Well Leave the Light on For You (if you pay for the generator fuel)

Traveling in Africa adds new meaning to the need to be prepared, flexible, and to maintain very low standards.  Being prepared is ALWAYS a necessity, as is being flexible – as things often don’t go as planned.  And even a moderate standard usually lowers with every hour that you travel.  This takes on more significance when you are searching for lodging on the road.  Take for instance our recent trip to Senegal to visit the boys at boarding school.

On our way to Dakar, we left at 5 am, traveling 13 ½ hours to reach the border of Guinea/Senegal, only to discover at 6:30pm that the border had closed at 6 pm because ??????  We had hoped to pass the border and reach a bigger town 2-3 hours into Senegal where there were decently clean motels.  What were we supposed to do?  We could not go any further on our journey and needed to find a place to sleep.  Since no one in the vehicle was voting that we sleep on the pavement like the taxis full of people who had also arrived too late to cross, we decided to look for a place to spend the night.

We had passed a “motel” a few miles back, one of the only ones we had seen since leaving Conakry over 13 hours earlier, so, by process of elimination, we decided to try it.  It was dark by this point.  Thankfully, they had rooms available – and even had AC – which would even have been better if the generator had been turned on.  They did have small, dim light bulbs that ran off of a 12 volt system, which provided a little light.  In the end, the dim light was a blessing as the condition of the rooms was not something that should be exposed at 60 watts. 

 There were 6 of us and they insisted on us renting 3 rooms as the beds only slept two.  There was lots of commotion in the shadowy courtyard and there were soldiers around making noise.  I was a little nervous about security, so we voted for Jim and Hannah to stay in one room, Arnie and Katie (another father/daughter team) to sleep in another, and Cheryl and I (both moms) to sleep in the third.  We unloaded, prayed over our vehicle with all the stuff tied on the top, and tried to get settled.  We were exhausted. 

 They had told us that the generator would come on around 9 pm and turn off at 3 am.  It was so hot – the night air was still.  We asked if we could pay for the fuel for the generator to stay on until 5 am, which was our intended departure time.  They agreed.

We took showers and got ready for bed.  The floors were covered with bugs, a great feast for the toads that were hopping around outside (and who occasionally hopped in under the door.)  Cheryl and I had a room that had obviously been quickly vacated by someone else, evidenced by the dirty towel on the bathroom door and the used birth control device floating in the toilet. 

 Soon the generator, and then the AC, kicked on and we fell into an exhausted sleep.  Cheryl and I both woke up at some point, and started to giggle about the condition of the room and the circumstance that we found ourselves in.  The generator really did stay on until 5:15am, shutting off as we got ready to drive away.

The next night, we were able to reach some mission guesthouses where we had reservations in Dakar.  What an incredible blessing to stay in a clean, safe place!

Our return trip was even more interesting.  We made it across the border in good time, but knew that we would not be able to make the next mission guesthouse in time (you have to cross on a ferry that closes at night and if we reached that too late, it would necessitate sleeping in the vehicle until it opened again).  

 We passed our “motel” from the trip up, but decided to try the next bigger town to see if there were some hidden motels there.  We had heard from missionary friends who had once been stranded there that there was somewhere to stay.  Besides, we needed to buy diesel for the cruiser and there was a station there.  

 When we arrived in town, we called our missionary friends to ask about the place they had stayed.  It turns out it is just really a house with a few rooms and no power.  We knew that with the heat, we would not be able to sleep without at least a fan.  There were two other places in town, both described as glorified brothels.  So we were forced to return to the motel we had slept in on our way to Dakar.

We arrived and greeted everyone.  We asked if there were rooms available.  The courtyard was deserted, so we were pretty sure there would be.  Yes, they said, there were rooms.  There was a small glitch, though.  We were the only guests.  This was not a problem, except that, if we wanted to have the generator on, we would need to pay for 6 rooms – otherwise they could not make a profit.   

Jim and Arnie figured the cost of fuel for the generator and knew we were being fleeced.  We were at an obvious disadvantage, and they knew it.  They really were the only choice we had.  It was either there or the car.  And if we opted for sleeping without the AC, we knew, because of the heat, that we really wouldn’t sleep.  Arnie talked and talked but the guy wouldn’t budge.  

 Sadly, we arrived much earlier in the afternoon this time so we saw the rooms in full light.  The rooms seemed less than clean – especially our bathroom, which AGAIN, had used birth control, this time stuck to the tile wall.  The curtain rod was suspended with an electrical cord, which then ran up to power the lights.  The shower was 6 inches from the toilet and just drained onto the floor.  There was, however, TP – AMAZING –and the towels seemed clean.

There was a small café there on the property and they said food was available – 2 plates of spaghetti and 4 plates of chicken.  We agreed – since we didn’t have other food available.  Not long after that, the cook began chasing a rooster around the courtyard.  About an hour later, supper was ready!

We decided to allow the two girls to sleep in their own room this time. 

 However, earlier in the evening, I had accidently locked them out of their room and the manager had to come and open it.  As I lay down to sleep at 9 pm, the thought struck me that someone else had a key to their room.  I was not sure what to do, and didn’t want to scare them, so we prayed that God would post a very large angel with a sword outside their room.  

 I opened our window so I could hear if someone went in or out.  The generator shut off at 2:30am this time.  I woke up when the AC shut off.  The stillness of the night was LOUD and as the hours ticked by, the room got hotter.  I thought I heard the girls’ door open.  I lay there for a while, hoping that I was hearing things – but I could not sleep.  As quietly as I could, I snuck out our door and listened outside theirs.  I could not see or hear anything, so again prayed for their protection and went back to bed.  FINALLY 5 am came and we packed up and left.

That next day, we were again able to make it to a mission compound, and slept in a house with bucket showers, and little power – but it felt MUCH cleaner and safer- surrounded by friends and the cool night air. 

Staying in a friend’s house on a journey is always refreshing, but here in Africa, it can mean the difference of a good night’s sleep in clean, safe housing – a blessing that is NEVER taken for granted.