Water filters and Jesus go together in Pakistan
Some things just go together. Like Reese’s candy—think peanut butter and chocolate.
After several months of testing, ministry in UPG (unreached people group) countries and water filters do, in fact, go together. So do Shakeel Din and Filter of Hope.
A Covid pause expanded the cause
During the Covid quarantine days, Filter of Hope made the decision to pursue ongoing partnerships in countries with unreached people groups—countries where Christians comprise less than 2% of the population. It made complete sense to take water filters and the gospel to UPG countries.
Why? Most people who haven’t tasted clean water haven’t heard of Jesus.
Most people who haven’t tasted clean water haven’t heard of Jesus.
Test driving a partnership
One potential partner that emerged was Shakeel Din, the executive director of Independent Evangelical Ministries in Lahore, Pakistan. For a trial distribution, Filter of Hope shipped him 100 filters.
Shakeel trained a team, made copies of an Urdu translation of the gospel handout written by Filter of Hope, and even made Filter of Hope t-shirts. Here’s what Shakeel said after installing most of the filters:
“People desperately need pure drinking water in Pakistan. We have distributed filters to different families and all I can say is WOW! The families received us so well with the filter and the Good News of the Gospel! So far our ministry has done local partnerships with five different churches. We cannot wait to see how many people we can provide with clean drinking water and the ‘Living Water’ here in Pakistan.”
“We have distributed filters to different families and all I can say is WOW!”
Making tracks
In February, Shakeel and his team shifted gears when a shipment of 1,000 filters arrived. They decided to take the filters to an area of greater need—Quetta—a city 60 miles from the Afghan border and where Shakeel’s father had lived. It’s not the end of the world, but …
After a 24 hour train ride (these are tough missionaries!), they set out in three groups to different areas of the city and region.
What did they find? All of the people came with buckets. “They don’t have anything that can clean the water. They said, ‘Please give us filters and Bibles and good news.'”
“He had never heard”
Shakeel said their Uber driver was perplexed. “After driving us for a while, he asked, ‘Who are you people?’ He had never even heard the words Christian or Jesus Christ. At the end of the day, we drove 40 miles to his home to give him a filter and share the gospel. The Uber driver said, ‘Whenever you guys come back, I will drive you wherever you want.’”
“Who are you people?“
Shakeel reported 304 people have received Christ during the distribution of the first 1,000 filters! People are thirsty for clean water and the gospel.
A new shipment will be arriving soon and Shakeel and his team are gearing up for more filter distribution. Pray for energy, more partners, open hearts to receive filters and Jesus, and for new believers to grow in a local church.
Pray for Shakeel; and other unreached people group country partners at work in South Sudan, Cuba, and Thailand. So many people need clean water and the gospel—they go together!
