We drink a lot of water, yes we do! We drink a lot of water, how about you?
Water is not as easy to get in our area as it has been the last three months. We do not have a kitchen at the youth center, so we can’t boil it. We can’t walk to the store and just buy it whenever we want, because we have to make sure we have one of the locals with us to walk anywhere. Some days we will go to three different local stores to buy water and they are all out. The local grocery store usually doesn’t have it. The water comes in plastic bags. That is right, bags, not bottles. One day we bought the water straight from the delivery truck before it could even get to the store.
The locals think it is crazy how much water we drink. They maybe drink two small glasses of water a day. We are drinking two Nalgene bottles worth a day at least. It is really hot and humid here. I am thirsty all the time. I stopped taking my water bottle to the soccer field though. The little kids constantly ask for a drink of water. When there are over 50 kids it wouldn’t be fair to give one kid water and not give all the kids water. I wish I could set up a water stand and have water for all the kids! It breaks my heart to not have water for everyone.
Water is a daily reminder of all the luxuries we have back home. Want a drink of water? Just turn on your faucet! No one ever has to worry about not having drinking water. We have drinking fountains in parks, malls, schools, and churches. “An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than the average person in a developing country slum uses for an entire day”(water.org website).
Water is life. When I think about water, I think about the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in the book of John. This chapter (chapter 4) is so rich.
John 4:10
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. “
Timothy Keller writes about this story in his book, Encounters with Jesus. He states that Jesus is speaking metaphorically when referring to “living water.” Keller says that Jesus is saying to the Samaritan woman, “I’ve got something for you that is as basic and necessary to you spiritually as water is to you physically.” He goes on to say, “The image is a little lost on us. Almost everywhere in the United States today we have ready access to drinking water. Most of us know very little about real thirst, but those who live in an arid climate next to a desert knew a lot about it. Because our bodies contain so much water, to be in profound thirst is to be an agony. And then to taste water after you have been truly thirsty is about the most satisfying experience possible.”
Every time you have a glass of water, pray for those who do not have easy or affordable access to water. The last five years I have really felt for those who do not have water and have partnered with Healing Waters International personally and with my Spanish IV class. Now I am living in situations like the people I have helped and it makes me want to help even more. I have so many ideas of things I want to do when I get home. So get ready family and friends! Let’s tell people about the living water while giving them water! We can further the kingdom of God through water!
