Water Of Life

Resource:  Living Waters For The World Newsletter
By Suzanne Allen

News From Our Partners in Peru

Sara Armstrong and Rusty Edmondson are Presbyterian Church, USA Mission Co-Workers in Peru who have been essential to the success of the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Nashville, TN’s Living Waters Ministry in that country. They have translated for us, advised us, traveled with us and introduced us to other Presbyterian congregations. They have worked alongside us as we built water systems and taught hand washing and germ theory and developed relationships with our partners in Peru.

Sara and Rusty are wonderful people, representing our denomination in a powerful way and doing God’s work every day in Peru. They are also the means by which we stay in touch with our Peruvian partners when we are not in the country, and sometimes they even do repairs if needed!

Recently, Sara and Rusty attended a meeting of the General Assembly of the IEPRP, the Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church of Peru (our PC-USA counterpart in Peru). Here is what they told us happened at that meeting:

“After a brief annual report on our work at the IEPRP General Assembly, Elder Ulderico Castro stood up unexpectedly and asked the Assembly for permission to speak.

He told them that, through our offices, the Westminster PC LWW team installed a system in his church in Suyobamba last November.

He said, “Brothers and Sisters of the IEPRP, I want to tell you in more detail about the LWW system. This group spent over a year writing the agreement. They visited Suyobamba several times to design the system. When it came to the installation they did what they said they would do. The system gives fresh water. More important it has become a social ministry for the church. (Ministry to the community around the church is a new idea in Peru). Now our church sells water at 2 soles per bidon (about 60 cents). We now provide water for our community, the school and the clinic. It has become a wonderful social outreach for our church. It is a blessing. Their work is more than what Sara and Rusty said (referring to our brief report). It is deep and profound. The PCUSA and LWW are profound ministries that help us be in social ministry in our community.”

He added that other churches should take advantage of it. Westminster, Living Waters, Rusty and Sara were given applause for the work they do.

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