WHEN ELECTRICITY GOES OFF

 WHEN ELECTRICITY GOES OFF

                                                                               by Fred M. Allen

The government vehicle came through the town of Mongu, where we lived, announcing on a loud speaker that, tomorrow, on Sunday, the electricity will be turned off for repairs, so we should plan accordingly. We took note of the message, and Joy immediately began preparing food for our use on that day. She cooked a large pizza and put it in our refrigerator until it was to be eaten the next day.

After church we came home for lunch and were prepared for cold pizza. However, when parking the vehicle, I had a brilliant idea. I called Joy and asked that she bring me the pizza. She wondered what was going on in my crazy head at that time. I cranked the vehicle, raised the hood and laid the pizza on the engine and stood for several minutes hoping that my bright idea was working; then I removed the hot pan from the engine and took it inside and said to Joy, “Let’s have some hot pizza!” She smiled and prepared the table for a delicious meal.

On numerous occasions the electricity was either turned off for repairs or other things happened which cut off the electricity for a time – sometimes for days. One Christmas we left Mongu to take a short vacation during the holidays. When we returned we learned that elephants had pushed down the utility pole as the electric lines ran from the hydroelectric plant on the Zambezi River through the Kafue Game Park where the elephants apparently knocked down the pole as they often loved rubbing against the trees and poles. This had happened on Christmas eve, and the electricity was off for several days during the time when all kinds of parties and special events were planned. Fortunately for us we had given our house key to a fellow-missionary in Mongu with the request to check on our house while we were gone to assure that all was well there. When the electricity was off, he had taken all our frozen foods out of the freezer and kept them at his house where he had a portable generator which supplied electricity at their house during that period. Wow! What are good neighbors for!

Many times when I was using my computer to prepare material to be used in ministry, I would be in the middle of a document which I had not yet saved, so when the electricity was cut off without fore-warning, I lost all that had been typed. What a frustration that was. After a while, I got smart and began saving the material being typed after every paragraph to avoid losing it.

At one time when we were experiencing potential danger in Zambia due to unrest and civil wars in neighboring countries, our whole country was put on a blackout with instructions to either cut off our lights at night or to cover all windows with black plastic sheeting. We complied with the order, but then police officers arrived at our gate and ordered me to come out to talk with them. They told me that there were several holes in my sheeting which I must cover up immediately or turn off my lights. I found black tape and covered the holes which had resulted from staples which made holes when I used the plastic to line my crates in which I had shipped our personal effects from America. 

Zambia’s electricity was 220 volts and 50 cycles compared to what we had used in America, 110 volts and 60 cycles. That meant that we had to buy and bring with us to Zambia stepdown transformers in order to use all the electrical items which we brought with us. At one time we had 22 transformers of different sizes in our home. Sometimes we forgot to use transformers which resulted in damaging or destroying that which we plugged in directly to the plugs. Ouch! We appreciated the electricity and were thankful for it when it was turned on and working. Electricity in Zambia had many more stories of which I will spare you at this time. Aren’t you glad?