Guatemala Site Investigations
After systems are installed, Agua Viva tries to return every year to see how they are doing. So, in June 2018, Agua Viva sent our two-foremost specialist to all of our sites in Guatemala to “see how they are doing”. The results were amazing. All sites “loved” their system and all systems were fully operative. Praise God from whom all blessing flow”. Several sites were producing thousands of five gallons bottles of pure clean ozonated drinking water every MONTH! Far exceeding even optimistic goals, our new friends are experiencing better health, increased income, and a whole new sense of community!
Fundacion Salvacion
Last year, 2016, our new friends at Fundacion Salvacion began having trouble with their Agua Viva water purification system. Their source water was so contaminated that the Agua Viva system was overloaded. AGUA VIVA TO THE RESCUE! Agua Viva dispatched Dale Bain, Gerry Johnson, and Harold Barnett, our three most experienced installers back to the orphanage, and they successfully modified our system with a beautiful sand filtration add-on. Now, the orphanage can increase production and sell more water…. YEAH!
Quezaltepeque, Guatemala
In September 2017, Agua Viva dispatched at dedicated team to a large Catholic Church and School in Quezaltepeque, Guatemala; Iglesia Catolico Mixto San Fransisco de Asisi. Beginning with the nicest water room we have ever seen, Agua Viva installed a complete water purification system with the added benefit of a sand filtration system. Although the sand filter adds another level of complexity, the team was up for the challenge and everything is working famously. The team was also blessed with a wonderful group of new Educators. The Education Team was excited to share the importance of clean drinking water and the new curriculum with the community, church, and school!
Huehuetenango, Guatemala
In March of 2016, Agua Viva dispatched at small team to a large orphanage in the city of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. The orphanage was called Fundacion Salvacion and it was home for 120 orphans. The leader of the orphanage, Alycia Harrah, asked “How soon can you return? The need is so great here! And, Oh, by the way, can you bring a dentist!” After some serious soul searching, Agua Viva decided we could return “in four months!”. And by the end of March, we had 12 volunteers signed up and we began our volunteer training sessions. Though filled with challenges, Agua Viva successfully installed a complete operative water purification system and bottling operation. Our talented team of Guatemalan dentists, including Raquel Poz Diaz and Wendy Calderon, and our talented hygienists, we were able to provide full dental service to each and every child! Agua Viva was pleased to hear that, in only one month, Fundacion Salvacion was already selling pure clean ozonated water in their Coffee Shop, and Ms. Harrah was very pleased!
Quetzaltepeque, Guatemala
June 2015, Curt Mader and Dale Bain made a quick trip to Guatemala to clear the way for an installation at Shadow of His Wings Orphanage in Monjas, Guatemala. One hundred orphans living in this community have no access to clean drinking water and many suffered from gastrointestinal problems associated with water borne diseases and parasites. After a quick visit, Curt and Dale headed to another community, Quetzeltepeque, for a full site investigation. Two separate new sites were visited and are presently in various stages of approval; Colegio Catolico San Francisco De Asis and Colegio Adventista Redencion. As an added bonus, Curt and Dale were able to visit several other Agua Viva installations in Guatemala, not the least of which was the “pig farm” that Agua Viva helped create! (Not Water)
Monjas, Guatemala
On October 31, 2015, Halloween, Mike Springer led a large group of volunteers to Shadow of His Wings Orphanage in Monjas, Guaemala. Following up on our site investigation in June 2015, Agua Viva was pleased to return and provide a full installation. Overwhelmed by the needs of the people in these communities, Agua Viva decided to deliver food baskets and evangelism to many needy households in the area. A number of new adventurous volunteers joined our team for this installation and now, for the very first time in their lives, the 100 orphans in this community will be blessed by pure clean ozonated water.
