Pam Gunn, Doug Briganti (of Spotsylvania Presbyterian Church), and Dan Blum recently attended Clean Water U, the training school of Living Waters for the World (LWW), a Presbyterian mission resource. Located at Hopewell Camp and Conference Center in Mississippi, Clean Water U is a five-day simulation experience designed to train and equip mission teams with the skills and materials necessary to form partnerships with communities in need of clean water, install a community-based water purification system and equip local leaders to maintain the system and provide ongoing health, hygiene and spiritual education.

This Clean Water U training supports the Saint Mark Global Mission Committee's partnership with the Haiti Outreach Ministry (HOM). Saint Mark and HOM are planning to install a water filtration system for hundreds of students and staff during mission trips to the community of Blanchard, Haiti.

Consider these facts:

" 97% of the planet's water is salty
" Of the remaining 3%, 2% is locked in the polar ice caps
" That leaves 1% for human consumption, agricultural and industrial use
" And, half of water available for cooking and drinking is contaminated
" 1.6 million people die each year due to water-related illness
" Water-related illness is the 2nd leading cause of death among children
" 1/6 of the world's population, 1.1 billion people, lives without access to safe water

Living Waters for the World is meeting this crisis head on, with a water purification system and a learning process that is ideal for use in health clinics, churches, schools and orphanages. By providing a system that's simple, sustainable and affordable, LWW and its partners have helped many communities with contaminated water take ownership of making their water clean again.

To learn more about Living Water and the Haiti mission trips, please attend a luncheon after worship at Saint Mark on October 29 for food, music, and worship along with the opportunity to meet Global Mission committee members and HOM's Pastor Leon from Haiti. You can also contact Dan (dan.blum@gmail.com), Pam Gunn (pam.gunn@comcast.net) or visit the web sites at http://livingwatersfortheworld.org and http://www.haitioutreachministries.org.