Members of churches throughout Central Missouri have been empowered by faith to bring both a spiritual message and practical assistance to people throughout the world.
These outreach efforts, in the form of mission trips, have taken area residents to former Soviet bloc countries in Europe, to famine-strlcken African nations and disease-riddled South American jungles.
A story published in Tuesday's News Tribune described the ongoing effort by members of First Presbyterian Church to assist villagers in Tamshiyacu, Peru.
The mission team, like many of its peers, has established an ongoing relationship spanning a number of years.
And the outreach, similar to other missions, continues construction projects - including a church, school and medical clinic - as well as ongoing vacation Bible schools.
A recent initiative serves as a testament to resourcefulness.
Frequent complaints among villagers treated at the medical clinic were traced to drinking water from the nearby Amazon River.
Villagers who drank from the river suffered stomach ailments caused by parasites. Villagers who avoid drinking the water suffered dehydration.
In response, members of the mission team purchased nearly 20 water filtration devices made in Lima, Peru.
The devices are simple. Each is a five-gallon bucket outfitted with a lid, spout and pottery bowl that filters out 98 percent of the river's impurities and parasites.
Each of the $35 devices can be used by multiple families and will last about five years with regular maintenance.
The purchases aid the Peruvian economy while enhancing the health of the villagers.
This example is one of many depicting the inspiration and resourcefulness of mission team members.
And the source of that power? The mission teams likely would reference Acts 1:8.