Electricity, Water and other things we take for granted

We have had the privilege this week to grow in our appreciation of many amenities we take for granted back home. On Monday morning of last week, we learned that the water pump for the seminary had “burned up.” They were hopeful to have it fixed by Tuesday, but we were a bit skeptical. We began conserving water as best we could. Much of our clothing was washed by hand, or our laundress carried in water from our rain barrel and poured it into the washing machine. We used the rain water as much as possible, and were fortunate to make it until Thursday without running out of water in our water tank. On Thursday, the seminary was able to transfer to the village of Ndu’s water pump.

Our adventures had only just begun. The electricity went out on Friday late in the morning. This is really not at all uncommon. We certainly expected that it would come back on late in the evening, as it often does. Saturday morning there was still no electricity. I began moving a few things from the refrigerator to the freezer. While we were eating dinner on Saturday night, the lights suddenly came on. The table erupted into applause and many grateful cheers from excited little boys. About forty minutes later, we relit the candles. The electricity did come back that night after the kids were in bed, but it only lasted a few hours. Sunday evening, we ate dinner with hopes again that the electricity would come back and be welcomed again with cheers. Once again, it returned after the boys were in bed. Again, we had electricity for just a few hours…enough to keep the meat in the freezer frozen.

I’m writing this on Monday afternoon. Still no electricity. The internet doesn’t work without the electricity, so by the time you read this, we will be up and running again, at least for a short time. I learned this morning that though we had a few hours of electricity over the past few days, the village water pump would not have been turned on because the low voltage and inconsistent electricity is what causes the pumps to burn out. I guess our water tank was not refilling when I had hoped it was. Josiah just informed me that as he was washing his hands, the water came out in a rusty sputter.

We still have some water in the rain barrel. I noticed the bucket in the bathroom that we were dumping in to flush the toilet had 5 little amoebas? swimming around in it. I have memories of examining similar looking little critters under microscopes while I was in high school. Now I am certain that I have to have confidence that the water filter that we use for drinking water is doing its job well.

We have been here three weeks and I believe have already experienced many of the trials that come with living in Ndu. I have heard that sometimes the water is out for weeks at a time. We certainly haven’t enjoyed that experience yet; however, I think we will soon be hiring someone to refill our water tank with water from the water hole. (The posted picture is of the waterhole.)

I am finishing this posting when it is now Monday evening and the kids are in bed. We do have electricity now, but are still not receiving water. The electricity returned this afternoon and went out again as we sat down for dinner. Candlelight dinners are no longer reserved for special occasions, but seem instead to occur nightly.

I am thankful for some wonderful times as a family huddling on the sofa with a fire in the fireplace while telling stories, talking about our time here in Cameroon and who we interacted with during the day or what we appreciated or are thankful for, or listening while Daddy reads from our current family book, Duncan’s War. There is little more you can do when it is dark, but what God has given us in these moments is much more than we might have done without them.