Sabeena watched clean water trickle out of the BioSand water filter. Impressed by how well the rocks and sand within the cement structure cleaned the water of impurities, she immediately wondered—could her family have one, too?
Water was a painful component of life. Due to her husband’s bad reputation, she felt too ashamed to ask for help from others. Using her neighbors’ wells were out of the question. So she gathered water for her family from a pond where pigs bathed. Every day Sabeena boiled her family’s water supply, and every day the expense for firewood seemed daunting. Yet, after all that trouble, her children frequently fell ill.
Unhappy Life and Mockery
Sabeena’s husband, Bimal, lived in the grip of addictions to alcohol and gambling. Bimal often beat Sabeena without cause, and they would quarrel about everything—even about garlic and peppers.
To mask their broken lives, Sabeena smiled and laughed in public, while tears were her companions at night. But the local people knew her family’s problems and mocked and insulted Sabeena when she went to the market. Her situation shamed Sabeena, and she struggled to hold her head up or preserve her dignity.
In the midst of her shame, Sabeena wasn’t completely hopeless. She remembered the time a few years prior when Jesus healed her of stomach pain. Because of this healing, Sabeena began to wonder if Christ offered something more that she wasn’t receiving through her traditional beliefs and practices.
Filtered Water, New Beginnings
When Sabeena visited Gina, her Christian friend, she saw a BioSand water filter in her home. Fascinated by the filter and knowing how much it could improve the filthy pig water her family was forced to drink, she asked Gina if her church could provide her with a filter too. Gina readily helped her friend contact the BioSand water filter team to request a filter of their own.
One week later, a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported worker visited Sabeena’s home, but she wasn’t there. Sabeena and Bimal were at the hospital. Bimal’s alcohol consumption led to lung disease. Doctors advised him to stop drinking or the disease would get worse. They also urged him to drink more pure water.
By God’s grace and perfect timing, the very next day this family was blessed with a brand new BioSand water filter in their home! The team who installed the filter prayed for them and pleaded for the Lord to grant peace in their lives.
The Lord answered the team’s prayers! Today Bimal no longer drinks alcohol or beats Sabeena. He is working faithfully by selling newspapers and working in a paddy field. Now that they do not have to purchase firewood for boiling water from the pig pond, they are doing better financially. They also are better protected from waterborne diseases. Peace has come to stay in their home as God used a BioSand water filter to show them how much He loves and cares for them.
“Whoever drinks from this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks the water I give will by no means thirst again.” -Jesus
Thank you, Lord!
This helps me pray for those in other countries who are not blessed as we are here in the USA. We don’t realize the difficulties people face who don’t have easy access to essentials like water.
May God bless your work GFA.