Places of Refuge

In January the Lord sent me to visit some friends in Arizona who I hadn't seen in 30 years. About a year ago they had moved to a place literally in the middle of nowhere, elevation 6,000', a place where they have no electricity and no running water. Their nearest neighbor is about 2 miles away. They live in a mobile home which they heat with a wood-burning stove using wood they cut on their property, and cook on a propane-burning stove. They have a very small propane-burning refrigerator, something I didn't even know was made. They have a Port-a-Potty (which is not very comfortable when it's 10-15 degrees outside) and they have to empty it by hand when it gets full.

They do have a generator which they use for an hour or so a week, and they recharge the battery which they use to start it with a small solar cell. They also have a small solar cell to recharge the batteries in their cellphones. Yes, they actually have cell phone coverage out there in the middle of the desert. They also have a satellite dish for their tv, but they only watch it an hour or so a week. At night in order to see where you're going inside they have tiny little solar lights that they put in upside-down jars to provide a little light. Reading is done with headlamps like the kind you buy to hunt with or use for jogging at night.

To shop for food and other necessities they have to go 40 miles to town. Water is obtained by filling their 300-gal. water tank at the public water supply about 50 miles away. Then they transfer it into 55-gal drums and 5-gal buckets for use around the house. To take a shower I had to go 40 miles to town and pay to use the showers at a truck stop during the 17 days I was there. Since they don't have a water well they can't grow crops or raise animals since there is very, very little rain in the desert in northern Arizona where they live. They do have plans to put in a couple of wells when they have the money, but that may be a while off. To have hot water in the morning they put two 2-gallon pots on the wood-burning stove at night and leave them there all day so they can have hot water to wash the dishes with at night.

After a few days I got used to living like that and I can honestly say that it was somewhat comfortable, except for the Port-a-Potty on cold mornings and not being able to shower every day. The wood-burning stove kept the place warm and comfortable. At night the stars were absolutely magnificent and the peace and quiet out there was wonderful. Would I want to live like that for a long time? No! But that is what many of us will be doing in the coming years - this is what many of the places of refuge will be like.

Awhile back I wrote about a series of Christian books written by Teri Blackstock which told about a time when the world was hit by some type of star pulse which knocked out electricity to the world. It also fried all the electronics and planes and vehicles were ruined. There was no water in the cities because of the lack of electricity to power the pumps, and no electricity to keep food refrigerated. The books tell about life as it would be during those times, times which are almost upon us. I highly suggest that you read them. They are "Last Night", "Night Light", "True Light" and "Dawn's Light".