On Wednesday night, Indy came inside and told me "I can see the bottom of the tanks." I wanted to cry, I wanted to throw my hands up in the air. I was frustrated, tired of rationing what we did have and worrying about every time someone flushed the toilet (yes, we went there, I would make them all go at one time and then just flush once to try and conserve.) We called a friend who knew some people in the water truck business to see about ordering a truck full of water. I sent out an email to a few close prayer warrior friends and I finally let it all out...I cried, I vented, and I prayed! I hadn't felt like this in months, for the most part, things have been going well. Well, it's either that, or I'm just more used to all the "ups and downs" and "off and ons" that are normal to life here in Africa!
Later that night, Indy was out with our gardener and he came inside and said, "You're not going to believe this, there is a trickle coming into the tanks. It's not full by any stretch; but, if we're careful, it might just give us a few more days." Oh my goodness, THANK YOU LORD! What an answer to prayer. I felt embarrassed that I had lost my temper, that I had so instantly felt forlorn and overcome. I know water is basic to life; but, as Indy put it, we did have a fix, we could have ordered a truck of water. Why was I so upset, why wasn't I just turning to the Lord and praying? I felt my weakness in this situation, and I was reminded of His strength. Remember the story of Paul's "thorn" in 2 Corinthians 12 (specifically verses 9 and 10.) Again, I am reminded that His grace is sufficient for me and that in my weakness, I am strong!
This week, in my Bible reading with the Journey Girls, we were reading the book of Joshua. What stood out to me this time through...the tricking of Joshua and the Israelites by the Gibeonites. They had put on their worn out clothes, old wine skins, and made themselves dirty to appear as if they had come from afar. They made a treaty with Joshua instantly because they "appeared" to be telling the truth. Joshua made the agreement without any prayer or intercession to the Lord. I'm sure that if he had stopped and taken a moment, that the Lord would have laid on his heart that they were being duped. Another reminder that things aren't always what they appear. I am still working on my self-control and not instantly jumping to the place of frustration and anger at my circumstances. I am so grateful, that yet again, in His grace, there is forgiveness and the working of a miracle...we got some water.
So, are you ready for the happy ending? On Friday, after my calling the water company (Dawasco) about 20 times over the course of the week and being told they would be right over, Indy came home from work a bit early and took our gardener with him (he can speak Swahili much better than we can :)) up to the Tegeta office. We had tried to go to the Kawe office before and were told that they couldn't help us, that we weren't in their area. The advice we had been given from friends was to wait and bring a fundi back to the house with us. A fundi is a worker that has skills in plumbing, electrical work, etc.and is pronounced fun-di with a oo sound, it's not "fun"...remember a fundi isn't fun (thanks Amy for that quote)! Not only did Indy bring back a fundi; but, also the lead engineer. They had it fixed in 10 minutes. A few weeks back the line up the street had broken and a bunch of sediment got in the line and had drifted down the hill and clogged our meter so that no water could get through. He had to take out the meter and clean it up and then the water gushed in. We'll have to keep an eye on it; but, I feel such a relief, such a lifting off of my shoulders. Thank you to all of you that prayed for us. It's always an adventure here!
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