“There is a prevailing theory that we need to know much more than we do in order to feed ourselves well. It isn’t true.
Most of us already have water, a pot to put it in, and a way to light a fire.
This gives us boiling water, in which we can do more good cooking than we know.”
-Tamar Adler, An Everlasting Meal
These words from Tamar Adler’s book crept into my heart last year. She perfectly describes the humility of boiling a pot of water to prepare a meal… any meal, from plain boiled potatoes to creamy lobster pasta. Just boil water. Start there. The result will be divine, no matter what.
I’ve carried that sentiment around for the past year, sometimes (more often than not) setting aside the beautiful simplicity of boiling water for things like Chocolate Orange and Pistachio Cinnamon Rolls.
I suppose it took some time for Tamar’s words to settle into my system, but I’m thankful they did. Today I learned what it really means to boil water from a little girl named Kevin, and her sister Christine.
Kevin is a serious little girl. She makes you work hard for the telltale signs of childish joy that I’m used to seeing in nine year olds. Her heart is heavy. Her mother is mentally ill and frequently abandons her. Stability hasn’t been a constant for her and that burden sometimes trumps her the joy inside. It’s there though… oh, it’s in there.
Kevin’s sister Christine is one of my favorite kinds of people: she’s quick to laugh and has the most beautiful smile. She’s a natural caretaker. You can see it in the way she glides from hut to hut sweeping up, washing up, cooking up, and adoring her husband, son, and sister. She’s effortless, easy, and has a graceful heart full of kindness.
I remember visiting Tracy‘s house last November for Thanksgiving. Tracy is the spot of welcome and calm when festivities pulse around her. I found that same peace a continent away in Christine. That grace is universal.
How much grace do you need to boil water? Well…. a lot. It’s a journey that starts with an empty castor oil jug, a long walk, a mud stove, and ends in a cup of tea and cookies. It’s more than a hike for hot water and cookies, it’s about a beautiful and loving life.
I have to tell you about this.
Boiling water starts here. It starts here by first going away from here; a 2 kilometer walk to the nearest fresh water spring.
After a good haul from home we reach the fresh spring. It’s been built up to support the community that surrounds it. This is the dry season, but the locals say that the rainy season, this is a rushing water source.
Kevin goes in, like she does every morning, to fill the jug.
The road back home is filled with edibles!
Castor beans are pressed for cooking oil. The last of the corn harvest is dried in the sun. Papayas are piling up! Sorghum grain!
Can I just tell you what this day feels like? It’s warm enough outside to feel the sun tempting my skin with a sunburn. The grass is just losing its morning fresh feel and starting to warm for the day. The breeze, especially in the shade of Christine’s thatched roof house, is worth living for. And in that… Christine washes the dishes with all the water brought back from the spring.
Christine’s kitchen is the mud hut behind her. Inside, light shines down from the edges of the thatched roof, empty water jugs line one corner, fire wood branches lean against another corner, a small wood-fire burner built into a third corner heats the entire room, and even though the floors are made of mud… it’s impeccably clean.
Kitchens are always my favorite room in a house. I could sit in Christine’s doorway, hiding from the sun but heated by the stove at my back all day.
This metal bowl looks like it has met with a few bumps, stones, and flames along the way. The rim is dinged and the sides charred black.
And just like that, care is forged.
Breakfast, lunch, and supper emerge bubbling and warm from this mud stove. Every day a new fire. Every day a new bowl of boiling water.
It’s simple, earnest, and exactly what it should be.
I love the happy anticipation that a plate of cookies and clean empty mugs brings.
Water for hands, naturally and of course.
‘It’s not time for cookies until I get back and pour the tea, so don’t even think about it,’ said every mom ever.
A spoonful of sugar to go around,
and warm mugs of sweet black tea for everyone.
It’s a simple snack that at its heart is about comfort and gathering. A moment in the day to sit, be, and enjoy a little sweet.
So what does it mean to boil water? Just everything. It’s nourishment in the beans Christine simmers for dinner. It’s comfort in the tea she serves every morning for breakfast. It’s community when her cousins and mother-in-law come from across the way for a visit. It’s an afternoon snack tradition. It’s cleanliness. It’s supper. It really is everything!
Kevin is one of 281 children nurtured by Compassion here in Lira, Uganda. She’s slowly emerging from under life’s burdens through the care, education, access to health care, good food, and prayer she receives at school. Because of special gifts from Kevin’s sponsor, the family was also able to purchase a goat. The goats provide milk (and other goats) to the family. Nourishment they can take in. Milk and baby goats they can sell to market. Care for the entire family. Not only does Compassion nurture Kevin through education and spiritual growth, Compassion also nurtures the people that care for Kevin. Real, tangible support. It works. It’s really cool.