Guatemala 2014
Agua Viva had a wonderful trip to Guatemala in June of 2014. Mike Springer and Jim Allen were able to visit all of five of our installations in Guatemala plus we had the privilege of visiting two viable sites for new installations. DSCN0201.CompressedAt Monjas, Jalapa, Guatemala, Agua Viva was able to spend some real quality time with Shadow of His Wings Orphanage. It is hard to believe that 80 beautiful children like this have NO access to clean drinking water. Our new friends immediately understood this basic need.A new system will be installed here in 2015 and it will provide purified water to all of the orphans in this community, plus they will be able to distribute water to many of the needy communities in the surrounding area. Agua Viva was very impressed with the leadership and organization of this orphanage. We have no doubt that Shadow of His Wings will be a successful installation and a sustained influence in this region.
Casa Angelina Orphanage, Chimaltenango, Guatemala
These are just a few on the children at Casa Angelina. Many of these children were abandoned at landfills in Guatemala. These are just a few on the children at Casa Angelina. Many of these children were abandoned at landfills in Guatemala. Agua Viva spent our Spring Break at the Casa Angelina orphanage in Chimaltenango. We engaged 22 volunteers from the United States and 6 translators from Guatemala. Our work was richly blessed and most of us agree that we hit a “direct bull’s eye” with our mission statement. The water team installed a LWftW water purification and bottling system at the orphanage for about 120 children. In addition, one of the 10 existing homes on the property received a point-of-use Sterilight Ultraviolet Filtration system for cooking, drinking, teeth brushing, and baby care. Many of our volunteers worked on the Education Team. One of our teams provided training for six new adult educators. Two other Education Teams provided health and spiritual education for Casa Angelina and several classrooms at the local Tululche Public School. Agua Viva was greatly blessed to bring a dentistry team who, along with a team of assistants, served the needs of the orphanage and surrounding community during the week. For many of these beautiful children, this was their first visit to a dentist. Our dentist provided 19 fillings, 49 extractions, and 120 teeth cleanings. What a week!! Agua Viva was also able to expand our ministry in multiple ways over the course of this March week. First of all, we included two young adults from Freedom Fire Inner City Ministries in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Aheem Kimmons and Nicholas Cacy joined the team and this was Aheem’s first time to “get on an airplane”. “The takeoff was pretty smooth, but the landing was a little scary”, said Aheem. Secondly, the bottled water from the new system will be shared with 10 widows in the local community around the orphanage. What Matters Ministries, which runs the orphanage, had previously sponsored the construction of small, cinder block homes for these widows who have very little means of support. Agua Viva sponsored dispenser stands for the five gallon water bottles for each of these homes to assist with effective and clean usage of the water. Lastly, our LWftW purification and bottling systems are dependent on an adequate water supply to begin with and Casa Angelina has struggled some with the existing wells on its property. They have been raising funds to hand dig a new well that is expected to become the primary, future source for the growing population at the orphanage. Agua Viva volunteers were so moved by this need that they pledged approximately two-thirds of the remaining funding needed for this project!
Iglesia Eben Ezer, Aldea San Jose, San Carlos Sija, Guatemala
In January of 2012, the Water Team collectively agreed to apply for 501(c)3 non-profit status and our water team was officially named Agua Viva International, Inc. As God continued to bless our efforts, funds were quickly collected to finance two trips in 2012. Providing two installations in one year presented several challenges. As all of the members on our Team were volunteers, a substantial investment of vacation time was committed. Both installations were committed to the summer and there were only two weeks between the two trips. This required a greater degree of planning and organization. While the Water Team was at Huerto de Getsemani in the summer of 2011, we made our first contact with Iglesia Eben Ezer. Details of the covenant were discussed but the agreement was not ready for signature. The primary difficulty was that the local government was not willing to allow Iglesia Eben Ezer to take ownership of the local water for purification, bottling, and sale. After considerable negotiations with the locals, a separate covenant was signed between the local government and Iglesia Eben Ezer. This cle5ared the way for Agua Viva International to complete our covenant. In February of 2012, Mario Mejia, our friend and translator in Guatemala, contacted Iglesia Eben Ezer and the covenant was immediately signed and Agua Viva International provided the necessary funds for Eben Ezer to begin water room construction. Upon arrival in June of 2012, the water room was constructed and ready for the installation. Pastor Bonifacio Rodas had eight Adult Educators ready to go