Thirsty
Can you remember a time that you were desperately thirsty? How did you get something to quench your thirst? That first sip must have been so refreshing!
I ran out of water while climbing to the top of Mt Baker, a volcanic peak in Northern Washington.
The joy of standing on the spectacular summit was overshadowed with fear; a day of descending ahead loomed without relief for
burning thirst. Worse still, the tiny stove brought along for the purpose of
melting snow had broken on the ascent. Nevertheless, I shoved snow into water
bottles and held them inside my coat during the long hike down the mountain. There
was a muffled gurgle of springs flowing deep beneath the glacier where I walked; torrents of
fresh snow melt, so close and yet so unattainable. It taunted my dry tongue;
the ice in the bottles melted at an infuriatingly slow rate. When I was finally
able to gulp some fluid from the water bottle, a bitter sulfuric sludge assaulted
my throat. Never was I more aware of my body’s fragile dependence on the
molecule I consume with such thoughtlessness.
Everybody requires water to survive, and yet, according to the
World Health Organization, 2 Billion people globally have access only to
water contaminated with feces. In places like Niger, one in seven children are killed
by waterborne illnesses. Approximately 485,000 people die each year from drinking
contaminated water. While women and children collect the water from the nearest
source, they are susceptible to injury as they retrieve 40-110 pounds for the
needs of the family each day. In Sub-Saharan Africa, people spend an average of
4.5 hours each week simply collecting the water. This is time that children are
not receiving an education, that mothers are unable to attend to their
children, but are vulnerable to attacks and abuse.
Once they get the water back to their living area, the water
needs to be purified. However, purification is expensive for people who live on
less than $5 USD/week. Fuel is needed to boil the water. Some sort of pan that
can resist the heat and hold the water is needed. These are expensive. I
remember when I lived in Sudan, it was so interesting to see the process of how
charcoal was created. A huge pit was dug, then filled with precious cuts of
wood that had painstakingly been collected. The wood was set in an inverted-cone-shape
and a fire was set inside. The blaze would slowly consume the wood for days
until the logs had become a beautiful ebony; the perfect fuel for cooking. This
process takes time, and in war-torn areas, people don’t like to start fires
because it draws attention to themselves.
When the fuel and/or containers necessary for water
purification are unavailable, can you fault thirsty people for drinking the
putrid water?
The good news is that there is hope. We are not mortal beings
that live a brief, meaningless life. We are God’s precious creation. Each
person is cherished, special and known by God. We can know Him as well! Jesus,
God’s Son, said, “Everyone
who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will
give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him
will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life,”
(John 4:13-14, Bible Gateway). Jesus offers life, purpose, and forgiveness for everybody who
believes in Him.
After descending
glaciers on Mt Baker and navigating miles of forest back to the vehicle, no
water had more depth of delicious flavor than the water I drank from a gallon jug
in the back of a jeep. I want all people
to have easy access to clean water like I do.
Please consider partnering with me as I raise money with World Vision
to help bring clean water to those who have none. I'm training for a half-marathon run on June 7; the team hopes to raise money to help alleviate the water crisis by supplying wells. I’ll write more in the coming
weeks regarding my experiences in Sudan and how clean water can pave the way
for health, education, employment and, most importantly, receiving the Living
Water found in Jesus.
Included below is a link to the World Vision site if you wish to partner with me for clean water.
Resources:
Wells Bring Hope: https://wellsbringhope.org/the-need/;
