water is life part 2

Continuing today with an excerpt from The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns.

"Well, think about it. You would wake up wanting to use the toilet, take your hot shower, brush your teeth, swallow those vitamins, and fix breakfast- but you can't. What would you do? At first, you would be irritated by the minor inconvenience of having no showeres, toilets, dishwasher, or washing machine- until it started to dawn on you that this is far mroe serious- at threat, actually, to your health, your family, even your survival. Finding a way to get water would begin to consum your life. Without food you can live sometimes for weeks, but without water? Life as you know it would be transformed- and not in a good way.

Where I live, we are fortunate to have a wonderful lake just about 2 miles away, so if I knew I was going to be without water, I could begin to plan ahead to organize some water fetching. On foot, it would take about 2 hours round-trip to go fetch water to use for drinking and some rudimentary bathing, but 30 gallons of water weighs about 250 pounds. I checked my water bill and learned that my family uses about 300 hundred gallons a day. That would weigh more than a ton and would require 50 round-trips to the lake each day, so my family might have to reduce their water consumption a bit. Reducing to 30 gallons would be a 90 percent reduction, but carrying 30 gallons of water two miles would still take about 5 or 6 trips a day, carrying 50 pounds each time, consuming about 10 hours of hard labor. If you think it's inconvenient to go to the gym to work out every morning, try lugging 50 pounds of water back to your house so you can brush your teeth and have a sponge bath- then try making that trip 5 times. Now, if you had to work this routine into your schedule every day and still get everyone off to work or school on time, you would have to begin your treks in the wee hours of the morning. Washing your clothes and dishes, let alone your own body, would become an overwhelming task."

daily water consumption

I checked a few websites to find out how much water the average American uses in a day. One site told me 64 gallons, another site reported 100 gallons.

You can take a little "water sense" quiz at http://epa.gov/watersense/water/text.htm.

Sunday's video: OHC sponsors meeting their kids in Mozambique

connecting across the continents

The letter above is from Rui Celestine Manuel, Doug and Deb Tensen's sponsored child in Mozambique. It reads:

Dear Doug and Deb, How are you? With me it is all right. Thanks to God I am sending some drawings to you. The most special among them is the ball. It was my 1st time to see a real ball and play it. We have been offered through Food for the Hungry through CDP (child development program...basically the sponsorship arm of things). Our school has 3 balls. They said that the balls came from America offered by Orchard Hill Church. And I saw the team when they came here to Mozambique. I would like you to come here also. Thank you for the letter and the photo you sent. God Bless You.

Our partnership really does impact real lives and stories of children, families, and schools! Be sure to pray and write your child if you are a sponsor!

water is life

This week, I am going to share some excerpts about water from the book The Hole in our Gospel written by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision.

"Most of you began this morning with a hot, clean shower. You brushed your teeth, filled a glass with water, and took a few vitamins. Perhaps you brewed a cup of coffee or drank a glass of juice with breakfast. And each day you run your washing machines and dishwashers and take your toilets for granted. You probably have one, two, or even three bathrooms in your home. You may also have a sprinkler system to water your lawn and garden. Your refrigerator is filled with cold drinks, bottled water, and maybe even ice-cold water dispensed from its door. If you have children, they probably haven't spent even one hour of their lives fetching water for the family to drink or to bathe with. And I'll wager that neither you nor your children have ever had a sick day due to unclean water- unless you have traveled to another country and picked up one of the many waterborne bacteria or parasites.

...imagine for a moment that when you wake up tomorrow, all the water-related fixtures and appliances have been removed from your home. The sinks, toilets, bathtubs, showers gone. Dishwasher, washing machine, garden hoses, sprinklers-all gone. Let's say, though, that everything else about your house remains the same. Still, how would your life change with just this one difference?" p.136 The Hole in Our Gospel.

Consider shutting off your running water for one day in your family. What did you experience? Maybe you've had to go multiple days without running water due to a problem that affected your ability to run water in your home. What was that like?

why might we pass someone by who is in need?

The title of this post was one of our breakfast questions this morning. Our ten year old son replied, "We're greedy." Our ten year old daughter replied, "People are scared. Not so much about the person who needs help but about what they might have to give up to help them."

My children never cease to challenge me in profound ways. Are you having any conversations in your home? Will you share with us about them?

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caring for the sick

The topic for this Sunday's "Start Becoming a Good Samaritan" class is 'Caring for the Sick.' The class meets in room 109 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Orchard Hill Church. Each week stands alone, so you do not need to have been at last week's class to come this week. The resource we're using is one of the best I've engaged in for a group setting. I highly recommend this series for anyone who wants to be a person "after God's own heart".