The US wing of the Mission Aviation Fellowship, more accustomed to bringing aid in planes to people in need, has witnessed a growing number of people turn to Christ as it digs wells for the people of Mali.

When the Mission Aviation Fellowship started working in Mali in 1985, the country's government required all NGOs to dig water wells. MAF's desire to work there was so great that it took up the challenge and started digging wells throughout the country.

MAF missionary Susan Weatherstone, stationed in Mali, said in a Mission Network News report, "It was not something MAF had ever done before. The first few wells were almost trial and error."

Now the MAF is training native Christians to do the work. Their first well of the season, in a completely non-Christian village, has just been completed after numerous setbacks, including a giant rock which eventually had to be dynamited.

The rock meant that the project took double the amount of time and effort to complete but Weatherstone looked to God's providence: "The Lord knew that this village needed the extra time to hear the Gospel and to see the perseverance of these four Christian men who had come to bring physical water and spiritual water."

She said God worked in an incredible way after six people became Christians during the course of the dig. Towards the end, the missionaries ran a large evangelism programme, which included a showing of the Jesus Film and a film on Aids. During this event, another 40 people took their first steps towards following Jesus.

Now some pastors in the area have set up a rotation so that they can visit the village and follow-up with the new converts. After one pastor visited the village and preached, another 17 individuals committed their lives to Jesus, according to Weatherstone.

Since that time, the village chief has donated land for a church to be built. MAF is appealing for prayer so that these new believers will grow in their faith and share Christ with others.