阅读经文 

我曾经与一群义工在洪都拉斯为某社区建造一个供水系统。那里是多岩的山地，气候干燥，缺乏清洁的水源。当地的妇女和女孩子要花很多时间和气力，长途跋涉地搬抬用作煮食和饮用的水。建设一个供水系统将会为当地人带来较为舒适的生活和更加理想的健康环境。

某天早上，我们见到Georgina，这个来自邻村的妇女听说了这个建造供水系统的计划。她非常激动，就像洪荒之力在她身上爆发那样！她执意地、热切地、气喘吁吁地跑来告诉我们关于她的社区的境况，以及他们的井已变得干涸。她说她一直迫切祈求有水供应，现在神藉着带领她来向我们求助的方式应允她的祈求了。她的确信和坚韧实在令人钦佩，她决不会接受一个否定的答案。那天我们探访了她的村庄，我们向她解释，要获得水的供应，需要牵涉一个长时间和充满挑战的实施过程。然而，没有什么事能使Georgina退缩——神果然应允了她的祈求。一年之后，她和她的邻居都能从水龙头获得自来水了。

有时人们会说，养一个孩子需要一整个村庄，然而我们也可以说，建立一个村庄只需要一个像Georgina的妇女。

I once worked with a team of volunteers building a water system in a community in Honduras. The terrain was rocky, the climate was dry, and clean water was scarce. Women and girls in this area spent huge amounts of time and energy hauling water over great distances for cooking and drinking. Having a water system would make life easier and lead to better health.

Early one morning we encountered Georgina, a woman from a neighboring village who had heard about the water project. She was on fire, a force of nature! Insistently, passionately, barely pausing for breath, she told us about her community and how their well had dried up. She had been praying fervently for water, she said, and now she believed God was answering her prayers by leading her to us. Her conviction and energy were impressive. There was no way she would take no for an answer. That day we visited her village and explained that getting water involved a lengthy and challenging process. Nothing fazed Georgina, though—and, sure enough, God answered her prayers. A year later, she and her neighbors had fresh water on tap.

It is sometimes said that it takes a village to raise a child. It could also be said that it takes a woman, like Georgina, to raise a village.