As the orphans lined up at the gigantic gumbo pot, each one was eager to receive a spoonful of corn grits.
The grit mixture was so hard that the cook broke a boat paddle stirring the pot, but the children were thankful to receive a hot meal.
Nick King watched the orphans make their way down the food line. He had recently left Yazoo City behind and arrived in Zimbabwe as part of his water ministry. Taking a break from drilling water wells in the hot African sun, he visited the orphanage during feeding time.
He also formed a unique friendship with a 14-year-old orphan girl named Hazel. Over the days, the two laughed and sang together. She even told him she wanted to become a pastor one day.
As the children made their way through the food line, King noticed something unusual.
“One child would get one spoonful of grits while just about every other child would get two,” he said. “I didn’t understand what determined how many piles each child got.”
King was later told the orphans who received one pile of grits did not have AIDS. The ones who had two piles on their plate did.
It hit King hard when he looked down at Hazel’s plate and saw two piles.
Meeting children like Hazel and being reminded of the needy all over the world is why King and his partners continue their ministry efforts with water well drilling.
The idea of Grace Water came to King while he was on a lawnmower. And it continues to be a blessing to this day.
“The goal of Grace Water is simple,” King said. “We are working to see the end of our global water crisis in our lifetime, constantly growing the Grace Water team in order to bring water and hope to the 783 million people in need.”
The organization was established right here in Yazoo City. Now, they are traveling across the world.
Just last year, the Grace Water team brought clean drinking water to an African orphanage and nearby prison. King said the group partners with pastors who use the clean water as an opportunity to share the gospel.
“Clean water gives them a platform to spread the gospel,” King said.
King said the extreme poverty he has seen in third world countries is at “a different level” from what most Americans consider poor.
Seeing the impact clean drinking water brings to those communities and the opportunity it provides to talk about Jesus Christ is the motivation behind Grace Water.
“As business owners, parents, and farmers, we know how easy it is to simply settle into our daily routine,” King said. “Our faith, however, calls us to be a part of something bigger; it summons us to purposeful Kingdom work. Grace Water was birthed out of our response to this calling and our desire to bring hope to those in need.”
With several team members working in agricultural technology, largely on water conservation, it was a natural choice to make the ministry about bringing clean water to those without it.
And Grace Water is growing.
The excitement about Grace Water is spreading locally and internationally,” King said. “We are growing our partner base in Africa and are already in the planning stages of future projects.”
But King and his team are being rewarded in more ways than one. Developing friendships with people like young Hazel has been a blessing on both ends.
“Yes, the Lord has blessed me with a business mind, and I have learned over the years who I am,” King said. “But the Lord wants our business to be used to spread the gospel and helping people.”
The clean, crisp water of the wells fill more than a physical need. The gospel shared runs over into lives like a fountain.
It is a well that will never be empty. And thanks to Grace Water, the water will continue to flow.
