Then a thought popped into my head. I believe the Holy Spirit takes moments like this to remind me of my blessings. At church last weekend there was a plea for a clean water project in Tanzania. So, we donated something. My belief at the time was that the African women who had to walk far for clean water were keeping fit and probably had little else of value to spend their time on. Wrong! It also didn't occur to me then that they never have ice.
The thought that rolled around in my head this morning was a simple story. Here it is:
Abiria sat the heavy water jug on the ground and lifted her foot. How had she managed to step on a rock so sharp that it caused pain through her heavy callouses? She rubbed at the indentation in the heel of her foot before setting her foot back on the ground. She needed to hurry. No time to sit and rest. Dust from the road blew around her bare feet covering her black skin and making it look gray to her knees. The blowing dust also obscured her view of the roadbed. That's how she must have missed seeing the rock that caused her problem.
She hefted the water jug back up to her shoulder and onto her head. Looking straight ahead she kept it carefully balanced as she picked up her pace. She was tired, but her garden was at risk whenever she was away. Her elderly mother watched the smallest of her children while the older ones tended their small goat herd. No one tended the garden except Abiria.
It was two miles from her Tanzanian village to a source of fresh water. The trip there was easy, it was the trip back that was difficult. The water jug was heavy, but she carried as much as she could. It needed to last her family for an entire day. The the trip would be repeated tomorrow morning and every morning thereafter...all before the sun grew too hot.
As she topped the rise and looked down on her hut, she screamed. Yelling and hollering, she tried to run, but her weary legs rebelled. A neighbor's cow had broken through her brush fence and was eating the meager things she'd managed to grow. As she yelled, a neighbor looked up from her own patch of greens and ran to Abiria's garden. She struggled to chase the cow from the garden, but was unsuccessful until Abiria arrived. Placing her water jug on the ground, she picked up a switch and began beating the cow until it finally ran away.
She turned to inspect the damage when her neighbor, began to yell, "Abiria! Oh no, Abiria!"
Turning toward the neighbor she saw her precious water seeping into the ground. The cow had knocked over the vessel. The neighbor grabbed and righted it, but too late. The tall jug was cracked and would no longer hold water.
Abiria sat down and began to cry. She'd have to make another trip for water in the hot sun, and how would she carry the water?
This story simply leaped into my mind this morning. Could it be true? The Holy Spirit knows, I don't. But, I do realize that mothers in Tanzania do have better things to do with their time than walk miles for water.
If this thought touches you too, contributions for wells to provide villages with clean water on site can be made to:
St. Maurus Hanga Abbey,
c/o St. Pius X Church,
4880 Bristol Ave, Klamath Falls, OR 97603.
541-591-5977.
Peace and Blessings,
Gail
