What is David s Well? David s Well is an organization started by Juan Rodriguez in 1987 in Central America. The primary focus is to bring the spiritual life-saving gospel message of Jesus Christ to the lost and help disciple them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ while at the same time bringing humanitarian aid to thousands of people who are suffering from disease, malnutrition, and poverty. Without the Gospel, David s Well would be just another humanitarian organization that does good work in relieving suffering and building community development but does nothing to prepare people for eternal life. Founder Juan Rodriguez believes that the power of the Gospel is not only for eternal salvation but also empowers believers to live more productive, wholesome lives in loving relationships; transforming individuals and communities. That has become a reality in many communities. As people accept Jesus Christ and make Him Lord of their lives, they begin to care about the way they treat one another. They begin to take care of their families. Thousands of people have been transformed through this gospel driven ministry in Central America. The Church is not a man-made institution. It is designed by God to become the spiritual family for people who have received Jesus Christ as their Savoir. David s Well exists to preach the Gospel and establish local congregations who will be faithful in carrying out the work of God s Kingdom. More than 200 congregations have been planted since 1987. Thousands of people have been baptized and have been literally saved. It is one of the most effective ministries in the world. History Ministry in the Mountains As a young man with a heart for mission work, Juan Rodriguez, who was born in the Dominican Republic, came to Panama in 1987 with the goal of establishing a few new church plants over a three year period and then return home. His initial focus was to reach remote Indian villages up in the mountains that were cut off from modern civilization due to the lack of roads and difficult terrain. He thought it made sense to establish a church literally at the end of each road. He would train a pastor to establish and provide leadership to each church. Those pastors would go on horseback up into the mountains to minister to the remote villages and bring them into the fellowship of the church. This strategy proved to be very successful and many churches were planted in the mountains.
During this period, Juan was invited to visit some very remote villages in the islands. The people living there were completely cut off from modern civilization and the only way to reach the villages is by boat with the closest one located 45 minutes across the bay using a fast boat. By canoe, it is a day s journey. Although referred to as islands, they actually are low lying swampy areas along the coastline and along river beds. What he discovered in one village was unbelievable to him. The people had no clothes, and the village was mostly made up of children, because few lived long enough to reach adulthood. Many of the people had open sores and distended bellies: a sign of malnutrition and parasites. Their drinking water came from a muddy hole in the ground causing the spread of water-born diseases. Juan was taken to a cemetery with over 100 graves 90% of the graves belonged to children. He found out that the people did not even name their babies until they were 2 years old because so many died before they reached that age. The people had never been exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was shocked. In addition to the other deplorable conditions there was an outbreak of whooping cough. Juan said, When I saw just how badly the situation was in these villages I just could not turn away. At that time we did not have money to help, but I knew the Lord would find a way to allow me to help these people. Juan went back to Panama and was able to raise $500. He used all the money to buy medicine and then he recruited a couple of doctors to go back with him to the village and treat the people. This first trip was a success and Juan recalled, That was where it all began and my 3-year plan turned into my life s work. From there he grew the ministry to where it is today with over 40 developed villages in the islands, over 80 church plants, schools, houses, medical clinics and students graduating high school and going to college. David s Well Today Juan s church, La Iglesia Cristiana in David, Panama is the main headquarters for David s Well. This church offers a Christian School and provides the lowest tuition for private schooling in Chiriquí Province with over 300 students in attendance. The school has also developed a Leadership Academy where young aspiring pastors are trained to do God s work and meet the growing needs as David s Well continues to help more villages and impact communities for Jesus Christ. The ministry focuses on fulfilling the basic needs of the villages first, building houses, water purification projects, such as windmills, schools, providing medicine, and teaching the villagers about raising livestock, and farming rice where possible. Evangelism happens along the way. The projects of David s Well are supported and carried out primarily from the contribution of several churches in the United States. The White River church in Indiana is the main US church that supports the ministry, and works in coordination with the Association of Christian Churches of Panama. With wisdom and integrity Juan and his staff stretch donated funds a long way to accomplish much. Almost 100% of the money goes directly to the people in need. The end result is thousands of lives saved both physically and spiritually. David s Well is a worthwhile ministry in which to invest one s time and money.
