The guy with the cold water - by Brittany Cetti

It was hot. Every day we sat in our sweat as our team preached the gospel in western Thailand. Every day we sang and danced with kids, shared the gospel with their parents, and swatted away gigantic bugs.

Thankfully it was night as we headed out to a neighboring village where we’d do the same thing we had been doing for over a month now. Like always, we were all hot, tired, and surrounded by kids. 

While one of our team members spoke, a friend and I sat on the tailgate of the truck containing our music equipment. Our legs and feet were hanging over the side. It was nice to be away from the heat of the lights that drew an oppressive swarm of bugs. As we sat there we saw someone coming towards us from a nearby building. He looked old, he had weathered skin and heavy, tired eyes. 

Culturally in Thailand, the head is considered the most sacred part of the body, and the feet the lowest. When you walk through a room of people sitting on the floor, you have to crouch so you don’t appear to be “above them.” The most offensive thing you could do to a Thai person is to show them the bottom of your foot.  Knowing this made what happened next so interesting...

As the man approached, we could see he was carrying a container of water and two plastic cups. We noticed that there was condensation on the outside of the container. That could only mean one thing: -- really cold water. As he got closer, he took off his slipper-like shoes, and knelt before us. We became VERY aware of the fact that our feet were dangling over his head. What was this man doing? 

He opened the container of ice-cold water and poured it into the cups he had brought. My friend and I looked at each other. Without saying a word, we knew what each of us were thinking: We can’t take water from a stranger... what if it’s not purified... we’ll get sick... but we can’t NOT accept it from him... it’d be worse than getting sick. With some hesitation we took our cups said a prayer, and took a drink. 

It was the tastiest water ever. 

The man stayed, crouching now like all Thai people “sit.” He turned his attention to the gospel that was being shared. We started to pray... and he accepted Christ.

To this day I don’t know why he did what he did. Maybe it was God inspired. Maybe he was just being hospitable. But, I do know I’ll never forget that little old man with the cold water.