If something as simple as boiling water can mean so much, just imagine what kind of impact our combined care support will have on families around the world.
More from Uganda from Chatting at the Sky, The Nester, Jeff Goins, and Shaun Groves.
Compassion provided me a link to share with you. I am in no way compensated for your sponsorship or donation. I love you and I’m glad you’re here with me on this journey.
Briana
Joy, thank you for sharing your experiences – both in Uganda and back in the States. You are truly an inspiration and I love reading your words. Your posts have filled me with gratitude for my many blessings and filled me with the hope of better things to come. Sometimes I struggle with the inequality in the world and why I have been so blessed. You have reminded me we are all in this together – and more alike than we probably think at first. And I thank you for helping me connect with a shining little girl named Mongo. Hopefully, I can share with her some of the love and grace you have shared with us all.
Liz
Love it Joy. Your posts from your travels have been absolutely beautiful.
joythebaker
thank you so much. that really means a lot.
Kathryn
No. Boiling water isn’t about “a beautiful and loving life.” In this case, it’s about the lack of access to safe and secure drinking water, which pulls children (most frequently girls) out of school, contributes to illness, and sucks too much productive time out of everyone’s day. Two kilometers to a spring? That’s more than 2 miles round trip. These people do this every. single. day. Several times a day. For you to romanticize this daily strife into a story of tea and cookies is absurd and degrading.
joythebaker
you know what’s cool? i have more to tell you about Kevin. Kevin walks for water once a day, every morning before she goes to school. she walks down a path past neighbors that are her family as her sister’s husband’s family owns the land surrounding Kevin’s home. everyone looks out for each other. when she gets to be a few years older and starts to develop, Kevin will no longer make the trek for water, for safety reasons. of course it’s not perfect. of course there is need. that’s why i’m here! the tragedy of girls missing school to walk for water several times a day happens in many places around the world. my heart breaks for those girls. thankfully this is not that specific situation.
Margarita
beautiful post joy! i love the pictures, it made me feel like i was walking with kevin to go get water and right there in christine’s kitchen boiling the water.
Tracey Crosby
I pray sleep comes easily and words flow like water the final days of your trip!
Donalyn@The Creekside Cook
Beautiful, Joy – we have supported a succession of children through a different organization, and it is always gratifying to hear how that support changes lives. I do envy you your chance to see it all in action. Praying safety for your trip!
coralcrue
beautiful smiles I can imagine. beautiful children of God.
Hata Trbonja
Such a simple task that has so much meaning. I will never think of boiling water the same way again. Thank you Joy.
carpe season (@carpeseason)
This post makes me happy in the most nostalgic of ways. I spent a year or so teaching in South Sudan – not so far from Lira, in relative mappy terms. The cooking kitchen – called a tukul over the border at least – is so achingly familiar…as are the dishes, the fires, the goats, the castor oil jugs. So thankful for these words, images, and emotions that you are sharing this week. And the news of Compassion’s work that you are spreading is nothing but good.
Kim
My husband and I have sponsored a compassion child in Bolivia for 3 years. Sometimes I wonder if it really makes a difference in his life but after reading your post, I believe it does! Thank you for making the trip and letting us know what a difference Compassion International really does make.
Courtney @ Neighborfood
Joy, thank you for telling these stories. And for telling them so well. I can almost feel the Ugandan sun and see the children’s smiles when you describe it. It makes my heart burst and ache at the same time.
m e l
seriously love this and the memories it brings back for me. the images of women and children hauling those yellow jerry cans of water up and down the roads of uganda are engraved in my mind forever. the cookies reminded me of the day we made g-nut butter cookies and took them to the kids at an orphanage. they had never had a cookie before. oh the little things.
Taylor
I love this! So gorgeous and inspiring! In fact, it was so inspiring, that I’ve already signed up to sponsor a child in Uganda. It feels great to help, even if it’s in a little way.
Thank you,
xoxo
Taylor
http://www.welcomehometaylor.com
Lauren Michelle Major
What a beautiful post! I love the pictures that accompany it.
http://howtomakehome.blogspot.com
roseluzon
hey joy! i’ve been reading your blog about a year and love it! i love your photo’s and recipes and i think you’re super funny and a great writer which keeps me coming back often! anyway, i spent the last year living in Uganda working for Sseko Designs which you should totally check out if you have any time left in Kampala. i just left Uganda on Saturday night to move back to America and thought it was SO crazy that you were just going there! i hope you have such a great time in uganda, i’m missing it already!
Shana
I’m sorry Joy I really love you and your blog – but this whole project leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I understand providing people with aid but don’t know why spreading Christianity needs to go along with it.
