Water

I went up to Bethel Woods last night to see John Hiatt in concert with friends.  Matthew treated us to the concert, and Jeffrey made a to-die-for tailgate dinner which consisted of the best mushroom soup I've ever tasted, salad, empanadas, and sour cherry tarts.  And wine, of course.  With friends like these . . . I am a very lucky and grateful woman.

John Hiatt was great!  Not only is he an accomplished songwriter, he's an amazing guitar player.  And his unique voice has incredible range.  He had a captive and appreciative audience from the start.

I kept quiet throughout the performance, but when he reappeared for an encore, I couldn't hold back.  I needed to hear my favorite John Hiatt song.  Thank God the Tiki Bar Is Open! I yelled out.  "Oh, it's always open," he dead-panned.  And then, yes, he played it for me!

So why is this post titled Water?

As Hiatt has been touring, he has been championing a humanitarian nonprofit organization called World Vision.  In their own words: World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

Specifically, on the Hiatt tour, World Vision is seeking to provide water to children and families in Zambia.  Concert-goers' donations have built more than a couple of wells in Zambia at a cost of $15,000 per well.  (A well provides water for an entire community.)  The import of this can not be understated.  I will share with you a few of World Vision's statistics:

~ Today, 1 in 9 people in the world (748 million) do not have access to safe water.

~ Every day, 1,400 children under age 5 die from diarrhea linked to lack of safe water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene -- that's about one child every minute.

~ Children in sub-Saharan Africa spend 4 million hours collecting water each day, with the average trip taking around 30 minutes and often needing to be completed more than once.

So, yes, I am in love with the water from my well, a "luxury" I often take for granted.  I assume you love your water, too.  If you are interested in helping other people fall in love with water, visit www.worldvisionwater.org.