and six Operators. The entire team was very pleased when Didier and Franklin showed up to assist with the installation. Progress was swift and the installation was nearing completion after only three days. One of the many great blessings of the trip was that Raquel Poz Diaz and her friend Wendy came to provide dental education, hygiene, and fluoridations. As tooth decay is an on-going concern among children, this was very well received and loads of fun for the children. Plus, the water team had one of the best groups of translators led by Isaac and Laura. These two components added a wonderful element of warmth. While in Guatemala providing this installation, the Team took this opportunity to visit our first two installations and we were all very pleased to hear that 100 children from Colegio Mark were planning to join us for the celebration at Iglesia Eben Ezer. An entire bus load of children showed up demonstrating Colegio Mark’s determination to reach out beyond the walls of their school in the name of Jesus Christ and Clean Water. Agua Viva believes that we have played an important part in this change of paradigm by encouraging our partners to assist with other installations in-country and out-of-country. On the last day in Guatemala, the Team travelled to Casa Angelina. This is an orphanage with several hundred children and they were are prime candidate for a water installation. After several hours of negotiations, a covenant was completed on-the-spot and executed. The Team agreed to return in March of 2013, completing one of our prime objectives: Finding a new site for our next trip. Another great blessing of our trip was that an 11 year old girl, Kortney Velasquez, prepared beautiful banners for the children to hand-paint during the celebration. Kortney worked many yours on these tapestries and it provides each child an opportunity to be a part of this great work. The trip was a huge success and the entire team returned with joy in our hearts knowing that we had forged so many new friendships at Iglesia Eben Ezer. Installation Number Four: Iglesia Promesa Divina, Colta Monjas, Chimborazo, Ecuador The first bottles of water produced after much effort at Promesa Divina, Ecudaor. The first bottles of water produced after much effort at Promesa Divina, Ecudaor. In the summer of 2011, while returning from a business trip, Jim Allen was randomly seated on an airplane next to a young lady from Ecuador. Her name was Maritza Yanez. Out of a short conversation, a new and exciting opportunity arose for Agua Viva International in Ecuador. As it turned out, Ms. Yanez was providing research on water filtration systems at KU and she asked if Agua Viva would be willing to “help the poor people of her country?” Ms. Yanez helped Agua Viva identify a community in Chimborazo and the Water Team arranged a special trip in the fall of 2011. During the trip, the Water Team executed a complete Covenant with Pastor Pedro Fernandez and the elders of Iglesia Promesa Divina. New challenges were confronted. One big challenge was that water samples indicated excessive levels of iron and the turbidity (cloudiness) of the water was very noticeable. After extensive consultation with LWftW, it was decided that a sand filter would be required to clean up the water. Agua Viva had not, to date, designed or installed a sand filter system. Another big challenge for this trip was that Agua Viva did not have contacts in Ecuador for translators, bus drivers, translators, and lodging. With the help of Ms. Yanez, the Team was able to round-up the necessary arrangements for the trip and the date was set for July 14. This was just two weeks after our return from Guatemala! Lastly, the Team was very concerned about the extraordinary altitude. Chimborazo was situated at about 12,500 feet elevation. The entire team noticed the effects of the altitude during our site investigation in September of 2011. Therefore, the Team made an appeal to the Men of Colonial mountain climbers for a team of men experienced at altitude. The MOC graciously responded and two experienced climbers, Dale Bain and Daryl Taylor, joined our Team. On July 22, 2012, the Team successfully completed our LWftW Water Purification System and Sand Filter. A few serious problems with turbidity were thankfully “cleared up” the night before the celebration after the Team worked until midnight. God is good! The entire Team was blessed with help from George and Sheree Wuertz, Melanie Swift, and their family. The Wuertz are missionaries in Cuenca, Ecuador, and they are supported, at least in part, by Colonial Presbyterian Church. I am sure the Team would agree that we would not have completed our installation on time without their help. Two other big successes were encountered. First, the Team was allowed to speak to both universities; ESPOCH and UNACH. As a result, Agua Viva is considering partnering with ESPOCH to produce a curriculum at the University. Plus, Jim Allen was permitted to lecture at UNOCH regarding the importance of Water Purification and Gender Empowerment. The second big success was that Agua Viva was able to identify two new possible partners for a new installation. One possibility was discovered at Iglesia Evangelica Luminaria de Dios, Gompuene San Vicente, Samblas, Flores, Riobamba. We met primarily with Angel Morocho , the secretary of the church, and several others members of the