Power

I had forgotten some of the facts of African life but have been rather dramatically reminded of one in particular: power cuts are a regular part of life here in Burundi. Both where I am staying and where I am working, have generators. However, finding and paying for fuel is a completely different set of problems. As a result, we have had continuous power failure for the last week or so. An addition to the fun is that power cuts mean water supply failure as well. We were without water for about four days. The staff here were very good, hauling buckets of water to my room twice a day so that I could wash and flush the toilet.

This week the problems have started again. A long power cut during the evening and night have left us once more without water. I guess we have to wait for the tanks to refill so it’s back to hauling buckets. And no, you can’t have a selfie of me taking a bucket shower!

Electricity and water supply issues are a part of life pretty much everywhere in Africa. It is, however, hugely frustrating for everyone. Without a regular, reliable power supply, so much of what we take for granted becomes more difficult or even impossible.

Part of the Church’s work here is to help empower people to find their own solutions to such challenges. Our praise and worship can be shallow and meaningless without a deep commitment to embodying the values of God’s Kingdom, namely facilitating the living of life in all its fullness for everyone. God was in Christ Jesus. The Word came and pitched his tent amongst us. Without a commitment to abundant life in the real world in which people struggle with the most basic of tasks, the same world into which God chose to come as a fully human person, I am not sure that we have anything to proclaim which resembles “Good News”.