the Lord would provide water for them also.
As we all started to make our way to bed around 9pm, some 20 minutes after the cement trucks had left, another shout went up. “The water is on!” Sure enough, all the water was back on. Not only did the Lord provide water for our group, but He also provided water for the whole community that night. And a very meaningful memory for the student volunteers.
Call to Action
Friend, the God of Elijah is still God today. He delights in providing for His people when they look to Him. With whatever challenge you are facing today, why not place your trust and faith in God? Present your request to Him and then step back and watch Him answer in perhaps unexpected ways!
“And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
John 5:15
All scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
