Sharing Peace at the Well
Pastor Eliso’s vision was for peace to reign in his home in Ethiopia. He was able to work with Open Doors to put a water well on his church’s property; a place where peace could be shared.
“Because of this borehole the gospel is being preached freely. People’s lives are changed,” says pastor Eliso* in the cool of the single room church. Outside there is a flurry of activity. Old people sit in the shade of avocado pear trees while young children play, others crowd around the water tank as girls and women fill their water cans.
You would be mistaken to think that all the people in the compound are Christians… “More than half of the people you saw fetching water in the compound are Muslims,” explains pastor Eliso. “We don’t have this many believers in the community, we don’t even have believers that could produce the number of children you saw in the compound.”
A year ago, the situation of this church in Ethiopia looked bleak. “In our time of worship, and sharing the gospel, the community would throw stones and insults at us, and that was some of the easier problems we faced. The unseen onslaughts caused us the most suffering. Christians couldn’t move freely within the community. They were considered infidels, we were reviled. In our municipality evangelicals were viewed as incompetent – the local government thought we couldn’t do the work.”
“Going out and sharing the gospel or proclaiming that ‘Jesus saves’ was prohibited. Most of the first converts were imprisoned, flogged, and considered criminals…”
“You found us.”
From 2018 to 2021 intense ethnic conflict occupied this region. General conflict often creates a window of opportunity for targeting religious minorities, in this case evangelical believers. Open Doors field partners visited the area and met with Pastor Eliso, who acts as a general church coordinator for this area.
“When there was no one to support us, the ministry came all the way to visit our church. They were supporting the burnt churches, ministers and believers affected by the conflict.”
What astonished Pastor Eliso is how far Open Doors came to find them. “You need to know that people rarely visit us. We are on the outpost, but the ministry came here. They saw that we did not have clean water, and we began talking about the value a water project and what impact I could have on the persecution situation…if we offered clean water without bias, or payment, this water could bring reconciliation.”
But more than anything Pastor Eliso hoped they would be able to fulfill God’s commandment. “We want to preach the gospel to people who come to fetch water. Before we couldn’t go out to testify about Jesus… we couldn’t visit homes and tell them ‘Jesus Saves’. It was not allowed.”
“Our hope was that the community would hear Christian songs and testimonies when they came to collect water. We also hoped that it could help with some of our other community problems.”
In 2022 Open Doors came alongside the church and supplied the funds to dig the water well. Pastor Eliso proudly guides us to the mud house next to the water tank that covers the well and pump.
“Volunteers dug the well to about 15 meters deep, the men worked for a full month. About 10 believers volunteered and other experts in this field also came to support us.”
Today around 1000 households draw water from this well. The pump is powered by solar energy and the water is used for domestic and agricultural use.
Living water
The gates of the church compound are wide open, the crowd of people ebb and flow and at times it’s hard to imagine that things had ever been any other way. In just a year, this water well has become an oasis, transforming a once harsh barren community into a flourishing one, open to the Good News.
“The water project brought reconciliation in many ways, people greet and listening to each other now. Visitors listen to gospel songs in the compound, which never happened before. Evangelical believers are now in leadership positions in the local municipalities. The community says Christians can be administrators, they can give honest service.”
As we drove on the difficult dirt road to the church, we passed at least three other water wells. They were hand operated, but none had people gather and queueing like the one we were seeing here.
“Everyone drinks, their cattle drink, and they don’t pay any amount to the church. At other water points they tell people ‘you have to pay, this is not free water’. Once people received the water for free, they began saying this church is working for the community’s benefit, the church is serving everyone.”
From the start, the church wanted their neighbours to share in this gift of grace. “Our neighbours produce beetroot and cabbage. They receive water without charge, it has changed their lives. Before they were dependent on the rainy season and used to harvest once a year only for themselves, now people harvest three times a year and sell their produce. In fact, we had many unemployed youth which caused many problems. They would steal anything they could find to sell. Now, because of this water project, they have started farming and we don’t have this problem anymore.”
“Church ministers also benefit. Before, those who had low income struggled to cover their living costs and couldn’t send their children to school. Now they farm, sell the produce and their children are receiving an education. They have enough income to feed their families and do their work as ministers without worry.”
“Believers who were harvesting wheat and maize once a year, now plant cabbage and beetroots three times a year to sell and can give their tithes. It has helped the church to stand on its own feet, it truly makes us happy.”
It also symbolises something much bigger to him: “I always say this project is a practical college of empathy and cooperation. Muslims said ‘if these people we despised, hated and casted out, who we said have a disgusting faith, could give us this free clean water, this is an example to us’. Our unbelieving neighbours learnt to return the kindness we show them. Rich and poor, Muslim and Christian now work together and this area is recognised as a peaceful area.”
Love your neighbour as yourself
Pastor Eliso arranged for us to talk to one of the Muslim brothers who is now a regular visitor under the shade of the fruit trees. “My name is Abdela,” says a thin man with deep furrows on his face. To the amazement of field partners Abdela briskly walks into the church to be interviewed. “Yes, we drink water together. They tell us ‘take the water and work’. We don’t have any expenses, it’s all free.”
Abdela confirms some of the general problems the community have faced and pastor Eliso shared with us. “Before our children were sick, we were sick… There were funerals almost every day, because of how many people died from the dirty water. Now our children are well, the elderly are well because of the provision of clean water. Since this water well was given, both our children and us have gained better health.”
While visitors hear gospel songs in the church compound and the gospel is freely preached in and outside of the church, no one is or can be pressured into accepting Jesus. “There is no pressure on us when we come to fetch water. We are not asked for any payment. What we have is respect and love now. We even enjoy coffee together in their compound.”
“We thank the organisation for this. We have a very high gratitude and joy for you.”
