Tuesday, March 17, 2009

More on Water

The water that flows through Pumamarca is over 200 times the safe-drinking water level. I can't even comprehend what is in this water, but I watch the school kids drink it and wash in it, and they don't know what that 200 number means either.

In fact, they literally don't know anything but this stream of water that flows through trash and animal wastes--from the taste to the temperature. A few months ago, volunteers took the time to wash the students' feet, an act that, to me, means a lot more than just wanting these kids to have clean feet. There is an aspect of heart-felt service in this act. They boiled water and let it cool to a lukewarm temperature, a water we would love to soak in for an hour if we had some bubbles and candles. 

The kids pulled their feet out; it was too hot. But it wasn't hot. They hadn't felt warm water and couldn't handle that bit of heat. 

Tonight I took one of those freezing cold showers that makes your head ache. Lauren told me that whenever she has to bite her lip and step into freezing water, she thinks of those kids who don't have showers at their homes, who drink in disease, who took their feet out of the warm water. My cold shower was great. 

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