Everyday at dinner each of our team picks a "word of the day" that describes how we felt about the day. As I write this, my word is "water".
At home I use water in a variety of ways each day - to shower, to cook, to wash the dishes, to brush my teeth and to drink among others.
Today we visited Cite Soleil, which is one of the poorest places in the world and where people don't have access to clean water on a regular basis. They are reliant on water trucks who distribute water throughout the city and who visit the area where they live approximately once per week. We were blessed today to be part of bringing life essential water into 3 different areas and it was an amazing and sobering experience.
The water truck holds 3000 gallons of water with a big hose that gushes water when turned on. When the water truck drives to its stop children run and ride on the back of the truck in excitement. People line up with water containers of all shapes and sizes - as many as they have, with the hopes of getting water for their family for the week. The water they are so joyous and thankful to receive isn't safe for us to drink without becoming sick.
Pastor Jed commented today that the different water jugs were a great depiction of the many things we observed while helping to distribute water.
Children come with joy - they rush to be held, they touch hair and skin that is so different from what they know, they play games. A tattoo is a thing of wonder. Water is used to play, to bathe and to refresh. Beautiful smiles grace their faces and it is obvious that water day is a day they truly look forward to.
Adults, mainly women, line up their water containers pushing them forward quickly to receive water. They come with the great responsibility of taking care of their family. Requests are made to help them bring their containers home. A container I can barely lift and carry is put on top of their head and carried with ease. Children help their parents by carrying containers or tugging on your arm and asking for help in getting water to their houses - everyone but the very youngest understand the importance of getting the water home as quickly as possible.
At the third stop I had the chance to help fill and move buckets as they were filled by the hose. It was completely chaotic - there were people who lined up to wait their turn for the water and then others who came to the front of the line to push their way in without waiting. Our task was to try and keep the line moving filling buckets and moving them as quickly as possible so not one precious drop was unnecessarily wasted. A task made more difficult as people pushed and worked to get their bucket under the hose next. Desperation was the word here as people worked as hard as they could to fill their containers before the water truck ran out of water.
I would like to be able to say that everyone went home with all of their containers filled, but sadly that was not the case. My hope is that just as we were there to love and help where we could today, that they too will help neighbors and friends who went home with empty containers by sharing.
Water also describes the tears that we each cried today as we reflected on our experience. Back at the guest house as I stood rinsing off my shoes and feet it was impossible not to picture the water containers that would have been filled by the water I used.
My real word of the day was "grateful". Grateful for the chance to be here in Haiti with an awesome team bringing love and hope to the many people we touched today and grateful for the water I have access to at home that is safe to drink and that I use in almost every aspect of my life.
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