Stop looking around, over your shoulder or to social media to find a hero. Look in the mirror instead. You were created for a purpose and your life has meaning. Do you consider doing something unimaginably courageous? You can make a world of difference.

Whether you’re a Christian or not, doing this one thing will make you a hero and make a difference to the lives of millions of people! If you’re a Christian, even better, because we’re called by God to make disciples in all nations.

Three years ago, in a small rural Kenyan village, I saw a glorious thing. A dug well that provided water for thousands of villagers. But horror hit me when I took two steps and was introduced to the graves of the patriarchs of the village. Grandma and Grandpa were buried within feet of this precious water source were decomposing and turning this precious well into a contaminated water source that was killing villagers. The image continues to haunt me.

Like many Canadian businessmen, I felt led to help. I sent money. $25,000 for all the chlorination tanks, storage tanks, drilling equipment and electricity to provide this village with a clean water source.

Villagers in another nearby Kenyan village walked 3km daily to fetch their water, with an elevation of 300 feet. Women, children, and young girls spent their entire day carrying water jugs on their head back and forth from the local polluted river all day for their family in 25 liter or 5 gallon yellow Jerry cans. The clean water solution for this village (digging and burying pipes, providing solar panels, solar powered pumps, pump house, guardhouse, chlorination tanks, storage tanks) was even more expensive. $75,000! It didn’t make economic sense for the number of people in the village, but I’d felt led to help.

I feel accountable to God for what I do with my money. As a Christian I know it all belongs to Him.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

Psalms 24:1

But always thinking of return on investment, I continued to ask myself ‘Was the $100,000 the best investment of time and money to provide clean drinking water for 2 villages?’ Can I be found faithful with this money and the many, many hours it took to resolve the water situation in these villages? Did I steward time and money well?

It is required of a steward (property and money manager) that he be found faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:2

I think God was teaching me something. It was to “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”

There are staggering statistics about the lack of clean drinking water around the world:

• 2.6 billion lack adequate drinking water and safe sanitation
• 3.4 million die from unsafe water and diseases. Mostly children.
• 1 in 6 people around the world are without safe drinking water

Maybe you’re like me … I initially read these stats but because this is other people, on the other side of the earth, I buried my head and did not take action. Then I went and saw it up close and personal. It changes you. It calls you to action.

Yet, it’s all preventable by doing just one unimaginably courageous act. This one thing will make a difference AND change the world! You can be the hero.

What will it be? Next week you’ll learn what I did.