Safe Water For All
Too often religions divide and separate people rather than bring them together. Yet water, in the form of a well or a spring, has a way of bringing people together. When Abraham sent his servant went to Abraham’s homeland to find a wife for his son Isaac, he found Rebekah at the well or spring (Gen. 24:13ff). Jesus met the Samaritan woman also at a well or spring (John 4:14) and asked her for a drink. This surprised her. The Bible tells us that Jews did not share things in common with Samaritans Yet we all need water no matter what our religion, tribe or nation. In Turkey sacred springs are called ayazma. These are often ancient places – going back before Christianity or Islam. Perhaps they were once the shrine of a mother goddess. The ayazma waters are clean and sometimes believed to be able to cure sickness. In Turkey churches and mosques are often built in places where there is an ayazma. Ken and Betty Frank, missionaries in Turkey, are inspired by such places because people from different religious traditions go to these places, whether churches or mosques, for a drink of clean and curative water, and to ask God for help. Women especially seem to go to an ayazma. An especially famous one is “Mary’s House” near Ephesus. One guide for showing God’s love to a person of another religious tradition is to find something in common. Water is a wonderful commonality
Too often religions divide and separate people rather than bring them together. Yet water, in the form of a well or a spring, has a way of bringing people together. When Abraham sent his servant went to Abraham’s homeland to find a wife for his son Isaac, he found Rebekah at the well or spring (Gen. 24:13ff). Jesus met the Samaritan woman also at a well or spring (John 4:14) and asked her for a drink. This surprised her. The Bible tells us that Jews did not share things in common with Samaritans Yet we all need water no matter what our religion, tribe or nation. In Turkey sacred springs are called ayazma. These are often ancient places – going back before Christianity or Islam. Perhaps they were once the shrine of a mother goddess. The ayazma waters are clean and sometimes believed to be able to cure sickness. In Turkey churches and mosques are often built in places where there is an ayazma. Ken and Betty Frank, missionaries in Turkey, are inspired by such places because people from different religious traditions go to these places, whether churches or mosques, for a drink of clean and curative water, and to ask God for help. Women especially seem to go to an ayazma. An especially famous one is “Mary’s House” near Ephesus. One guide for showing God’s love to a person of another religious tradition is to find something in common. Water is a wonderful commonality
Ken and Betty Frank
Ken & Betty Frank serve as missionaries with the Near East Mission, assigned to the American Collegiate Institute, Izmir Amerikan Lisesi. Ken is a teacher of math and works in the area of Christian-Muslim Relations. Betty serves as the librarian and also works in the area of Christian-Muslim relations.