A Very Tragic Event to Witness Today [Graphic]

Below is an email prayer request that I sent out today to some of our prayer supporters, family, and friends. I also wanted to share it on here as well for your prayers, and also as a window into some of what goes on here in Zambia – some of which can be very dangerous and end very tragically. The picture below was not from the event today, but a picture that I took back in January of 2013 as I was waiting in my car to pick someone up.

You may not want to read the telling of the story, because it was a very disturbing event to witness. And if not, please just pray for the family of the man who was killed.

Hi Everyone,

We would really appreciate your prayers for the following situation that just unfolded in our backyard some 40 minutes ago. The power company here was installing a new power line pole to add support to the power lines directly behind our house and from where our power comes from. All morning, I was expecting our power to go off since they were attaching live wires into the new pole. But it never was turned off. 

When Kristin looked outside after we had put Charlie down for a nap, she called for me to come. One of the power company workers was hanging from his feet upside down by his waist harness which was attached to the pole, and he was literally white as a ghost. It looks like what happened was the extension ladder that he was standing on was extended beyond where it was suppose to be and buckled. He probably instinctively reached out for anything he could to secure himself and grabbed the live wire and was electrocuted. To add to the horror of this scene, the waste harness grabbed a hold of his clothes and stripped him completely naked as he fell backward, and it took an unbelievably long amount of time for the other crew members to get up on the pole and get him down. Meanwhile, there is a naked dead man hanging upside down from the top of a power line pole in the middle of our neighborhood in full few of the tons of kids that live around here, which we could all hear talking around our back fence as this unfolded. 

About 45 min ago, most of the crew sped off to the hospital with the man who had been electrocuted. The rest remain near our back fence and appear to be arguing back and forth. Please pray for this man’s family and friends, and pray that this would be a wakeup call to the power company to use proper equipment. It appears this was a very unnecessary death if the power would have just been turned off and better equipment used!

Charlie was down for a nap and didn’t see this all take place. But he was playing in the backyard most of the morning and did notice the same man working at the top of the pole. 

Derek