As told to Josh Geisinger, Filter of Hope staff in El Salvador
The interview that follows has been translated from Spanish and edited for length and clarity.
The rooster crowed near my home in El Salvador and once again I woke up in a dark room that seemed a lot like my life. I prepared food for the day, using water that I knew would make us sick. My husband got ready for work and made a comment about breakfast being cold, I screamed at him and he yelled back before walking out the door.
My toddler daughter cried, and I carried her to my neighbor’s house because she still wasn’t walking despite the therapy she was getting. Would she ever be able to walk on her own?
Finally, my son went to school and left me alone in the dim light of an empty day. After drying tears from my face, I walked to the neighborhood tienda to buy some food. Other women talked about a prayer group, but I didn’t want to go. All they do is gossip and judge.
When I got back home, I sat in my house and waited. A special group was supposed to come to my house today to give me a water filter.. I was nervous because I don’t know any of them. Part of me hoped it would be good, but I didn’t know if it would work.
Then I heard the group arrive at my door, excited and laughing. I walked out to them and welcomed them in, but only one spoke Spanish. The rest were Americans chattering in English and I had no idea what they were saying. “We are here to share two gifts with you,” the translator started, “one will change your life, the other will hopefully change your eternity.” My heart jumped up, but I wasn’t quite sure why. How could these strangers, these foreigners, change my life? They didn’t even know me.
“This is a water filter from Filter of Hope, it is simple to use and easy to maintain. It will remove all of the parasites and bacteria from your water, and if you take care of this filter, it will last for 10 years.”
10 years? I couldn’t believe it. Could this small plastic thing clean our water for that long? They showed me how to install it, how to use the filter, and how to clean it. It was a miracle. I had been sick with parasites 3 times in the past year. And now, we were never getting sick from dirty water again!
“This is a gift for you and your family, and now we want to talk about the gift that God has given to all of us.” Oh no, was this it? More judgment, more rules? All the people I knew who talked about God said I was going to hell.
Then they started telling me things I didn’t expect to hear. One of the people in the group explained, “Jesus died for you, and He died for me. Just like this filter cleans the dirty water, the grace of God through Jesus cleans you of your sin. Not just once, but each and every day, forever. Jesus rose again and now He wants to give you salvation. A free gift, and a new life.”
My heart almost leaped from my body. God…loves…me? But why? They opened up a Bible and started to read. Those were the most beautiful words I had ever heard—words of love, a new creation, and a God that wanted to free me.
“Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, I want Jesus.” This group of loving people prayed for me, and I prayed too. Despite all the anger, sadness, and despair I had felt earlier, I started to feel a peace and a joy that I never had before. That morning, I didn’t hesitate. I invited God to be my Savior and my King.
The church that brought the Filter of Hope group to my house invited me and I started attending. They were a loving church! I have a lot of friends there now.
My life has really changed. I no longer have parasites and we don’t go to the clinic all of the time. But more importantly, I’ve changed on the inside. My husband says I’m different and my kids say I’m happy. I was so angry, adrift, and lost. And now? I am growing, patient, and kind. I am filled with love. God has made me new!
