My dear friend has invited me to speak at a women's meeting she was holding in Honduras. The night before I was to leave, I decided a warm bath would help me sleep. I turned on the hot water handle on the tub (浴缸) and waited. I complained, "Let me have some warm water!"" took forever for the hot water to work its way through the pipes to the back of the house. Needless to say, the bath wasn't relaxing.
The next afternoon, I arrived in Honduras. After the meeting, my friend took me to meet some of her family members. They lived in a stick-and-mud house and slept on dirt floors. The women cooked outside on the stove. Still, even in these terrible conditions, everyone I met had a smile on his or her face. They were so generous and almost always suggested we stay for coffee.
On our way to one home we passed a pond which was black and dirty. One woman pushed the cover back with a stick while the other put the water into a bucket. I prayed (折持)," Please don't let them offer coffee."
After we were invited in, a little girl ran inside. She held a mango in each hand. The one in her left hand was half eaten. This little beauty held out her right hand and offered me the other mango, which I gladly accepted. Her eyes danced. I remember thinking, "She has no idea that she is poor."
When it was time to leave, we walked outside and I noticed a muddy stream that ran beside their home. My friend said, "That is where they bathe. It is also where the animals drink and they push out waste."
The evening I returned home I went into my perfect bathroom and twisted the hot water handle. While bathing, I thought of this simple pleasure. Clean water wasn't my right; it was luck.
