Calling in the Bomberos

Calling in the Bomberos

There are just some things that you take for granted growing up in the United States.  Okay, maybe a lot of things, but these are a few that we have become acutely aware of during our first year in the D.R.  Homes in the US are so nicely outfitted with reliable, indoor plumbing.  They are supplied with electricity that rarely, if ever, goes out [unless you grew up in California in the 90s] and powers our every need, so long as we can afford the monthly bill.  Our cities/municipalities provide us with clean/potable water for drinking, showers, washing dishes and clothes, etc.  Those niceties, however, are rare in many parts of the world. 



Some DR power lines........not the safest looking setup, right?

The Dominican Republic is no exception - for the vast majority of people here, losing power throughout the day is normal life (“Se fue la luz!” is a daily used expression meaning “There goes the lights!”).  The DR produces most (86%) of its electricity by burning fossil fuels and the country’s power producers struggle to keep up with demand – thus frequent power outages.  Although this presents some problems (typically at night), it is more a nuisance than anything.  That is to say, one can get accustomed to using flashlights at night or taking a break from work when the power goes out. 

Water, however, is a much larger problem on the island.  Christen and I experienced the challenge of water scarcity first hand.  Over the past month as on multiple (3) occasions, we found our water cistern completely dry.  The month of April was incredibly rainy, causing the rivers in town to rise and become very dirty.  This presents problems for the water company as the water that they provide to homes and businesses is simply diverted river water stored in large reservoirs and then delivered to individual residences and businesses via aqueducts.  However, when the water is filled with sediment and other foreign objects (including trash, sticks, mud, etc), the company typically just shuts off the aqueducts rather than having to deal with stopped up water pipes, etc.  This all makes sense, but when the rain continues for two weeks straight, it presents water-users with quite a predicament!  And that is where Christen and I found ourselves just two days before her grandparents, Chuck and Helen Benjamin, were set to arrive to visit our home and see what goes on at Doulos Discovery School, where we work. 

Our patience was wearing thin on Wednesday after already having spent two days without water in the house.  We showered at friend’s homes, bought five gallon jugs of drinking water just to flush our toilets, and the dishes were piling up in the sink.  Not knowing when we would be getting water and expecting these visitors in just two days, we had to act.  

We weren't quite this bad, but it was getting there!

We knew that the firefighters in town (Los Bomberos) were capable of filling a cistern with their 2,500 gallon water truck because our school, when faced with a similar problem, has called them to provide water.  Although my Spanish is quite good, I still often struggle with understanding people whom I don’t know over the phone.  Because of this, I admittedly was a bit nervous to call the Bomberos and try to explain what we needed, where we live, and ask about the cost for this service.  In addition, Americans (Gringos) are often quoted a different price than a Dominican would be, so although I knew it would cost significantly more than our “normal” water, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t totally getting ripped off.  After rehearsing in my head what I needed to say (so that it wasn’t totally obvious that I was a dumb gringo), I called the Fire Department at about 6pm on a Wednesday.  They gave me a quote and I said, “Sure, can you come tonight!?”  They informed me that they would head our way “ahorita” (soon), which here can mean anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours.  Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see the large water truck bumping down our narrow road about 15 minutes later. Although the cost to fill the cistern was pretty steep (1,500 pesos or about $40) compared to our normal $9/month water bill, it was MORE than worth it when Christen returned home from her Bible Study that evening to see the joy on her face when she heard we again had water.  I think she almost dropped all of the dishes she had brought with her to wash at a friend’s house when I told her that the cistern was (half) full!

Although the water from the Bomberos only lasted us 3 days (we were again without water for almost two days when Christen’s grandparents were in town - they were GREAT sports about it), it was a Godsend and reminded us of the tremendous blessing it is to have grown up in a country that has an abundant water supply.  Calling the Bomberos to provide our home with water is definitely a story that we will chalk up under the category of “ONLY IN THE D.R.”!   

Thanks for reading and to those of you who support us financially especially, THANK YOU for helping to provide us with water this past month!  We are so blessed by all of you and pray for you often. 

Soli Deo Gloria