church. A covenant is being prepared and we hope to return in October of 2013 to this needy community. The other opportunity was discovered in Iglesia Evangelica Nueva Vida, San Vicente de Jipangoto, Palletonga. This small community is very excited about working with us. We met with the President of the church, Moises Vimos Yosaca, the Mayor of the town, Alberto Vimos Josera, and four other machete-toting members. They explained that Pastor Fernandez was the part-time pastor for this church, too. Following God’s lead, Agua Viva has been showered with His blessings and opportunities abound as we continue to seek His will. Our translators were wonderful. Three of them, Ashley Studholme, Orrin Tiberi, and Krista Kinnard were Peace Corp volunteers and we believe that Ashley and Orrin will be able to join us next year for our second installation in Ecuador. We were also very pleased with our bus driver, Diego Orozco “Beto”. He was a very safe driver and quickly became a part of our team. During our first trip, the Team stopped alongside a mountainous road to visit with a young girl on a burrow. We couldn’t understand her name but we took two wonderful photos that wound up on our website. During our install trip, we asked Pastor Fernandez if he knew the young lady in the photo. “Of course!”, he explained, “and that is my house in the background of the photograph. Pastor Fernandez then invited the young lady to our celebration. Her name is Ana Llagsha Potojalo. The Team felt it was a great blessing to meet and know this young girl and we gave her a Spanish bible and a “care package”. Thank you, Jesus, for knowing the desires of our heart.
Huerto de Getsemani, Aldea Las Cruces, San Carlos Sija, Guatemala
Pastor Calderon with the first bottle of water. Huerto de Getsemani is distributing so much water they had to purchase a special truck to haul it all over the region. Pastor Calderon with the first bottle of water. Huerto de Getsemani is distributing so much water they had to purchase a special truck to haul it all over the region. During the Water Team’s trip to LWftW, the Team was fortunate to meet Miriam Mazareagous. Miriam was the in-country coordinator in Guatemala and she explained that she had been visiting some sights in the Xela, Guatemala region. She asked if we might be interested in providing a water installation at one or more of them. Our Water Team was pleased to hear about another site and we immediately began investigating the viability of these sites. The previous installation had been a huge success and our Team was excited to develop this relationship. So, the next spring, February 2010, the Team joined the Colonial Presbyterian Church Short Term Mission Trip to Guatemala visiting three different sites and preparing water samples at each. Iglesia Evangelica Huerto de Getsemani was the easy choice and we quickly made friends with Pastor Miguel Angel Calderon Reyes and the Elders. During our trip, we discussed the important points of our Covenant and we soon had an executed agreement and we gave Huerto de Getsemani the go-ahead and $500 to begin Water Room construction. We promised to return in June of 2010. This trip was particularly challenging and we were overwhelmed with logistics. This site was our first experience outside the bounds of Colegio Mark and Colonial Presbyterian Church. Funds were short. There was so many new things to figure out, like, transportation, translators, lodging, new faces, etc. In the past, Pastor Phil Truesdale had taken care of most of these details. This leap of faith was just one more sign that God’s hand was in everything we did. We took 12 volunteers and we raised just enough money to get the job done. In June of 2010, as promised, we returned to Huerto de Getsemani and we had the most blessed trip and installation we could imagine. We were all amazed at the outpouring of generosity and friendship. There was no doubt in our minds that many lives were changed forever. AdultEduTeam Doris McAfee and Keisha McAfee with our newly trained teachers at Huerto de Getsemani. Pastor Calderon had 13 Adult Educators eager and ready to learn. Doris McAfee and Nancy Allen did a stupendous job training and teaching these adults to continue the education program after we left. Our new friends proved to be particularly handy. We had a great install team headed up by Didier and Franklin (the pastor’s son). The install went very smooth and was practically finished by Tuesday evening when we experienced our “first big problem”. The system became air-locked. As we slowly discovered that the problem was air in the water supply piping, the water team came to our first realization that possibly, water would NOT be ready for the celebration! This would have been a tragedy and many prayers were said in a matter of a few minutes. After several hours of debate, the system was partially disassembled and the water flow was reversed. This pushed the air out of the piping and suddenly a large surge of water blasted the water team with water (particularly Ron Stier). Success !! The celebration went forward as planned and the Water was dedicated to God. This trip was a real learning experience for the Water Team. We learned a great deal about the bottling operation, the covenants, and the way “real” people live. We also had a few people get sick from eating the food and we quickly made a few policy changes.
