Many of you may know me in real life, but some of you probably just know me through these articles I write here at Pulling Weeds out of Potholes. Whatever the case, I am thankful that you take time out to read what I have to say. Today's post is different. Today, I am writing to share with you a great opportunity that God has blessed me with and to ask you to partner with me in watering the thirsty.

Last summer, Riverside Christian Church put on the Rock 4 Water, a music festival in the Riverside Park in Antwerp, to raise funds for Hope 2 Liberia. When I originally had the idea to raise money through a concert to provide safe drinking water for people in Africa, I had no idea where that money would go to. Through the recommendation of friends, I eventually found myself sitting in an office in Muncie, Indiana, with two guys, Sam Wrisley and Dave Rawls, who have an amazing passion for our Lord and His work. They shared with me the idea behind Hope 2 Liberia.

It’s Hope 2 Liberia’s vision “to provide safe and living water for the nation of Liberia, resulting in better health, available education and stronger leaders; all culminating in a renewed sense of hope.” They do this through establishing Hope Centers. A Hope Center provides safe drinking water and a place for the local church to meet. If you are interesting in learning more, you can read about Hope 2 Liberia at their website.

This is where the opportunity that I have been blessed with comes in. I have been asked to go to Liberia and teach at a conference for the new church leaders in the area. The work that Hope 2 Liberia is doing is showing fruit, both spiritually and physically. People are receiving the Word of the Lord and receiving safe drinking water. What is being done right now will impact the Kingdom of God in Liberia for generations.

Liberia is a small country in West Africa with a population of 3.3 million. Each year over 65,000 Liberians die from malaria alone. Many more die from dysentery, cholera, typhoid and infectious hepatitis due to compromised water.

One out of four children under the age of five dies due to water-borne illnesses. Unsafe drinking water is the cause of the majority of disease in Liberia. Having recently emerged from a 14 year civil war, Liberia's infrastructure has been destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of its citizens were killed, maimed, and displaced due to this devastating conflict.

With little infrastructure in place, an unemployment rate over 85% and a lagging economy, the people of Liberia are in need of help. It is time to take a stand, make a choice, and help end the needless deaths of innocent Liberian People.

Although this is a trip that will include teaching at a conference of local church leaders, I will also spend the rest of my time serving to establish more safe sources of water for the people of Liberia.

Will you serve with me? Your help will assist in providing training for church leaders and safe drinking water to the people of Liberia. It might be cliché, but honestly, together, we can make a difference.

First, I ask that you would pray for me and the three other guys going on this trip. It is a small group with a focused mission. We plan on getting a lot done through the conference and working on providing additional sources of clean drinking water.

Second, I ask that you would consider supporting me financially. Without the help of people like you, I will not be able to afford to go and help the people of Liberia. Hope 2 Liberia is paying half of the costs for my trip because they want me to teach, but I have to raise $1900 on my own. If I raise more than that, it will just go to buy more water systems and increase the blessing. If you choose to financially support me, you can send me a check written to Riverside Christian Church to my address at Regan Clem, PO Box 256, Antwerp, OH, 45813. Riverside is providing financial oversight for my part of the trip. This allows you to make a tax exempt donation.The trip that I am going on is from February 25-March 5. If you would like to financially support me, please do so by as soon as possible. Together we can water the thirsty!

Also, if you have an extra Study Bible, the kind with chain reference and a concordance at the end, we would love to have it to give to the pastors over there. They don't have the resources and the technology that we have, so a Study Bible is an extremely beneficial tool for preparing sermons and lessons. If you drop your Study Bible off at the West Bend, they will make sure I get it and I will make sure that it gets to a pastor in Liberia who would appreciate it. FYI, they speak English over there.

Thank you for your time and may God bless you. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or ask them in the comments.