Juan s Strategy We must attend to their basic physical needs first and lead them to Christ along the way. Over the years Juan has developed a proven strategy for bringing villages from the depths of disease and poverty to a thriving and health-sustaining community that puts Jesus Christ at the head. He understands that before Jesus Christ can be introduced, the immediate problems of health, education and housing must be addressed first. He then introduces Jesus along the way. Often the people are engulfed in disease and malnutrition. They cannot read or write. They often have no clothes. Some practice no religion or a sort of quasi-religion called Mamatata, which allows the leader of Chief to rape the young girls at will. Juan works to first gain their trust and often overcome resistance from the Chief and leaders who do not want to change. They are too ignorant to know that what they are doing is wrong and they do not understand basic hygiene and health, the spreading of germs or even how to grow food. Juan said They literally live like animals and we have to teach them everything. It is hard to imagine in today s world with modern technology people can live in such a place of isolation and deprivation. but this is the case with these villages. The closest modern city is 45 minutes away with use of a powered boat. Many of the villages are as much as 6 hours away by boat and the people do not own boats, but rather have made their own dugout canoes for travel. It is almost impossibility for them to get to a city or travel far distances. Medicine The grass huts that the people live in contribute to widespread disease. These huts are filled with dangerous mold. Also bats nest in the rafters and their feces and urine drop on the people living in the huts creating open sores and causing all sorts of health problems. The water they drink is filled with parasites and most of the people are filled with worms. These worms can consume up to 40% of what little nutrition the people ingest causing them to slowly die of malnutrition. Medicine Docks Houses Schools Clean Water Copy Machine Clinics Agriculture Train Leaders
Juan s first priority in helping a new village is to bring team of doctors who administer basic medicines to cure the immediate and obvious diseases. They bring antibiotics and medicines that treat worms. Wood and Concrete Docks The next priority is to build a dock so that there is a place to unload boats with supplies and construction materials. When Juan first started the mission, they built wood docks. but they would rot and deteriorate very quickly and be in constant need of repair. Today a system is used to build concrete docks that last much longer and require very little maintenance. Houses Having a good and safe house is a vital step toward eliminating disease and giving the villagers a sense of pride. After a dock is in place, the old huts are replaced with new houses with corrugated metal roofs. These homes are modest with basically 4 walls and a roof, but they are safe and last a long time. A team of 5-8 workers can build a house from start to finish in just one 3-4 day trip to the islands. Typical grass hut before David s Well Arrives. New house built by teams of missioners from US.
Schools The next step in the process is to build a school. Juan learned that the constitution of Panama ensures the education for their citizens. If there is a group of 25 or more students, the opportunity for education became a reality. Juan made a deal with the government; he agreed to fund the construction of the school houses in communities with at least 25 kids. The government agreed to provide the teachers, uniforms, food, and a monthly stipend to each child attending school. The teachers actually live in the village community during the school year. As student attendance increases to a certain size, the government pays to build a larger and proper school, made of concrete, with indoor plumbing and multiple classrooms. Kids who have completed school through grade 12 an opportunity to attend college free of charge. The country of Panama offers a free college education to all residents and David s Well provides food and housing for students free of charge. The end goal is for students to obtain degrees and go back to the villages where they grew up and help the next generation to develop. Several students have come back as teachers offering hope to many villages. The Lord also asks us to keep the Great Commandment, Jesus said: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mathew 22:37-40)
Partnership with Panama Government Juan has also been successful in collaborating with the Panama government to help stop the practice of sexual abuse of women in the villages. Although isolated form modern society, the perpetrators are citizens of Panama and held accountable to all the laws. Juan tries to convince the people that their old ways of abuse are wrong, but in several cases Juan has used the police to arrest men in the villages who were repeatedly abusing women. This has served two purposes. First, it removes people who are hurting others and second, it establishes authority greater than the village leaders helping to open up the villagers to accept new ways. Although Juan and his people have faced resistance and potential violence, they have been able to avoid physical confrontation since he started this ministry. For the most part, although the villagers are a bit resistant at first, when they see how the medicine quickly helps cure disease and how much aide received, they quickly open up. Clean Water Once houses are built and a school is operating, David s Well works to provide a system for clean water. Contaminated water is the biggest cause of disease and parasites. Clean water is a very important piece to the