Power...

Eight boys, one Efandi, a rope, a plastic bag, three trips up the hill, three trips down to the guest house, two plastic bottles of fuel, and one generator are the necessary ingredients for “power” here at school.

Have I mentioned before that the school switched to solar power? The wiring does not reach our house, so Bekah and I are once again in the dark ages. I plugged my phone into the solar power outlet in the office, and somehow the battery got fried (RIP lovely phone). We weren’t willing to risk our computer batteries, camera batteries, or the other technology Caylin, Dylan and Shannon brought, so we sent one kid up the kill to ask to borrow a generator, and one kid down the hill to the guest house for the connecting cords. Two more trips each way and we finally had the fuel, cords, and generator.

Our “master electrician” who is an S4 boy pours the fuel in and discovers there is a leak. Two other boys are called over to lift the generator on one end as he unscrews the valve, blows the dirt/fuel out of the line, and reconnects. No dice. Still leaking the two again lift the generator up (away from the leak) and I am sent to look for a “cavela” a plastic bag. I come back with one and my master electrician proceeds to fashion a washer of sorts. Screwing in the valve and new washer, he motions for the boysto lay the generator back down. The Efandi (night guard) has now joined us, holding a scrap of rope which is requisitioned for the pull cord to start the motor. The two boys who lifted now hold the generator still. Master Electrician is ready at the throttle-switch-thing, two other boys begin winding the rope around the (insert technical term here for the protruding round thing that starts the motor when a rope is wound around it and yanked). A sixth boy is instructed to hold the torch for master electrician. Six yanks and rewinds later (as each boy has had his try) two additional boys are called over. By the tenth try the motor starts (yay!!) and then is turned off as master electrician discovers that the leak has again started, the valve knocked askew by the final rope yank.

This time it is the hose, so we go through the whole process of lifting, unscrewing, finding the left over plastic bag scraps and now fashioning a hose cover. Put it all back together, cross your fingers, wind the rope, yank.

POWER!

The boys scramble to untangle the cords, three running up two flights of stairs to the roof, three untangling, one sitting on the generator that is trying to run away, and one holding the flashlight . Cords connected on the roof, master electrician runs down the stairs and connects the cords directly into the generator. No plugs here, just striped wires that spark.

I laugh as the boys finish the task by using the rope to tie the generator to a tree. Eight boys, one Efandi, and lots of hard work to make sure their aunts have power for one night while visitors are here.

I really do have good kids.