In the last 4 or 5 months, the power lines in our area have been cut 4 times. And when the power lines are cut, we are without electricity until the company can come out and repair the lines. The first two times weren't a huge deal, the company came out within the first few days put up new poles and cable and our power was restored. In fact the 2nd time, the poles were on our property so Mark and 20 other men helped put them back up. The 3rd time was 3 weeks ago. About a week ago, after the power had still not been restored, they informed us that they didn't have enough cable and didn't know when they would. A couple of days ago, we got word that MORE poles were cut and cables stolen. We have been told that our district has a real problem with power pole vandalism. So literally, we live in a dark place.
As it has been 3 weeks since we had no power, we have learned some coping skills. We do have a generator so it is turned on at 2-3 hour intervals during the day; so we have electricity for 8 hours in a 24 hour period. The power goes off at 10 pm for the night, so we have learned to get everything done by then. We have flashlights by our beds and candles posted all around the house. The refrigerator doesn't stay cold enough but the freezer is still staying strong, so I put a bottle of water in the freezer during the day and put in the refrigerator to help keep things cool during the long night of no power. We are learning to cope but we also hope and pray for power and light soon!
It is also a very dark place figuratively, We get word often of curses, witchcraft and demons. We deal on a regular basis with cases of child abuse, neglect, abandonment and incest. We get overwhelmed at times by the news that comes in from the villages surrounding us. Overwhelmed with a desire to make things right, overwhelmed with "I wish it wasn't this way", overwhelmed with hopelessness. We figuratively live in a very dark place.
So do we learn to just cope in this dark place? Learn to become apathetic to the tragedy all around us and do nothing? Oh it is so tempting! But just like having flashlights and candles around, we need to have the Word of God--the truth planted firmly in our hearts. I am grateful I have the Word of God and His Spirit to guide and comfort me in the darkness. However, I must also share that light with others.
We ask you to pray for us in this dark place. Pray for wisdom in loving those in darkness and sharing His light to them. Pray as we teach others to share their light as well. We ask specific prayer for the local pastors and church leaders that they will know the truth and share it with others. Mark has the opportunity to train local pastors how to truly study their Bible and to disciple others in the Word of God. We ask that you pray for that training.
Overall, we ask for prayer for the light to shine brightly here in our district both literally and figuratively.
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