health and success of a sustainable village. This is the most difficult, challenging and costly task. Some of the villages are located close to the base of the mountains and can use an aqueduct system in which they run plastic pipes from springs high in the mountains down to a central point on the islands (which are mostly swamp land). They can then distribute the water through pipes to various villages within the area. But for villages that do not have nearby mountains, clean water is much more difficult to provide. Until recent past, large cisterns captured rainwater running off the roofs of the houses. This method does not produce 100% clean water and the water runs out quickly when there is no rain. The most effective system is a fairly recent development. Windmills have been found to be very effective to pump water from wells into a large tank that is located high above ground. The tank provides the water pressure through gravity to distribute the water in pipes throughout a village. The water is treated with a gravity filtration system to remove contaminants and make it safe to drink. Best of all, this method provides an unlimited supply of water because it does not depend on rain and requires little maintenance.
Agriculture Copy Machine Now it may seem crazy to think that a copy machine is necessary in these primitive villages, but for the government to provide all the educational services it does, they require documentation and IDs for each student. Because the villages are so remote, it was costing $20-$30 to make one copy because the people were paying to take a boat ride over an hour one way to the closest city with a copy machine. Today, David s Well uses their own copy machines that run on a solar panel and can provide free copies for many local villages Once again, God provided a more cost-effective way to meet the educational needs of children growing up in these villages and be compliant with the government regulations. David s Well is also training the villagers in various forms of agriculture. From livestock and chickens, to rice and other crops, the villagers are learning to become more and more self-sufficient. Today, the Ministry is using modern rice mills. These machines can process the rice at a high speed and can dramatically increasing crop yield. This not only increases the supply of food but is an incoming producing source for the villagers as they bag the rice and sell it in the nearest port city. The money raised from the rice sales is then used to support the villages with other necessities.
Evangelism Throughout this entire process Juan and his teams are intentionally exposing the people to Jesus. As each team of missionaries comes to work on various projects, a large outdoor video screen is set up in the village and Christian movies are shown to the community. This not only brings the villagers together for entertainment, but more importantly has proven to be an effective means for people to come to understand who Jesus is. As villagers come to receive Christ, baptism and discipleship events are brought to the people as well. The ministry s goal is to find at least one person in each village that accepts Jesus and understands the importance of following God. That person can then help to share the gospel throughout the rest of the people. Eventually, he hopes to rise up leaders who are passionate for God and develop pastors for each village and establish a church.
Leadership Training As God rises up leaders from the villages, David s well then brings these leaders to the city of David on a regular basis to provide leadership training and education. This training is a key element of Juan s strategy in order to multiply evangelism and discipleship efforts as more villages are reached for Christ and the ministry grows. The ultimate goal is to educate everyone and have distinguished Christ-followers who complete college come back as leaders and teachers to help future generations of these villages to develop into a self-sustaining community that is cantered in Christ. How can you be a part of what God is doing in Panama? mission trips Most of the projects, the construction of homes, docks, medical clinics, schools or Windmills, have been completed by teams of people mostly from American churches. The teams usually raise enough financial support to not only cover their expenses for the trip but also to cover the costs of materials for the project they are building. David s Well runs on a very small team of local support staff who help to lead these teams before and while they are serving in Panama. It is a win-win partnership. The villagers receive the benefits of all the structures that are built. The mission teams have a life-changing experience as they serve. Juan has been asked many times, Why not just send the money and hire local people to do the construction work? His answer: Although it is true, if we took all the money that was spent on airfare and travel and instead used it to hire workers from Panama and materials, we could probably get more done with the same money. However, there is no substitute for the human experience that comes from making a trip like this. It not only enriches the lives of those who come from afar to do the work, but it helps to bring more of the villagers to God. There is no amount of money that could replace the good that comes from these mission trips. Individuals have found their experience to be life- changing in their personal spiritual growth and walk with God. Not only does God transform the lives of the villagers, but those who are serving. Several US churches support these efforts by sending mission groups annually. People can join these groups or can form their own groups with much support from David s Well and a key US church serving as a liaison.
