This is post 9 of 10 in the Broken:Beautiful series.

Like, James, I am honored to see the vision of Isaiah 65 lived out as I walk alongside the villages and organizations we partner with through Blood:Water Mission. So much of the progress we see is slowly, but steadily pushing back the darkness and ushering in bits and pieces of a "new heaven and a new earth." Progress like this:

In the Cyanika district of northern Rwanda, water has been one of the greatest challenges for its people. They live on the side of a mountain, so in order to obtain their daily water, the women and children have had to walk down the mountainside and to a lake that is 18 kilometers (11 miles!) away from their homes, only to walk back up the mountain (11 more miles!) with buckets of water on their heads. And most days, they make this trip more than once. Moreover, the water from the lake is contaminated and contributes to many diseases that plague the Cyanika district. In the midst of this, small groups formed together through the local church and our local partner - they called them solidarity transformation groups. As they analyzed the challenges of water together, they decided to build rain tanks that could capture clean water during the rainy season. These small groups began a long campaign for providing, not only the tanks for their surrounding neighbors and community, but also for the marginalized pygmy people that are ignored by the rest of society. Slowly by slowly and brick by brick, these communities have worked together to achieve 100% water coverage for the entire district - something very difficult to attain anywhere in Africa, much less in village located on the side of a mountain. Children can go to school and women can care for their community because neither has to walk for water. Those who suffered stomachaches, diarrhea, skin infections, eye infections, typhoid and cholera are now enjoying a life of health and hope.