2019 Travel Plans
Cuba Operating Partner: Iglesia Unidad Metodista Location: Baitiquiri, Guantanamo, Cuba Approximate price: $2,200.00 Leaders: Dale Wilson, Dale Bain Honduras MARCH 2, 2019 THROUGH MARCH 9, 2019 Operating Partner: Telanga Orphanage Location: Ojo de Agua Approximate Volunteer Cost: $1,800.00 Leaders: David Watts, Steve Wagner Guatemala MAY 18, 2019 THROUGH MAY 25, 2019 Operating Partner: Iglesia Monte Sinai Presbyterian Location: Nimasac, San […]
Read More
CUBA
Agua Viva is, once again, pioneering new territory. On February 15, 2018, Dale Wilson, Jim Allen, and Mario Mejia will be heading out into the unknown to perform a site investigation in Baitquiri, Cuba. Baitquiri is a very small and very poor community on the far southeast corner of Cuba. This village is in the […]
Read More
2017 Annual Celebration Recap
Two hundred of Agua Viva’s best friends celebrated Agua Viva’s “Night at the Diamond” at Kauffman Stadium on November 17th. Guests enjoyed food stations featuring Aramark’s best gourmet entrees: lobster corn dogs, beef sliders, Chipotle Chicken Tacos and much more while they strolled the Diamond Club to learn more about Agua Viva’s mission. Our install […]
Read More
Curt Mader Receives Honored Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat
Curt Mader, CEO of non-profit Agua Viva International, will be the proud recipient of the Buck O’Neal Legacy Seat when the Kansas City Royals play the Boston Red Sox at 7:15 pm, on June 19, 2017. Please watch us on TV! Or, better yet, come to the Royals Stadium and watch us on the big screen! Curt Mader and Agua Viva International have installed […]
Read MoreBlog Five; Teamwork
On this trip to Ecuador we have assembled quite a team. Our teams of volunteers almost always consist of several divine appointments. To begin, we have three volunteers from the United States. Nobody is paid… straight up volunteers. Many of us gave up vacation time… We all gave up family time. But, that is only […]
Read MoreHonduras 2016
Houduras 2016 The Agua Viva Team arrived in Quisgualagua, Hoduras, today, Sunday, just in time for church. God was with us and it was such a pleasure to meet our new friends. It was also troubling to see the extreme poverty in the area and I think we were all wondering what God has in […]
Read More2016 Year in Review
Writing this post it is hard not to get emotional! God has done so much through this organization, touched so many lives, decreased disease and malnutrition risks for so many children as well as brought us into new uncharted territories! We could never have dreamed 6 years ago that installing one little water purification system at an […]
Read MoreHuehuetanango Team Refections: Education and Evangelism
The Education Team: Jared, Deanna, and Nancy along with interpreters Anna and Stephanie, trained a group of four adult Guatemalan teachers to share the principles of hygiene to the rest of the community, using the curriculum that AVI compiled. These teachers were so great. They took the material and really made it their own. As […]
Read MoreHuehuetanango Team Reflections – The Dental Team
The Dental Team Lea and Jim (team members) and Raquel and Wendy (Locals from Guatemala) comprised the very dynamic and hard working dental team. Jim was the set up man, while Lea assisted Raquel and Wendy, the dentists who serve with AVI, but live in Guatemala. Their friend and fellow dental student, Neddy, also joined […]
Read MoreHuehuetanango Team Reflections: Getting There
The following are stories gathered from members of Agua Viva’s recent trip to Huehuetanango, Guatemala. Stay tuned over the course of the next 5 weeks for the series of reflections. Getting There: June 11th, 2016 On June 11, ten well-equipped Americans arrived at KCI at 4:00am to fly to Guatemala City via Houston. By well […]
Read More
Guatemala 2017
