Ever been bit by a tiger? What about a bear?
Ever been bit by an ant? What about a mosquito? You see…it’s the little things that get us! While being bitten by a bear would certainly hurt (although very unlikely to happen)….that mosquito bite will itch and drive us nuts for days.
I have found myself consumed by the little things as I get ready to head back to Haiti. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed no matter where you are but Satan certainly magnifies our weaknesses in Haiti – especially when he knows we are there to serve.
When I think about my biggest “little” thing – it is definitely our lack of power in the evenings. We have a generator that provides power to the mission campus. It goes off at 10pm. We have solar batteries that work at night and will normally last a few hours after the generator goes off. Solar doesn’t give us full power but we do get to turn on a fan and a few lights.
Last fall it was so hot we spent most of our time sleeping on our roof in a tent. Imagine all 7 of us (including our 1 year old and special-needs daughter who only sleeps 5 hours a night) all together in a little tent! Imagine when it pours down rain and we have to quickly head for dryer ground at 2am. Now imagine adding two newborns to that mix!! Realize this isn’t a fun camping adventure but our reality! Sounds like a lot of fun right??
Being able to sleep through the night is priceless. It sets the tone for the next day – for the work you’ll be able to do the next day. My nerves are almost shot with two colicky babies and I have air conditioning and lights here in the states. Thinking about returning to Haiti with no power at night – sweat dripping, the kids crying from the heat, changing diapers/feedings by candlelight….it brings a tear to my eye…. I’m not going to lie.
We have been researching windmills/batteries and have found systems that will support us with fans/lights for around $2500.
We realize we were called to Haiti – – with or without. In all that we do – the sacrifices we make – we do it to bring Glory to Him. We constantly have to refocus our minds to why we are there and not get caught up in those little things. But if you ever wanted to cross one of those big “little” things off our list… this would certainly qualify!
If you know anyone who has connections to someone who sales this kind of stuff who might be willing to donate it – OR – if you’d like to help provide our family with lights at night….we’d FOREVER be grateful!
One response to “It’s The Little Things….”
Jody, Last October I think it was, we had the night shift in recovery. I had always wondered why the solar batteries lasted for such a short time. So, I walked all over the campus around 1 or 2 am listening for motors. The large high rpm commercial fans on pedestals were (easily) heard in a number of places where a simple box fan would do. There were three that I heard. Right there went probably 2 – 3 more hours of power. Usage management is part of the shortage of power with the existing system. I would suggest that whatever system you get for your place, that it is only for your place and you could manage your power with small spot fans and low wattage lights. With the monster 150 kw generator running half the day, there is your “wind” to charge a set of big batteries. So you may not need a windmill, just charge your batteries from this very reliable power source. Bro. Dave