Here are a couple tidbits about water.
First: we can’t drink the water. It contains high amounts of lead and they don’t have a very dependable water treatment system. (They also pour it into the river here, so we’ve been advised not to swim in the river. Good thing I wasn’t planning on jumping into the big river in the middle of the city…) Some missionaries here boil it then filter it, other brave souls just filter it, one I’ve heard uses some sort of chemical treatment, and the rest of us just buy bottled water. The locals regularly go to wells scattered throughout the city and pump up water to drink. We do not do that because the wells are not very deep and who knows what it leaking into them. Plus the pumps look as old as Moses and are rather scary. Thankfully the bottled water is inexpensive and easy to get. We do use the tap water for washing our dishes and brushing our teeth. Apparently it’s just bad in large doses and guaranteed to cause some upsets if you drink a lot of it.
Second, an anecdote: When we were at the market the other day, Neva and I were splattered by a Russian Orthodox priest who was walking through the market “blessing” people with holy water and then sticking his collection box in their faces. We didn’t really appreciate our sprinkling as it was freezing outside.
Third, the air is full of water: Today is a very foggy day. It is the complete opposite of the sunshiney day yesterday.
Please pray for our health this week. I’m starting to get sick, I believe, which is not surprising since everywhere we go people are hacking and sneezing.
We’re praying for you all and we love you.