Sara
This brought back so many memories of my time in the Peace Corps just on the other side of the border in Kenya. Sharing a cup of tea with my neighbors was a daily activity. After a while it became an essential part of my day. Thank you for sharing your experience and I’m grateful for the reminder of all the lessons I learned in East Africa.
Sarah P.
This is a beautiful post, Joy. I am going to buy An Everlasting Meal because that quote at the beginning is wonderful. It sounds like an excellent read. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us!
Mindy
Joy, thank you for sharing your time in Uganda with us! My family currently sponsors children through Compassion and it is so, so cool to be able to see them in action through your photos and blog. We see their work through communication with our children and newsletters, but to see it “on the ground” is a very awesome perspective!
kimiko
I think these are my favourite posts to read of yours. I hate to read any sort of negative comment when this visit and this charity is rooted in kindness and love. A beautiful post Joy!
Becky Kozak
What an incredible post. As a chef, boiling water is the most simple task. I put a boiler on in the morning and it is constantly replenished throughout the day. To think of a life without immediate water seems like it would be a struggle, but this post really opened my eyes to the true joys of putting in effort to reap the rewards. In our modern society we do so many things because it is merely convenient, but never think about the effort that has been put into our perfectly packaged identical foods.
This has really been an eye opener and I truly appreciate you taking the time to write this post.
xx Becky
bakerkat
Thanks for sharing this beautifully written wonderful post.
It was very special
erin
Thank you for the perspective, and the beautiful words!
Ellen
This trip you are taking is fascinating, and a good reminder of just how much there is in life we take for granted. I’m glad you are sharing the journey you are taking, both literally and figuratively:)
Alyssa
Hi Joy,
Your post brought me to tears and inspired me to write something on my blog, would you mind if I shared an image of Kevin on my post with a link back to credit you?
isabel seabra
We read it and we are filled with love and hope in the human race. Thank you.
Kristen
this is a beautiful post!
Maria Popish
LOVE Compassion International!
We’ve been sponsoring a child for about 4 years now.
It’s a small, but wonderful way to give.
Thank you for the boiling water photos! Hits the heart, that’s for sure!
Aeshna
An incredible read, Joy – you are such an insightful writer. Jhumpa would be proud :)
Zainab
A very beautiful post Joy! You really gave us a glimpse into this family’s life. Boiling water like that used to be a daily routine for my family too. The difference it makes :)
Kaitlin
Beautiful. I have tears in my eyes. So inspiring. Thank you!
Lizy Tish
Another wonderful and thought provoking post. What an amazing trip!
Jessica
Thank you not only for taking me on this journey with you, but for introducing me to Chatting at the Sky, The Nester, Jeff Goins, and Shaun Groves. They seem like the perfect traveling companions and are now new guests in my mail box. Enjoy all your wonderful experiences together. We are wth you in spirit.
Shannon K
Thank you for the updates. We have a child southwest of Lira, so your posts mean so much to us in learning about her life in Uganda. There’s only so much that can be conveyed in the short letters we receive a few times each year. Each letter is a treasure, but your info adds so much more background. Thank you for sharing your experience so eloquently. :)
Tamara
what a beautiful story! I have enjoyed reading about your trip so far. I have recently spent a few weeks in Nepal, and the water situation was the most interesting and difficult. We had to use bottled water for everything and every where we ate we had to ask how it had been washed. One night I ran my toothbrush under the faucet and paid for it dearly for the next few days. In most of the cities/villages we stayed in they had a public water source much like the one you showed. But in some places it was just a pipe coming out of the ground. I think we tend to take our water for granted and forget what all has to be done to it to make it safe for us to use. Going to another country and seeing what they have to do every day is a very humbling experience. Have a safe a great trip!
erika
Wonderful post
God bless you
Bev Brandon @A String of Pearls
How precious is t.h.i.s. Boiling water. Isaiah 49:10 You are giving them mercy. The verse says: They shall not thirst; neither shall the sun smite them; for He that has mercy on them shall lead them. And God is leading them through you. By springs of water from the depths of your soul. You are beautiful. Bev @ A String of Pearls
Bev Brandon (@BevBrandon)
How precious is t.h.i.s. Boiling water. Isaiah 49:10 You are giving them mercy. The verse says: They shall not thirst; neither shall the sun smite them; for He that has mercy on them shall lead them. And God is leading them through you. By springs of water from the depths of your soul. You are beautiful. Bev @ A String of Pearls
twistmefit
I just started a new blog about fitness, recipes, and beauty – check it out! Trying to get more readership. :-) http://twistmefit.com
Josephine
Very eloquent, Joy. I hope I never look at a pot of boiling water the same way again.
Thank you for showing up.
Aimee Wimbush-Bourque
Joy, your photos and words are beautiful. Thank you for this window into another’s life – a most personal kitchen tour. I was transported for a few minutes. Thinking of you on this journey.
