Former Major League Baseball players Jaime Garcia, Joakim Soria and Bruce Chen, along with current major leaguer Mark Melancon, recently traveled to Mexico to learn more about the impact of the global water crisis on communities in the Chiapas region. Water Mission Senior Brand Ambassador Scott Linebrink, a former MLB pitcher and host of Sports Spectrum’s “Get in the Game” podcast, led the group of fellow players on this vision trip to Chiapas.

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The four-day trip included visits to multiple safe-water projects, as well as communities where work had just begun. During these community visits, the group heard about the struggles of living without access to safe water, listened to stories of transformation, and prayed with residents.

(Photo courtesy of Water Mission)

At the end of the trip, the group assembled to reflect on the impact the experience had on their hearts.

“Me, being from Mexico, I get to see a lot of this stuff,” Garcia said of the poverty in the region. “But I’m really blessed to have partnered with Water Mission and see the impact you guys are having.”

Melancon noted the tangible differences in communities with safe water compared to towns and villages the group saw that had not yet been served by a Water Mission project.

“There was a difference in the feel and the atmosphere of the town that had [safe water],” Melancon explained. “The difference that one Water Mission project can make for a town is crazy.”

(Photo courtesy of Water Mission)

Water Mission’s vision is that all people have safe water and an opportunity to experience God’s love. The group was able to see firsthand how the ministry’s vision had materialized in the projects they visited.

“What is most meaningful to me is, yes, we’re bringing them safe water and relief, but because of that, we can show the love of Christ,” Chen said. “Through that, they will know that we are His disciples and hopefully that will plant the seed of the Holy Spirit in those who are blessed by the safe water.”

The group stayed in Tapachula, a little more than 10 miles from Guatemala. The trip included a visit to a checkpoint between Guatemala and Mexico where Water Mission provides safe water to families standing in line for hours at a time, often in unrelenting heat and humidity. As many as 5,000—10,000 men, women and children pass through this checkpoint daily.

As the group discussed the experience, Soria shared, “It was humbling to see what these people have been through. We, as the Church, have to help them as much as we can. … We all can come together as the Church and be part of the change for them.”

Joakim Soria serves safe water. (Photo courtesy of Water Mission)

The group’s experience in Mexico opened their eyes and softened their hearts to the reality of the global water crisis, allowing them to see the faces behind the devastating statistics. However, they also experienced the hope that safe water and the Living Water message of Jesus Christ has brought to these communities.

“I drew wisdom from these guys who saw the impact safe water was making in these communities as they described the visible differences between places that had safe water and those that didn’t,” Linebrink said.

Additionally, Linebrink shared how the trip provided an opportunity for fellowship, saying, “This trip was especially meaningful because of the camaraderie it established. We grew as brothers in Christ through this shared experience.”

To learn more about Water Mission or to give, visit watermission.org/jointheteam.

Water Mission is a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions in developing countries and disaster areas.

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