Challenges in Chihota

As I've mentioned before, there were quite a few challenges to overcome in the village of Chihota. We had no running water, so we had to draw up water from a well. This wouldn't have been too bad, except that the well water was greenish-brown and highly contaminated. After about 2 days, we had run out of all the clean water that our group had brought with us. We tried our best to make it work, boiling the water and bleaching some of it, but it was still quite a problem. I got terribly sick for the second time since I've been in Africa, and I'm fairly certain that it was because of the bad water. Zimbabwe has had widespread cases of Cholera recently, and the more sick I got, the more I started to wonder if that's what I had. Given our remote location, I was praying that it was something significantly less serious. Luckily, dozens of trips to the bush and 6 doses of anti-diarrheal later, and I was feeling much better (sorry for the graphic details)!

The lack of electricity meant cooking all of our food over an open fire.

Ted and Auntie Kathy did a great job cooking some of our meals. However, our menu for the weeks was very limited, and if I don't ever see another plate of soya mince and beans again, I'll be more than okay with that!

Nights were a little less than comfortable, as we slept on the concrete floor of a thatched roof hut. It got a little chilly, too, so Kudzanai and Collins (above) snuggled up together!

Staying in Chihota for just a few days was enough for me to realize how blessed I am with so many comforts that I take for granted. Can you imagine living without clean water? Turning on a tap and immediately receiving fresh water is not a luxury that most of the world enjoys. Sleeping on a nice, soft bed is not a necessity--it is a luxury. What things have you taken for granted recently? Don't forget to thank God for the blessings He's given you, and don't forget that He's blessed you so that you can bless others!