Christ the Servant
Lutheran Church
2600 Lakeway Drive
Bellingham, WA 98229
(360)733-1277
office@ctslutheran.org

Office hours are Mon-Fri., 9:30-1:30

We worship each Sunday
at 8:30 & 11:00 am
with Sunday School
for all ages at 9:45am
We look forward to seeing you!

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Deep Waters Global Ministry
2010 Annual Report

Luke 5:4-6: He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.  Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”  When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.

Deep Waters is organized around three teams:  Logistics, Education, and Fundraising.  All the teams meet together once a month to check in, share progress, and envision the next steps.  The teams also meet separately when needed. At present we do not have a general chairperson, but we are functioning smoothly.
All the teams participated in the emphasis on Deep Waters in worship during October, 2010.  We presented: announcements, temple talks, a skit, and a “choral event”.

Logistics Team Report:  The logistics team is responsible for selecting the community in Honduras that will receive our first water purification system and includes among its members the group that will go to Honduras (Mike and Mary Hess and Odd Waade) to establish the covenant between the Honduran community and Christ the Servant. The team presented their plans and hopes and answered questions at an adult forum in September, 2010.  Mike, Mary, and Odd attended Clean Waters University (developed and supported by Living Waters for the World) for training in October, 2010.  In November, 2010 Mike Hess and Odd Waade visited several possible sites for our project in Honduras, met with each of these communities, and took water samples.  After their return from Honduras in November, Mike and Odd presented slides and a summary of their visit in an evening forum for CTS and the Whatcom community.

Education Team Report: The education team provides information on the progress of Deep Waters’ ministry and information on Honduras itself.   A kiosk in the narthex is dedicated to Deep Waters and holds photos, written information, and maps.  The team also works closely with the Sunday School committee and the Adult Forum committee to provide opportunities for children and adults to learn about the mission of Deep Waters.  This team is also responsible for collecting materials for Mary Hess to use in her visits to Honduras as she teaches both health and spirituality to community members.  Education will work with the Sunday School to create a banner as a gift from CTS to Honduras.  Education also staffed a table at Rally Sunday.

Fundraising Team Report:  The fundraising team works to create financial support for the Deep Waters project.  In 2010 this team held a kickoff party in July, sold Deep Waters drinking glasses, Deep Waters T Shirts, and conducted a drive for pledges in October and November.  Approximately $30,000 is needed to fund the first water purification project.  As of the end of December, 2010, the team has raised nearly $10,000 in their initial efforts and $22,000 plus in pledges.  Fundraising plans to hold a house concert in 2011 to keep the cash flow up and to keep Deep Waters in the heart and minds of our community.

Deep Waters Global Ministry begins 2011 with the hope that we will be installing a water purification system in a community in Honduras.  We look forward to establishing a deep connection with the people of this community and that our congregation will be enriched by their presence in our lives.
In 2011 Deep Waters expects to: 1) make a final choice of a Honduran community based on need and availability of community leaders to support the project in an ongoing manner; 2) travel to Honduras to establish a covenant with that community; 3) install a water purification system in that community.
We welcome anyone (children and teens included) who may have an interest in this project.  For ongoing information check in with the kiosk, read the Servants’ Song, and watch for announcements in the Sunday bulletins.
Deep Waters Global Ministry has been overwhelmed by the response of the congregation to our efforts to begin this project.   Thank you everyone for your time, your prayers, and your funds.  We have truly let down our nets into deep waters together.

Respectfully Submitted
Donna Grubbs
donna4015@msn.com
360-592-0342

 

Deep Waters' Advent Gift Board



A reverse osmosis (RO) water system is needed to
clean the arsenic contaminated water of El Triunfo,
Honduras. This is a more complicated, and yes, more
expensive system than the one installed last May in
DeGuaymas. Yet over 600 people living in this
mountain village have no other option. They cannot
afford clean water. They are among the poorest of
the poor, having been displaced by Hurricane Mitch
over a decade ago.

A felt-board display of the reverse osmosis system
will be on the Narthex wall during Advent. Please
prayerfully consider purchasing one component as a
Christmas gift in honor of a loved one. Give a gift of
life. Affordable clean drinking water for El Triunfo
means an end to diarrhea related death and will
contribute to the economy of this village in a
significant way.

Simply choose a piece of the system and write a note
on it to the people of El Triunfo. This display will
travel with the installation team. Your contributions
can purchase a piece of the RO system: a tank, a
valve, a filter, a pipe connection, or even the building
to house it in. You will receive an 'honor card' to give
to your loved one with a special note sharing the
details of this precious gift that was purchased in
their name.

A report on Clean Water University
by Mark Barrett

The class that I took was 103 ROS; this is the nuts and bolts on how to install a system with the Reverse Osmosis and Softening. I was grouped with 3other students and one instructor. It was a good class, I studied hard, and I learned a bunch.

Many parts of the ROS system are the same as the standard system.Outlined below are some of the major differences.

So what is this technology?
Reverse Osmosis is designed to remove salts, total dissolved solids, heavy metals, and in our case arsenic and lead. In the process about half the water processed becomes clean drinking water. The other half of the processed water is rejected to a wastewater drain.

So why do we soften the water before we treat it?
Softening removes hardness in the water. It does this by taking the calcium and magnesium ions and exchanging them with salt or sodium chloride.The RO membrane then removes the remaining salt. We know El Triunfo has these conditions based on the water test sample showing us results that hardness was greater than 250 ppm. We also visually saw the calcium
deposits on the supply line to the water tank. This is why we must soften the water.
One other aspect of the week was the networking and camaraderie that was felt with all involved. It seems to occur when you get a great group of people that want to solve an important problem in the world. I asked lots of questions and answered a few as well.
Living Water for the World is an international group that is focused on providing clean water for the world. It was informational to understand how and why this group was formed. We also found out how far and wide this group's influence has spread. Thank you to Deep Waters and to our congregation for all the support I received. It was
much appreciated.