Turn The Knob

Simple hand-washing or selfless sacrifice?

I work for a well-respected company in an affluent part of town. We have a beautiful office building with convenient amenities I use every day. Strategically placed throughout the building we have water stations. Each station includes an automatic ice machine, a water fountain, a sink, and a hot water tap. So, whether you want to wash your hands, fill up on ice water, or make instant hot coffee or tea, you can at any time.

It wasn’t until after returning from Haiti that I realized just how much water is readily available to me during the day. In Haiti, we visited people in villages with limited water resources. There were no water faucets inside their houses – let alone the option to choose hot water or cold water. Outside toilets were common – the kind that don’t require water for flushing. When we visited houses, we prayed for rain to bring life to dry vegetable gardens.

At one point during our hot day in the village, a beautiful Haitian lady noticed me walking away from one of the outside toilets. She hurried into her house and returned with a small pitcher of water. Even though it was probably the last of her water supply, she offered it to me to wash my hands. My heart was overwhelmed as I realized what a sacrifice this Haitian was making for me. Though it was simply a convenience for me to wash my hands, it was a selfless sacrifice of this woman to give so much.

What in my life can I selflessly sacrifice for another person’s comfort?

God has blessed me with so much; yet, I give so little.

I had the privilege of visiting two of our partners while in Haiti.

I’m thankful and touched by the selfless sacrifice of Deaf Child Hope sponsors who support deaf children around the world. Through these sponsorships, our partners can provide clean water to our sponsored children. Thank you!

But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

John 4:14

Tammie Showalter is a Deaf Child Hope volunteer staff member who led a DCH trip to serve the deaf children at our partners in Haiti. Here are some photos from this trip.