Water Rationing- Out of Service

The estate in which we live is a blessing, almost
an overwhelming blessing. The view out our window gives a panoramic view of the
Kibera slums, rows and rows of tin-roofed shanty houses combined with mud and
wood.

But back to our estate (only 500 yards uphill), we are blessed with 3
bedrooms; 2 bathrooms; a living area; a kitchen; we have two toilets; 1 shower;
1 bathtub; 2 beds and a bunkbed; a stovetop AND an oven; a TV with a DVD
player; 2 couches; a dinner table and chairs.

However, it is important to remember… This is
Africa.

The 2^nd night at the estate we had just
returned from our hike with the youth on Ngong Hills. We were exhausted and
needed to shower, so we took turns. And after the sixth person showered (me),
the water ran out… As in NO water. ZERO. Don’t let the sink, washing machine,
toilet, and bathtub fool you, they are temporarily out-of-service.

We decide to deal with the problem in the morning.

5:30 AM: I need to go to the bathroom. The toilet
won’t flush. Oh yeah… no water.

So once I go back to bed and wake back up to start
the day, I decide to conquer this little yet large issue of no water. I ask the
neighbors, “So, what do you do if you run out of water?”

We soon find out what Pastor Ezekial meant by ‘water
rationing.’ The water is on tanks and is rationed for Sunday through Tuesdays.
It was Wednesday morning. 5 Gerry cans later, we could get by: we had limited water to boil
water for food, flush toilets, and brush our teeth. Showers and laundry? Think
twice. Deliverance Church Lang’ata was ready to help as well. They allowed us
to use the showers at the church and were quick to bring more water via Gerry
cans daily.