You Do Not Have, Because You Do Not Ask

By Sandy Larsen

Moses Lake Adventist Church Member

The following is a first-person account of the Moses Lake Adventist Church, Mission Adventure Team, mission trip to Mexico.

It was time to ask. Can you make concrete without water? It doesn’t work. Not a chance.

Children’s classrooms and a bathroom were the projects set before our group, Mission Adventure Team, in the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Creating a place for the students was “muy importante.”

Construction was going well; the cement block walls were getting higher every day. Our group of Northwest missionaries worked hard, too hard, but we had a goal. 

One afternoon near the end of our trip, someone noticed water running down the street. After further investigation, the water was from the damaged mainline. We checked our faucet, the only water supply. Nothing. Nada. No more water. The 50-gallon blue plastic water container was all we had left and that was almost empty. 

There was still lots of cement mixing left to do on this warm afternoon. A lot of blocks were left to lay when the cement mixer ground to a halt.

We checked our options, and they were few. Leaving the worksite early was not an option. No, not for this crew. There was work to do, blocks to lay. Could God get water for us in this little desert town? That would be a big miracle because the locals said it often took three days to fix a problem that big.

Knowing we didn’t have the answers, a circle was formed, and 20 volunteers earnestly prayed for water. We could not wait three days: we would be heading home by then. We needed water today, we needed it that afternoon, we needed it now. 

This seemed like a big request, but it was going to a big God. We began praying. They were simple prayers, we only asked for water.

Just then someone looked back to the street, the street where water had been running just a few minutes earlier. A water truck was driving by. “Run!” someone shouted, and they did. The water truck was parked just up the muddy street.

“Señor, por favor, we need some water. Could you fill our plastic container? It is just down the street.” He did not look very agreeable, tired from a long day of filling everyone else’s water buckets. But he concurred and backed up the street and into our driveway. With his long hose, he filled the plastic bucket all the way to the top with water. 

God’s Water! The cement mixer perked right back up and another batch of concrete was started. More mud was mixed, more blocks were laid, and the Lord was thanked and praised. We had because we asked.