UPDATES 

Well complete in Massai Land, Kenya! Corey Melton

     A key part of the mission here at One More Drop is sustainability and that is why we choose to train nationals to manually drill clean water wells, and not just commission wells to be drilled by giant machines. Training men in the regions we serve leaves accountability and ways to service the wells if they break and we leave behind the equipment with those who are trained so they can continue to drill after we leave. Last August I had the pleasure of traveling to Kenya to train a great group of men along with the Water4 Foundation.  We just got report from Joseph Ogwong, the leader of the drill team in Ahero, Kenya that they finished another well in Massai Land where there is no drinking water and many people have left because of that.  But now they have this life saving water that can sustain them for decades to come! Here is the link to Joseph's full report as well as a slideshow of the project. Thanks to Joseph Ogwang and Christopher Juma for continuing this work that began in August 2010. Your perseverance and passion to serve are what keeps us going and inspires us to keep moving forward!

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Bike For Haiti Corey Melton 

      Hi all, just wanted to quickly post a few words about what my Dad, Guy Melton will be doing during the month of May, 2011.  He will be cycling 1,500 miles from Miami to NYC to raise $100,000 for the people of Haiti.  Oasis Church, which my Dad started 20 years ago in South Florida, is partnering with many ministries in Haiti and will be raising a million dollars in the next 10 years to go towards education, water projects, land cultivation, medical missions and so much more.  His goal is already VERY close to being reached and you can read his full story and get many updates including live photos from the road at www.BikeForHaiti.com

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Haiti Corey Melton

PastorXanthusPastor Jean and his "rock challenge" to a village church

  Haiti's gorgeous western coastline

 Children gathering water in one of the villages we visited Small village church woven out of palm branches Market day outside Saint-Marc

   Just returned from a 24 hour trip to Haiti with my dad Guy Melton, who is pastor of Oasis Church in Pembroke Pines, Florida.  I was there to document some of the ministries that Oasis Church is teaming up with in St. Marc, as well to do some fact finding for future clean water projects for OMD.  In short, I am hopeful, but much research is ahead to find out if we will be able to drill in one of the villages just outside the St. Marc region.  More to come soon as well as some pictures of the pastors and people that Oasis Church will be partnering with, stay tuned ...

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Kenya Update Corey Melton

   My recent trip to Kenya with Water4 in August was life changing to say the least.  A great time of training, discovery and humility.  The trip was short but we were able to train a group of 3 Kenyan guys, Joseph, Chris and Jimmy.  Ive never met a group of guys so willing to learn and able to apply new knowledge in the time and manner that they did.  It was such a blessing to see them in the first day of training already taking over and directing the other men from the villages that were there to help.  I believe it is vital to train the men to drill where we go instead of just giving them a well and a pump, leaving them with no knowledge of how to maintain or repair it.  Once our time was through there, we left our drilling kit with them and a tab at the local hardware store for more equipment and materials to do future wells.  Since being back in the States, I have been receiving email after email of the progress, challenges and success that the men have been having in their completion of the well in Ahero that we left them to finish.  It has been so encouraging to hear them speak of possible future locations and to know that they have caught the vision, the bigger picture.  It is MUCH bigger than Americans coming and giving clean water, it is now their calling and responsibility to continue the work and allow this to grow exponentially within their country.

    The wonder of Kenya is the hospitality and kindness you receive from everyone you meet.  There is such a joy and love there that it makes your soul thirsty for more.  More of their culture, their landscape, the language and the way they worship.  But once I got to know the people better I found that underneath all of this joy there is immense pain and suffering and loss. Some of the stories of the men and what they've been through in life are astounding.  The strength of these people left such an impression on me.  Call it desensitization, call it ignorance of a better life, but regardless of how one tries to justify the way they deal with death, poverty, and victimization it is their incredible Godly strength that carries them through day after day.

   It makes me as an American stop and think about my priorities, my day to day decisions and how much waste there is in my life.  Wasted time, wasted money, wasted opportunity ... the list goes on and on. We Americans are blessed, it's true, but how much of a good thing is good until it turns gluttonous?  How far does binging go until a devastating explosion occurs?  Where is the balance between what is ours, what is God's and what has God given us to give to someone else?  I think we all know that everything we have is God's, there is no increase without Him, that is not the issue, the struggle for me is "what does God require of me?"  What am I to give away that the Lord has so freely given to me?  ... balance, where is the balance ...  

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     "I am back in the states after spending 10 days in Kenya training 5 very capable and incredible guys from all over the country.  I have tons of videos and photos to edit so I can give a full report and update from the trip.  All in all, the trip was a success!  The men we trained are still in Kenya working hard on finishing the well that we started in Ahero.  They Have drilled 95 feet and have 20 feet of water on the well.  They are very close to dropping the pipe and setting the pump.  I am very proud of the hard work that they are doing and cant wait to receive photos and videos of the well being completed soon.  Thank you SO much to all who prayed for us and supported us to go on this trip.  You're efforts were not in vain.  Also, one of our team members came to receive Christ while at a church service in Kisumu.  With Living water being the focus of all we do with One More Drop, it was incredible to see one of our own invite the Lord into his life and receive his own well that will never dry out.  As stated in the song Spring Of Life, 'Jesus you’re the well that won’t run dry, Jesus you’re the drink that satisfies'.  Congrats to Rick, and we are all praying for you!  More updates to come soon with photos and videos and stories of some of the men that we trained and worked with in Kenya."

-Corey Melton

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     "One Drop" documentary trailer from partner organization Wishing Well.  Click on the link below to check out what they have been doing to bring clean water to the world.

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     One More Drop completed it's training with the Water4 Foundation on Aug 5th.  We had an incredible time meeting others of the same calling and passion, as well as learning hands on how to drill a well with little more than pipe, a rope and some good old fashion elbow grease.  Click here to view pictures of our training which will give you a great idea of how this process is done. 

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