NORTH TEXAS — A businessman on a missionary trip asked for a glass of water and discovered a disturbing reality: the majority of people in the world do not have access to clean water. At that moment, Chris Beth heard the Lord speak to him for the first time in his life. Ten years later, his Bucket ministry has made it possible for 250,000 families to have clean water.

From its headquarters here in North Texas, the Ministry of the Buckeye fulfills its mission of sharing the love of God, providing safe, clean drinking water in places like North America, South America, Central America, Asia and Africa.

Christopher Beth – The Bucket Ministry:

We have probably distributed filters in almost 30 countries.We are actively working in about 12 countries.

During a missionary trip to the Brazilian Amazon, Brazilian, the businessman Chris Bath saw firsthand what it meant not to have access to clean water, after being asked if he was thirsty.

Christopher:

I expected her to go into a refrigerator and grab a bottle of water, but what she did was go out to this little board in the house, crouch down with two cups cracked, and she filled the two cups with river water.

Beth says that what happened next was something she never imagined.

Christopher:

I’ve never been in the business of hearing God’s voice. In fact, when people said that God was speaking to them, I doubted it. But then I heard something, I heard a word, and he clearly said, “Help them.”

Beth began to look for a way to help as soon as she returned home. He found the answer in a camping articles store in Dallas, where he saw a filter that uses the same technology as renal dialysis and that could be used to eliminate harmful bacteria from dirty water.

Christopher:

It attaches to any bucket or receptacle. I’ve went ahead and put some lake water in here from the local lake. So we’ll see if we can make some clean water from this. So we’ll tip the filter down and allow it to start filtering into the clean cup. And as you can see, the water is going from the bucket, through the hose, through the filter.

The filter is capturing all the dirt, the debris, the parasites, everything that’s making people sick from drinking unclean surface water. And this is what we’re left with as a result.

With filters, the Ministry of the Bucket was born. BED returned to Brazil to supply drinking water to communities. Today, the Ministry is present in more than 20 countries.

Christopher:

In the last 10 years, we’ve distributed more than 250,000, so we’ve helped 250,000 families. Last year alone, we distributed about 35,000.

One of its main areas is the Kibera neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya, where about 400,000 people live. Most of the waste goes to the river that crosses the neighborhood, polluting the water and causing diseases and deaths. Darrel Larson is the director of Sawyer Products, which manufactures the filter used by the ministry.

Darrel Larson – International Director of Sawyer Products:

Our filter that you could take the same one that backpackers and hikers use on the trail. But we devised a way to hook it up to a bucket, which is very common all around the world. And that’s kind of how the bucket ministry started.

Larsson says that when his company found out that Beth wanted to supply clean water to the entire neighborhood of Kibera, he didn’t miss the opportunity to participate.

Darrel:

They had this incredible map of the slump, three square miles, 400,000 people. And it ended up being 95,000 homes and Sawyer actually donated all 95,000 of the filters.

Sawyer actually donated all 95,000 of the filters. The difference has saved lives, as the number of sick and dead from diseases transmitted by water has dropped drastically.

Christopher:

We are hearing reports that the numbers of patients coming through clinics are so few compared to what it was that clinics are having to close and consolidate operations.

And providing drinking water has also provided opportunities to share the gospel.

Christopher:

We use water as a tool to share the gospel. For us, it is about the Great Commission, going and making disciples. I’ve been blessed over 10 years to be able to see mothers that didn’t name their children because they knew the children were gonna die, I get to see them have this clean water for the first time through this simple tool.

Through this simple tool, which has also made a difference in Beth’s own life.

Christopher:

Prior to the last 10 years, I was not involved with the church. I wasn’t even a very good follower of Jesus. Now I get to see him work every single day. And what it’s done for me is it’s given me a faith that I don’t think I would have ever had without seeing him work like this.

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