Beyond Vacation: Students Bring Clean Water and the Gospel

Students embark on summer mission trips overseas with a clear purpose, fully aware of the challenges short‑term missions present.

“We’re intentional about what we do and whom we work with,” says Kelley Funk, assistant director of campus life for ministry and outreach. “This isn’t a vacation for us; it’s a conversation about how we can best serve the needs of our host communities.”

Last summer, Kelley joined one Emmaus Road team of five women traveling to communities in Guatemala and Panama with Cru ministry, while another group went to Southeast Asia with 2011 alums Saul and Megan Mallory Moreno. Both cohorts included additional students from other schools in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.

Cru works with Filter of Hope to bring clean water to communities to reduce illness and deaths from contaminated water. Designed to be simple and affordable, these filters use gravity to purify water for up to 10 years. Donors fund the equipment, and local churches and outreach workers install them with teams going door-to-door. Providing clean water gives them an opportunity to share the Gospel. 

“We talk about how Jesus is the water of life,”Funk says. “It’s an interesting, meaningful, surprising and fun experience.”

A survey of student leaders last year revealed a desire to grow in three areas: sharing the Gospel, preaching and maturing spiritually. “Potter’s Clay, Urban Initiative and Emmaus Road offer trips designed to serve others and share the Gospel,” Kelley says. “It’s important for people to know how to share their faith and talk about Jesus.”

The trips last summer focused on training students to install the filters, similar to those used for kidney dialysis, and explain how to obtain clean water. The program worked so well that students will take Filter of Hope to Ensenada, Mexico, for Potter’s Clay.

“In Panama, one of our designated interpreters told us that when he was a child, his grandfather received a filter, and the whole family came to faith,” Kelley says. “So he decided to become an interpreter for Filter of Hope.”

Provost Kimberly Battle-Walters Denu joined the team in Guatemala for a short time, tagging along with the Filter of Hope group. “These filters are also a big deal because buying clean water costs more than sodas,” Denu says. “As a result, families were buying sodas for their kids, and childhood diabetes had increased dramatically. Clean water not only provided a needed resource for drinking but allowed them to remain healthy.”

During her trip, Denu witnessed three adult sisters praying with Funk and the team and accepting Christ into their lives. “I was also asked to pray with one of the families,” Denu says. “It was a charismatic moment as I prayed in English and a local pastor prayed in Spanish loudly and simultaneously. It was muy fuerte (profound)!

“My theme during my time in Guatemala was: ¿Por que no (Why not)?! We saw God do some amazing things, so we had to allow God to be God and not limit him.”

Before the students left for Panama, Denu took them out to dinner.

“It was rich to hear them reflect on their time at Westmont,”

she says. “Most were seniors, and they spoke about their strong education and developing a compassionate heart for people and a greater love for God. One student kept crying during our outreach, sensing that God was doing something greater in her life. It was powerful. I wouldn’t have traded that experience for anything. I look forward to meeting a student group overseas again next summer!”