Local Couple Shares Gift of Clean Water with Communities in Need

You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops.

Psalm 65:10

What if you were surrounded by water, but like the Ancient Mariner, had not a drop to drink?  According to the World Health Organization, over 1 billion people drink contaminated water every year, which results in millions of grim diseases and preventable deaths (predominantly in children).

In order to ease this dire problem, Newtown Square residents Peter and Mary Burgess have become involved with Living Waters For the World (www.living watersfortheworld.org), a  mission organization affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) that trains and equips volunteer teams to share the gift of clean water with communities in need.

Peter and Mary Burgess may look like unassuming, gentle souls – but these modest retirees are fearless, seasoned travelers with hearts of gold.   They are perfectly comfortable packing huge suitcases full of water purification equipment, along with soccer balls and other gifts for orphaned children - and lugging the whole kit and caboodle  to the poor, small town of Holguín, in a controversial country—Cuba. 

While Cuba has been under embargo from the USA for decades, students and religious missionaries have been permitted to travel to Cuba since January of 2011 - if they meet certain restrictions.  And Peter and Mary Burgess are one of a team of nine volunteers who obtained special “humanitarian visas” for the trip.

The Burgess are not naïve - they’ve traveled and lived all over the world – from Peru to the Philippines.  They learn the languages and appreciate the cultures everywhere they go.  Both Mary, a former Spanish teacher, and Peter, a former executive in the pharmaceutical industry, visited Cuba many years ago.  But this time they had three very specific, altruistic goals in mind.  They are:

·         Assemble the water purification unit from the 9 volunteers’ suitcases.

·         Install the unit and train the local personnel on its operation and upkeep.

·         Help the local population: visit an orphanage, volunteer at a Vacation Bible School, and explore the countryside for potential new water purification system locations.

The accommodations are modest – everyone bunks in a dormitory at a Quaker Seminary – there’s no Internet, limited phone connections, and lots of rice and beans.  But Peter and Mary never complain.  Their ultimate goal is to be good role models and good representatives of the USA and their home congregation - Newtown Square Presbyterian Church (http://nspconline.org).  Mary and Peter are excited about this new mission, and extend the hand of fellowship to whomever they meet.   Safe travels, and go with God.   ¡Buen viaje, y vaya con Dios!

Newtown Square Presbyterian Church invites the community to visit our church, and meet Peter and Mary Burgess who have now returned from their "trip of a lifetime!"  We also welcome everyone to our new, free “Body and Soul” fitness group, which meets on Sunday nights at 7pm.  Newtown Square Presbyterian Church is located on the corner of 252 and Goshen Road.