“Let there be light . . .”

It’s been a while. I spent most of November in Dakar . I was there for a leadership conference and the family joined me for the field missionary retreat. We felt bad during the retreat because we had been hearing stories from our colleagues who had been going through power cuts on a regular basis, while we have not. When we returned to Cotonou , we were ready hit the ground running with lots of new stuff to do.

And, then—no water, no electricity for almost two straight days after we returned to Cotonou . Since then, we’ve had regular power cuts every day this month for about eight hours at a time, alternating between days, evenings, and night. Sometimes, the water will cut, too. Then, the water returns but the electricity doesn’t, and then the electricity comes back, and the water goes again. Finally, we learned there was a program for the power cuts. And, they have pretty much kept to it. So, we would set out the candles and flashlights so we could scramble for them when the power turned off. We eventually broke down and bought a small gas-powered generator so we could run our lights, fans, and computers.

I mention this, because we (folks from the Western world) take light and electricity as a given. I know earlier this month St. Louis suffered a power-cutting ice storm like the ones we went through in Kansas City a few years ago. Power is down for one or two weeks. That’s no fun, but a healthy reminder, that light is only naturally given for 8-12 hours a day—the rest is an extra convenience thanks to modern technology.

When I first started working as an assistant editor in Kansas City , I worked on a publication for preteens called Power and Light. I didn’t realize it at the time how much I take those things for granted. Laying in bed under suffocating humidity and no breeze. That’s tough. Working furiously on the laptop trying to get this or that done before the battery runs out. That’s tough. Walking into the shower in the morning and discovering there’s no water. That’s tough. Making sure my mobile phone and computers get recharged before the next power cut. That’s a little tough (to remember). Hanging out with family and talking, only talking, because there is no light for TV, games, or other diversions. Not so bad. For the majority of people will live among, this is a normal way to describe their days and weeks and lives in West Africa .

Light. There’s so much we can live without, but this is required for so much we need to do. We live in Benin but our work requires us to be connected to several points across Africa . Without these connections, the works slows to a crawl and sometimes just gets tied down by the immediate challenges. Pray for us and those we work with—that there will be something as simple as light.

So, this is our hope and the promise that we share with you and your family this Advent season:

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

1 John 1:5-7

Blessings from Benin,

Matt

J. Matthew Price, Ph.D.