S'ka rrymë...S'ka ujë

No power...no water...

Thursday afternoon at 3pm, the power went out in Malishevë. This was not such an unusual thing, just an annoyance to work around for 2 or 3 hours and then it will be back on. Not this time, it came back on at 5 pm on Saturday afternoon. All of my electronic "stuff": computer, i-pod, cell phone, flashlights, and refrigerator were no longer working. Along with the power going out, the water stopped as well. For this, I was not prepared for a 3 day period of time without water. I had a 60 liter barrel that was only about 1/3 full. I had been slowly emptying it out so I could clean out the unknown stuff settled in the bottom. If I was careful, it might be enough to flush the toilet. But I had no drinking water. The market across the street sells cases of 6-2liter bottles of water for 1.5€. I figured out how to wash my hair with 6 liters of water...and use the soapy remnants to flush the toilet.

By Friday, I was into reading...as there was nothing else I could find to do. When it was dark...well, I went to bed, since I could no longer read by candlelight. The constant sound of the generators can really get on your nerves, but unlike Prishtina, there was no odor of the fuel used in the generators.


I didn't know if this was a "something is broken" or "this is how it is in Malishevë during the summer" thing. I later learned it was "something was broken".

God showed me several things in these last 3 days. First, I am a part of this community...not just when there is power and water, because all the other people living here also did not have power and water. They also were trying to find ways to charge their cell phones, our life line in Kosova.

Another thing the Lord showed my heart...the people who live in this community have not had the luxuries that I consider normal. Last night one family shared that they put food in a bucket and lowered it into the well to keep it cold...just like they did during the war. I had to throw my food away. This family has only had a refrigerator for 7 years. For water...well they returned to the well, and hauled water to the house. I had a young man from the market carry my water to my apartment.

That is one of the things I love about this community...they just keep moving and do the best they can with what they have. There is work to still be done each day. They are not afraid of hard work. Life is hard here. There is an Albanian saying, "C'ka të bëjmë", which means "what to do?"

The next time the power goes out, or there is no water, I will be better prepared, but my heart attitude will be different. C'ka të bëjmë?