Today was beyond words. From sunrise to sunset, it was pure WOW. Celebrating birth. Honoring death. Connecting with friends. Being a catalyst for clean water. Basking in LOVE all day through. A perfect kind of day.
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I wrote this simple note yesterday, then woke up in the middle of the night…thirsty. I had been dreaming about water. I got up, drank a glass of water, and went back to bed.

But I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about all the ways I take this simple convenience for granted.

In the course of that single, almost-perfect, day … I drank my morning glass of clean, safe water. I brushed my teeth, took a shower, shared tea with a friend, leaving my glass of clean water unfinished on the table. I got my car washed, took a walk by the river. More water. I had dinner with friends, 4 glasses of crystal clear water sitting between us on the table.

What made this day slightly less-than-perfect is that I wasn’t fully aware of those simple, almost invisible blessings I was receiving at the time I was receiving them.

But I’m hyper-aware at the moment. I even got up in the middle of the night to write this because I didn’t want to forget.

Nepal Monsoon

Many of us take clean water for granted. In developing countries, it’s still a tremendous challenge to provide water that is safe for human consumption. 2.1 billion people lack access to clean water. That’s almost one-third of the world’s population.

The Waterbearers are trying to change that.

Traveling to remote regions of our world to deliver portable filters, they train and empower whole communities to create sustainable clean-water solutions. With a simple, portable water filter, 99.9% of the harmful bacteria is filtered from the water to make it safe enough to drink. These filters cost just $50 and provide 100 people clean water for up to 10 years.

This is a powerful solution that not only saves lives, but restores dignity and supports economic stability.

Learning about clean water

My friend, Kathy Steele, traveled with The Waterbearers to Nepal, delivering filters to a number of villages and schools across the mountains of this majestic country. Her travel team drove more than 30 hours across Nepal to reach remote communities, providing 330 filters, training, and support.

In Pokhara, they met the founder of New Hope Charitable Children’s Home and learned of 3 children who had recently lost their 32-year-old mother to Hepatitis caused by drinking contaminated water—a death that could have been prevented with access to clean water. If the filters had been delivered several months earlier, those 3 children might still have their mama.

When I think how easy it is to spend $50 (or more) in a single day, often on things I don’t really need, I ask myself how easy it would be to change that if I knew that $50 would save the life of a mother or a child.

Most of you reading this are fortunate to have convenient access to clean, safe water. I ask you to consider what it might be like to live without some of those daily conveniences you so often take for granted.

I’m not asking you to give up anything. I only ask that you be aware of what you keep.
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Keep your blessings, and be grateful you are blessed.
Keep your clean water, and be grateful when you drink it.
Keep your convenience, and be grateful that you have it.
Keep your dignity, and pray for the people who do not.
Keep your perfect days, and be grateful.

And after you become acutely aware of all that you are keeping … do one thing that might save someone’s life.

Give access to clean, safe water to someone who doesn’t have it.

Make someone’s day more perfect. Take one action, today, that might save a life. Just one.
You might be surprised how even more blessed you will feel when you do.

PLEASE GIVE TODAY

100% of all donations go to purchasing filters. The Waterbearers take travel teams, at their own expense, to deliver filters and provide training to support the communities we serve. Donations are tax-deductible.

#LiveSimply. #SimplyGive #BEtheLOVE

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