After working on my first water project in a Chinese village, I have a new appreciation for what my hands can do: Serve. By digging trenches and laying water pipes, my hands (and YOURS because of your support) have helped bring fresh water to this village. Our hands served the villagers and helped to improve their lives. Not only that, but our hands have shown them His love through our service.
The Chinese village we worked in is incredibly remote, near the Myanmar/Burmese border. We flew from Kunming to a city in Southwest Yunnan Province. From there, we had a five-hour bus ride into the mountains to reach the village. It was surreal to be in such a remote part of the world. For the most part, the villagers are isolated from the outside. They are in the middle of the mountains with the nearest town a thirty-minute drive away (a distance which they must walk because they do not have automobiles). The main issue facing the villagers is their lack of fresh water. Hence, our being there and CWEF’s efforts to implement a fresh water system (consisting of a water filter, cistern, and piping that transfers water down to the village).
Our water project is multifaceted. First, we worked to implement a sustainable water system that will transfer fresh, running water to the village. We spent our time digging two-foot deep trenches in which to bury the water pipes. All thirty group members were given a hoe and started digging a continuous trench down part of the mountain to the village. It was grueling, tiresome, exhausting, and awesome! Every ounce of energy was necessary to gain enough leverage for the hoe to break through the clay and dig the dirt out. My goodness it was hardwork, but there is something so satisfying about physical labor – especially when it is helping someone else. Every time I was exhausted, I would look down the mountain to see the villagers farming on their terraces, harvesting their crops by hand. Or, I would see a woman walking down the mountain with a basket full of chopped wood on her head, and I would think to myself, “These people work a million times harder than I could ever dream, suck it up.”
We also strive to show a servant’s heart. We wanted to show the villagers what it means to serve, and ultimately, why we serve. And we did! They looked truly astonished when we arrived. The concept of helping your neighbor is not a part of Chinese culture. They couldn’t understand why we would want to help them. The village leader just kept
saying (through a translator), “Thank you so much! You have no idea what this means for us. We will support you in every way!” The hospitality of everyone in the village was incredible. For instance, the women kept serving us more and more rice at every meal. As soon as it looked like a bowl was empty, they would rush over and add more rice. (The villagers cooked all of the meals the three days we were there. The food was marginal. There were a few quirks, like seeing the hairs on the chunks of pig skin in my soup, and seeing the chickens being butchered before lunch). The children were the only ones who did not welcome us, haha! They were terrified of us and would always run behind their mothers when we were near. To overcome this barrier, I offered the kiddos Oreos (not the healthiest option, but a great treat and peace offering). The kids were so adorable as they would grab the cookie with a puzzled look, slowly lick it, and take a huge bite. Afterwards, they looked like a child on their first birthday with icing and crumbs all over their faces. Precious! (Picture: My favorite little boy holding an Oreo cookie)
Life in the village was like an extreme form of camping. We slept on a concrete floor; we ate the food cooked by the villagers, and we lived without showers and toilets for three days. I don’t consider myself the camping type – but I’m slowly learning. (In fact, my camping experience consists of Lisa, Kelly, Devie and I camping in our backyard this summer… and we didn’t even sleep outside all night because it started to sprinkle – pathetic, I know! I am so inexperienced/ignorant when it comes to camping that I forgot to bring several important items, including: a flashlight, a pillow, and a hat. Anna’s response to me is always the same, “Next time you’ll be smarter.” It’s so true – I will definitely be smarter next time… I do NOT want to sleep without a pillow again anytime soon, haha). Anyways, while in the village, we would dig all morning, break for lunch, and then dig again until dinner. Life was so simple, such a break from our fast-paced lives.
Living and observing the people in the village brought to light how incredibly different, yet simplistically similar we are. Outwardly, the villagers and I have little in common – different ethnicity, different language, different culture, different lifestyle, different education, different opportunities, and countless more examples. To see how different we are, just look at our hands. Their leathery, calloused hands have seen years of hard work, physical labor, and tough times. While my soft hands, with my red painted fingernails and my matching Heins family ring, has only seen a life of luxury and privilege. The differences between us are so blatantly obvious.
However many differences we have though, coming with a heart to serve causes the focus to shift from our differences to our many similarities. We all need fresh water. We all feel the same emotions: love, joy, gratitude, compassion, heartache, thankfulness, etc. We all know that a kind act is not soon forgotten. And we all know that a warm smile speaks volumes. The most similar quality between us though is how desperately we all need Him. Paul writes, “All have sin-ed and fall short of the glory of G--.” We all need to know of His sacrifice and the grace He offers to ALL people. When focusing on this common thread, our service holds eternal significance.
In analyzing peoples’ hands, His hands are the most beautiful of all! His nail-pierced hands represent all that He has done for us. He says to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands.” When thinking of His hands, how can we not use our hands to serve others? Thank you for supporting me and helping to show others what His hands have done.
The view from the village