Quezaltepeque, Guatemala Agua Viva has a new and wonderful opportunity to provide clean ozonated water at a beautiful church and school in Quezaltepeque, Guatemala. In January 2017, Curt Mader and Dale Bain visited the Colegio Catolico Privado Mixto San Franscisco de Asis where 500 children attend school with NO access to clean drinking water. This […]
Read MoreGuatemala Reflections: My Life in Monjas (part 4)
Author: David Watts, Agua Viva Volunteer and Benefactor Thursday: After a few more wrinkles and surprises the installation team completed their work, trained the system operators (two of the three are women who cook for the orphans). Thursday evening our work was done and the first six bottles of water were sealed and we had […]
Read MoreGuatemala Reflections: My Life in Monjas (part 3)
Author: David Watts, Agua Viva Volunteer and Benefactor Tuesday: We got the materials and work really picked up on the system. The installation team led by Dale Bain and Harold Barnett punched holes in cinder block walls and solved one challenge after another. It’s not like you can run down to Home Depot for more parts. You […]
Read MoreGuatemala Reflections: My Life in Monjas (part 2)
Author: David Watts, Agua Viva Volunteer and Benefactor Sunday: We drove the winding mountain roads to “Shadow of His Wings” Orphanage, a rural compound housing some 70 kids in Monjas, Guatemala. Shadow’s houses are grouped in a horseshoe each with 10 to 12 kids and house parents. The Shadow project has its own school and it […]
Read MoreGuatemala Reflections: My Life in Monjas (part 1)
Author: David Watts, Agua Viva Volunteer and Benefactor If someone offered you the chance to avoid having intestinal worms I bet you would take it. That is the reality of the work we (Agua Viva) did in Monjas, Guatemala, a small rural community East of Guatemala City. It is a comfort to know the work […]
Read MoreGuatemala Trip Report (numero tres)
Author: Jared Orr, Agua Viva International Volunteer Midway through the week, we had the privilege of taking non-perishable food items to some of the poorest of the poor in Monjas. It was heart breaking seeing the state in which some of these people lived, yet we saw God in the midst of our evening. We […]
Read MoreGuatemala Trip Report (part dos)
Author: Jared Orr, Agua Viva International Volunteer The main reason that my team traveled to SOHW was to install a water purification system. Up until this point, they have been using a rudimentary filtration that did not remove nearly enough bacteria and parasites from the water. After we left, their water was cleaner than the […]
Read MoreGuatemala Trip Report (part 1)
Author: Jared Orr, Agua Viva International Volunteer I made it back from Guatemala after a jam-packed week of labor and ministry, and the purpose of this writing is to encourage you in the Lord. I want to explain how the trip went from my perspective… as well as show you the greatness of our God. I […]
Read MoreBlog 14 – What Madeers; Shadow of His Wings Orphanage Pre-install Meeting
July 4, 2015 The James Project – Shadow of His Wings Orphanage Monjas, Jalapa, Guatemala Today we traveled from my friend Ruben Noguera’s home in Quetzaltepeque to Monjas, Jalapa to have a pre-installation meeting with our newest Guatemala Operating Partner at the Shadow of His Wings Orphanage. This is my first time at the orphanage. […]
Read MoreBlog 13 – What Madeers; Huerto de Getsamani Follow Up Visit – July 2015
July 5, 2015 Las Cruces, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala Today Dale Bain, Mario Mejia and I attended church service with Pastor Miguel Calderon doing the preaching and a number of community/church members performing a number of songs and sharing the Gospel. Today’s service lasted nearly 3 ½ hours and we had the wonderful opportunity to share […]
Read More