The parable of the bidon

In Africa, water is a precious commodity and it goes on and off without warning, if you are lucky enough to have running water at all. If you don't have running water, then you have to buy bidons full of water and haul them to your home. A "bidon" is a yellow container that holds about three or four gallons of water. They are sold all along the streets. Transportation

They also make good chairs.

In some places there are taps where you can buy water.

These people are getting water from a tap.

In the villages sometimes you have to walk or ride a long way for water or get it from a truck that comes by selling it.Everyone waiting for water.Riding to get water.

Taking water home.

If you have running water in your home or a tap outside your home, they say that you should have bidons, "just in case."

We went to see all of our missionaries yesterday to take them materials, let them know we are thinking of them and to do a little check of how things are going. It was p-day so we found most of them home and cleaning. Yeah! However, when we got to one apartment, there were piles of clothes, and dishes outside that appeared to be waiting to be washed. Their water had gone off this morning. Next to their empty tap they had about six "bidons." All six of their bidons were empty.
This experience lead me to ponder the parable of the bidon.

So, THE PARABLE OF THE BIDONS

Once there was a couple who were new to Africa and had never had the experience of water and power going out. They just expected that those things would be there, although they had been warned that they might not be "once in awhile." All went well for a week after their arrival. Power and water were always on and the couple didn't even think about the warning to prepare for those days when the taps and switches would not work. Then, one day, without warning, the power and water were gone. They stayed gone for 24 hours and the couple became very nervous. They felt like the 10 virgins who had not prepared for the bridegroom. They had brought flash lights and headlamps and so the darkness was not frightening, but they had not put in a good supply of water. In fact, they had six empty bottles on the counter that they planned to fill "in the morning," using their painfully slow filtration system. Then at 6:00 pm the water was gone. They survived the 24 hours, and foolishly thought that the worst was over. So, they just filled their six bottles of water and relaxed. Bam! The power was off again for 10 hours the next day. Finally, they learned their lesson, which they passed on to the elders and everybody else they knew. NEVER, EVER LEAVE YOUR BIDONS UNFILLED.

If ye are prepared, you shall not fear, be thirsty, dirty or be unable to flush the potty. You never know when your preparation will make all the difference. But now our bidons are full, as is our pantry. We are ready!

Our bidons.

Our water supply.

PS. It's a good thing that we're prepared too because the power and water have been off at some time nearly every day since then. Not the best part about Africa!!