Amalia
Thank you for sharing. This was a beautiful post.
Makes me want Africa again.
I will remember this story, and these people, and your post, every time I boil water.
teachersu45
Your post reminded me of what my daughter wrote when she blogged about her experience in Kenya with The Mocha Club.
http://www.themochaclub.org/2011/07/11/kenya-2011-team-blogger-heather/
caroline
such a beautiful post. thank you for taking us with you on this journey.
Kirsten
Beautiful. All of it. We just recently began sponsoring a little girl in Bolivia through Compassion. Great organization doing great things. Thank you for being their voice – the voice of the children and the voice of a worthy charity.
Lindsay
This is such a cool way to tell the story- through food and family. I work in global health and have spent time in Uganda, and I love how you’re showing your readers the depth and dignity of those you meet.
Averie @ Averie Cooks
What an amazing post and thank you for sharing this journey you’re on, Joy!
Melissa g
What a privledge to spend time with these beautiful people! Thank you so much for sharing your words and photos.
Racquel Jones
Beautiful posts you are writing, Joy! I’m really enjoying hearing about your trip. What a blessing for both you and them! Enjoy and many blessings to you all.
Emily @ Life on Food
I love these posts. You write so beautifully.
Crystal
Joy that was beautifully written. Thank you for this vision of what it is to experience life in Africa. Blessings to you, and the families, with which you are sharing your time and compassion. I am happy they have fresh water to use in their daily life. Water can be such an expensive commodity in many countries, controlled by corporations and governments, that it is heart warming to see the availability of fresh water for this family. Africa is a beautiful country, glad you are sharing.
Alysa
Thank you – for these words, these pictures, for the way you care for others in this world like your own. You inspire me Joy.
Sofia
Thanks for sharing the lovely story! My mum is from Indonesia and would always boil our drinking water even though we lived in Australia and other countries and there was no need too. It was nearly in my teens when my dad really insisted that there was no need to boil the water.
gina
I love this, and especially the quote that begins it… my husband recently asked me to teach him how to cook, and I told him his first lesson would be about boiling water. He laughed, not realizing how essential an element of life it truly is.
Thank you for this, and all that you write, see, say and do.
LIsa Miller
I felt like I was there with Kevin’s family reading your post and looking at your photos. Thank you for sharing this story and for the work you are doing.
Stephanie
Joy! What an amazing blessing and adventure. My thoughts and prayers are with you while you’re on this life changing trip. Be well! Love to you!
Laura
Joy, having just returned from a life changing trip to Senegal on the West coast of the continent, I fully understand the idea of what it means to ____________ (insert any ability we take for granted). I hope you are having a wonderful journey, it seems as though you are. And the only advice I will give you is that they say the culture shock coming home is much worse and I am living/lived tha.
Michelle ~ Blogging from the Boonies
Thank you for this glimpse in the lives of this family. I find myself pouring over all of the details, trying to imagine the similarities that may be found in the lives of our four Compassion children (and one Compassion grandchild) in Uganda. The little things make up the picture.
Praying for you all as you continue your trip!
Marcy
Thank you for such insightful thoughts about a simple, caring act.
Mary
Thank you for writing about Kevin and her family. I feel like I have a way better understanding of the work of your organization. I also appreciate that you have given me a window into what this community’s culture is like.
Stacy
Thank you, Joy. This post brought back a lot of memories of being a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa. I remember sitting outside on a mat in the shade from the intensity of the sun, even in January, enjoying tea with my host family.
Hannah
http://www.charitywater.org Joy, check out this organization.
Kelli
Such a great post! You have painted such a beautiful picture of what Compassion does with a simple analogy. Beautiful photos, writing, and encouragement for us all. Thank you for sharing!
J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats
Amazing post. There are so many organizations out there where you donate money and have no idea how its used (or misused). Its amazing to see the meaningful difference Compassion makes in the lives of the people you met in Uganda as well as seeing that life can still be tidy and beautiful with so much less stuff. Even with mud floors, a simple well-worn metal pot and mismatched mugs her morning breakfast scene is as lovely as anything I’ve seen in myriad food blogs or magazines. Excited to see more pictures/stories from your trip :)
Jenn
Joy, your words and way to describe this day are so beautiful. Thank you for writing for the rest of us back here. Praying you through your week!
Kendra A.
Joy, this is beyond beautiful. An Everlasting Meal is a book that changed my life in the weirdest way, and the chapter on boiling water was the catalyst. Seeing it fleshed out in Uganda makes me smile, grateful you’re there, sharing through the lens that only you can. I’ve been reading you since your first post, and this is my favorite by a mile. Which is really saying something. Thanks for showing up.