Some people asked when we returned, “Do you feel changed?” In fact, I myself actually expected to be a different person when I returned from our trip. Much more wise. Much more “hard” around the edges as I would have seen things I hadn’t seen before.

I’m not sure I feel like I’ve changed. I have the same senses. I still hate lima beans. I still don’t eat enough vegetables but more than enough fruit. I still love pugs. I feel the same. But I certainly view things differently than I did before. I am more aware of certain things than I was before.

For example: I’ll never look at water the same. For a long time, water was a necessary evil for me. I don’t like the flavor (or lack of flavor). I don’t drink nearly enough and frankly- I kind of resent the fact that my body requires me to drink so much on a daily basis. When I was little, I hated to take baths so much that my parents had to put a minimum amount of time I needed to be in the shower to consider myself “clean” (five minutes). I’d have a timer in the bathroom with me and as soon as the timer went off, I’d jump out and be ready. As an adult, I have enjoyed my hot showers but still don’t need much time to take one.

I’ve never been one to run the faucet when I am doing other things. When I brush my teeth, I wet the brush, turn off the water, brush, and then rinse the brush out before I’m done. But even then, I have found myself getting distracted as the water runs and end up wasting the water.

The idea of watering a lawn drives me nuts. It means carrying the big ol’ hose around and making sure every little plant has enough water. I may be the only one in the neighborhood who sighs as she wears her pajamas in the evening out in the yard- watering all the plants with a look of disdain on her face.

After spending a bit under three weeks in Kenya, I certainly see water differently. When we worked on the house or on other projects, I didn’t touch my water very much. One- water is not a given so not everyone totes their water around. It’s unusual to get water with the meal and if you order it, you pay for it. We were warned never to drink water that wasn’t given to us in a sealed bottle. People normally have soda or bottled water if they drink something (or boiled coffee/tea).

In addition, since most people did not have water, I didn’t want to make them feel badly about me drinking from my own water bottle. I literally felt the health implications. I was much more drained and always very parched. Drinking water is good for one’s whole body. And though necessary, it’s not evil. In fact, it’s something that everyone should be able to drink. To see children drink from dirty river water or walk for miles for water from a well- it makes me see the faucet so differently.

When we showered at Dad and Sue’s home- the water was often slightly muddy as it came from a water cistern. We could never get fully cleaned as we tried to wash the dust off with muddy water. I ached to be completely clean. Knowing that many people never have a chance to get clean or have a chance to take even a muddy shower, was startling to me and often made me feel guilty about my first world problem.

Older women and the children carry large yellow jugs of water for miles each day – sometimes even multiple times each day. We would see women with four or five of the large yellow jugs – roped to their backs. They would walk to wells or rivers. Water cisterns are becoming more abundant but even then- I am not sure the water is completely clean.

Washing hands or having clean hands is very important to everyone. Before we ate at restaurants, they would bring warm towels to us so that we could clean our hands. Even when we had tea at Henry’s home (see Tea Behind the Bushes post) they gave us the warm towels to clean our hands.

When Sue gave a birthday party for Pamela, the mother of Angel (will write more about her later), Pamela’s niece Millicent (about nine) asked if she could clean her hands. Sue told her that the bathroom was down the hall. About five minutes later I found the little girl standing outside the bathroom door, unsure of herself. I walked down the hall to her and realized she didn’t know how to use the sink. What a moment of perspective for me! I showed her how to stand at the sink, turn on the water, scrub with soap, rinse, and then dry. She was quite unsure of the process and I tried to make it seem “fun”. I’m sure she thought I was ridiculous. I think she expected a little towel or wipes. Or perhaps a bucket.

On another occasion, before we sat down for a lunch that was provided by the hospital at a clinic (a hard-boiled egg, buttered bread, a banana, and samosa), we were offered wipes. Good thing as I had been shaking hands all day. But I soon realized the wipes were lysol bleach wipes. Well…I’m sure it did the trick.

At church, before tea- there was a jug of water to wash our hands. Again, it’s an intentional process to keep clean. But still, the water is precious.

On our way to the airport on our final night, I was reminded of the importance of water when we drove past a truck that was piled high with various sized water cisterns. They were hopefully going to people who will benefit from collected water.

Since I have returned, I drink the water I pour. I intentionally turn off water when I don’t use it. I don’t worry about the filtered tap water if the tap is fine to drink. But most of all, I have a great appreciation for this wonderful resource that I have always taken for granted. Heck- I even resented having water to drink or water to bathe for more than five minutes in as a child. I now see how lucky I am. And I never forget my friends in Kenya who are carrying that water for miles or scooping it to drink from the river.