The battery and inverter/charger
The switch that flips us from regular power (Tanesco, the electric company in Tanzania) to battery (marked "solar", because the electrician's assistant who wrote the labels thought the battery charged from solar panels, I think)
Earlier this year, Tanzania began to run out of electricity. We started going through a lot of candles and batteries in an effort to see every evening and morning (Andrew gets up before the sun). It was liveable, but pretty obnoxious. We felt like moles living in burrows underground, since it was so dark so often!
But then our church decided to bless us with a backup power system, and on our way through Nairobi in July, we picked out a nice battery and inverter/charger. It took a local electrician three full days to get it all set up and installed, but now that it's done - wow! No more burrow-like life! All we have to do is flip a few switches (being very careful to flip them in the correct order), and voila! Lights! There is a little hum in the background, but other than that, there's no way to know if the lights table come from normal electricity or from the battery. We've now had it for over a month and still get a bit excited when we can use it and just flip on the overhead lights instead of doing something like try to hold a flashlight in one hand and rinse dishes with the other (or some other awkward arrangement - have YOU ever tried to pin a flashlight between your upper arm and body so you can zip your pants after going to the bathroom?!).
Thanks, Calvary Chapel!
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