Transylvania Team Goes for Three

The Transylvania Presbytery mission team is making an impact on the water situation in Mexico: in 2003, it was the preparatory school in Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico; in 2004, it was the Presbyterian church in Lerma, Mexico; in 2005, they plan to install a record three systems in Presbyterian churches in the Yucatan peninsula. In early July, the team of 18, representing five different congregations, will form three subteams, each with several installers and health promoters, and bring Living Waters for the World to the small communities of Villa Madero, Carillo Puerto, and Pich.

This is an ambitious undertaking, but the team feels very confident. “Eight of our twenty team members have been through Clean Water U, and twelve have been part of a Living Waters trip in the past, so we have plenty of knowledge and experience,” says team leader Karl Benson. Nevertheless, these three installations will provide plenty of challenge for the team, as they will be among the first systems to include a process called ‘reverse osmosis’. This process is beneficial in that area of the world because of the presence of heavy metals in the ground water – mercury, arsenic, and lead, among others!

Presbyterians in Carrillo Puerto are preparing
to welcome the Transylvania Team
that will install a water system in their community in July

The covenant partnership between Synod of Living Waters and the Synod of the (Yucatan) Peninsula is an indispensable part of this plan. Pastor Amos Cahuich, vice president of the Synod of the Peninsula, acts as the communications liaison between the Transylvania team and the three Mexican churches, and treasurer Agur Mendicuti manages the transfer of funds needed for preinstallation construction and equipment purchase.

“The hardest part,” claims team member Joanie Lukins, “is deciding which of the team members will go where – we’d all like to work in all three of these communities!”

These three systems will be the 11th, 12th, and 13th to be installed in the Yucatan Peninsula – that means that several hundred children and adults will soon be able to have affordable clean water for drinking and cooking.