Water. Such a natural and normal substance that i took for granted every day without even realizing it. In America I’m by no means what you call wealthy. And have lived what I would consider a “low-income” lifestyle. But, upon arrival in Africa everyone assumed that I was rich…my first reaction was “you don’t even know me!” They would ask questions like, “have you ever swept before or washed dishes?” Is there any dirt in your country? Do you have servants?” (And unrelated, “is your blood red?”, “are there vampires in America?”) But, after experiencing two months of Africa I have come to look at my life very differently, and have come to the conclusion that what they thought had some merit. Never ever did I ever have to worry about where my water would come from. I’ve always had as much water as I wanted every day of my life! Water to drink, to bathe, and to play in. Now, I’m thinking back to my childhood and how my sister and I would jump on the trampoline in our swimsuits squirting one another with the water hose and it now feels so very extravagant. Or we would fill up the bathtub with hot water and “hot tub”. Things I never would have considered are constant in mind here. In America I might see a mud puddle and spontaneously decide to jump into it. But, here I think of the consequences: to shower off looks like toting water all the way from the well up to the house and then freezing myself with the cold gallon of water. Next, my clothes are muddy. This will take much more water that must be carried from the well, and then hand-washed, hung out to dry, possibly it might rain (actually every time we did laundry it rained), and might take 2 days to have the clothes clean again. This simple mud jump would take up my whole day to fix! Water is used for everything: drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, laundry! What we have at the turn of a facet, most of the world carries on their head long distances to get. 
And I’m only talking about those who have access to clean water. I’ve begun to realize that compared to most of the world I am rich. I came on the race with a hiking backpack filled with clothes, and toiletries. I brought a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, iPhone, kindle, flashlight, laptop.
Here I appear wealthy because I have clothes that are clean and without holes.
I have equipment that if sold could provide for a whole family here for quite some time.
In Uganda we encountered children with toothaches. The problem? They didn’t own a toothbrush. Why? The cost. When it comes down to it what is more important: to eat or brush your teeth? They chose to eat. So would I. My teammates Adrienne and Kathy took a little girl named Barbara under their wing; they gave her pain medicine,a toothbrush and toothpaste of her very own. They coached her in how long and often to brush. She beamed with her new gifts and the time spent on her care.
At Christmas time we decided to give our host family a few gifts. We put together a basket that included some candy, toothbrushes, toothpaste, a toy car, jump rope, coloring book, crayons, notebook, and nail polish. I knew they would enjoy the gifts but I was not expecting the reaction we received. We handed the basket to the mother, one by one she pulled out the items and the whole family would erupt in cheers of celebration! “It’s too much! It’s too much” the mother exclaimed.
Our thirteen year-old “brother” took the toy car and hugged it with a smile bigger than life. He proudly talked about it, “this is the fastest and best car ever!”, our 17-year old “sister” instantly became attached to the jump rope. “That’s my jump rope!” She said, “I’m going to take care of it and never let it leave my sight, and I’m going to sleep with it!” Wow! I’ve never witnessed a Christmas where people were so thankful and excited for the gifts, and this was the smallest budget Christmas I had ever experienced.
I’ve been so thankful for this experience to see how the rest of the world lives. Also, I’m thankful that I get to experience a little bit of that life too. I always provided for, but with less than I’m used to. Living on the WorldRace budget is about $5 a day for food. This is totally possible, but also can be challenging. Having to look for places that will sell cheap enough meals. Or if you can’t find them, or want better tasting/variety of food paying out of personal money for it. Before coming to Africa while in Vietnam, I spent no personal money but only stuck to the Worldrace budget for the month. This meant a lot of sandwiches, planning ahead, eating teammate’s leftovers, watching God provide (one day a restaurant gave me a free pizza and the box said, “Texas”…where I’m from), I washed my own clothes in the bathtub instead of paying $2 to get them done. $2 isn’t much, but when it means skipping a meal it instantly becomes more valuable. I would have to ask myself “do I want to entertain myself with this movie or do I want to be full?” “Do I really want that coffee or should I buy a water bottle?” These are questions I never had to ask before. But, I’m so thankful that I did, because going into Africa I was able to have a little more of an understanding of how they live everyday life.
Entertainment is a luxury.
Food variety and taste is a luxury.
Toilets and showers are luxury.
Running water, electricity, and wifi are luxury.
They were right my life back in the states is luxurious.
I’ve thought of myself as being a generally generous person. But, having less challenged me on that. It’s easy to give when you have enough, but what about when it will actually cost you something? Am I willing to share my food with the hungry if it were to mean me switching places with them and me being the hungry one? I experienced the tendency to go into a poverty mindset, and saw how selfish I really was as I wanted to keep these things for myself and not to be
uncomfortable.
“Amazi” , the little voice said as the eyes looked up at me. A little group of children sat with me. Their curly hair turning white from malnutrition. Holes and dirt all over their clothes. I was out for the day and only had one bottle of water. I wouldn’t be able to get anymore till that night. No one would’ve known if I said, “no” and kept the water for myself. But the little eyes looked at my bottle. And I realized that at the end of the day I would have water, but what about these little ones? Would they? I poured some water into the little mouth until she was satisfied. And then into the others that gathered until my bottle was gone. They smiled at me thanking me. I learned a few things that day.
-real generosity and love is giving even when it means your lack. That’s the way Jesus loved, saving us even when it meant His death.
-I gave water to Jesus that day.
I don’t say these things to make anyone feel guilty. But, rather to make us aware of how the rest of the world lives. To make us thankful for what we have. And to ask how we can bless others with what we have been blessed with. It also has given me a sense of freedom. I don’t belong to the world and I don’t have to follow their rules and fit in to the American Dream. I can be different. What if I come back to the states and don’t own a car? Most of the world doesn’t. What if I don’t buy Starbucks everyday? I am free to be different. And what if I live simply so others may simply live? I’d rather see a full stomach than have my pride full. Again, I don’t say this to put guilt or any restrictions on anyone. But to share that these realizations have made me more joyful as I realize I can do with less, things have no claim on me. Society can’t tell me what I have to wear, where I have to eat, and what I have to own. And maybe I can’t change the whole world, but if I live differently and give out of my excess it could change someone’s whole world.