Financial Support Many who cannot physically come with a team to support the ministry of David Well have chosen to provide financial support. The medicines supplied to the villages are all 100% funded by David s Well and the price of these medications is always increasing. Although many of the projects are funded by the mission groups, additional funds are needed to support the groups as they serve such as paid interpreters, drivers, cooks, and additional labourers. Committed to financial integrity and God-honouring stewardship, David s Well directs almost 100% of donated money to help the people in need. This ministry literally saves lives and is bringing thousands of people to Jesus. You can send a check to: David s Well Inc. All donations are 100% tax deductible. Average costs for the various Projects: (in U.S. Dollars) House: $2500 Wood Dock: $1500 Building the School: $7500 Concrete Dock: $4500 Building the Health Center: $20,000 Rice Mill with multi-purpose building: $35,000 Windmill Water Treatment System: $7500 Support One of Our Pastors: $350 per month Medical mission trips: $1,400 monthly (treating a max of 250 persons) College Dorms Supplied by David s Well (annual cost per student): $1200 Checks can be made out to: David s Well Inc. All donations are 100% tax deductible. David s Well Inc. P.O. Box 435 Noblesville, IN 46061
Prayer Without prayer David s Well cannot do the work God has given and labor in vain. He has equipped his people to serve and meet the past needs of this growing ministry and will continue to meet future needs as God s people faithfully intercede. Pray for David s Well: Pray for continued growth of the ministry and wisdom to effectively manage it. There are many things David s Well can do on Earth through God s love and this ministry strives to do this with all our heart, all the soul, and all our mind. The ministry will keep on and will not give up serving the Lord and the people of Panama. Pray that 100% of the people in the villages come to know Christ, are baptized and give their lives to Christ. Pray for safety of all the people travelling to and from Panama. Pray that the villagers are free from disease. Hearts of people open to gospel. Rise up Godly leaders from within the villages to assists in evangelism and discipleship God to raise funds to support the growing needs as more villages are found. Projects needed to support the known villages: 15 Windmill Water Treatment Projects 15 Schools 5 Rice Mills 100 Houses 8 Clinics These numbers are constantly changing. We are discovering new villages every time we go out. The Lord is always giving us new opportunities to help our brothers. Checks can be made out to: David s Well Inc. All donations are 100% tax deductible. David s Well Inc. P.O. Box 435 Noblesville, IN 46061
Results of the last 10 years: BUILT 4 HEALTH CLINICS AND TREATED OVER 115,000 PATIENTS MOBILE MEDICAL CLINICS WITH VOLUNTEER STAFF TREATED OVER 80,000 PATIENTS BUILT 10 NEW SCHOOLS WITH 1,800+ CHILDREN NOW RECEIVING EDUCATION AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN 6 VILLAGES WHO NOW PRODUCE THEIR OWN FOOD AND SELL TO OTHER VILLAGES PLANTED 80 NEW CHURCHES BAPTIZED ALMOST 6,000 PEOPLE INTO CHRIST IN PANAMA, COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY ASSISTANCE GIVEN TO 180+ STUDENTS David s Well P.O. Box 435 Noblesville, IN 46061 www.wrcc.org http://www.facebook.com/davidswellpanama