Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Flood

I know you’ve all heard this before, but it seems that rain is back with a vengeance in Nakaale. Over four inches in three days. Our local stream is up over twelve inches, swollen with runoff from the mountain. The plants in the fields seem to be growing by feet overnight.

We are tremendously thankful for God’s provision of rain—as Pastor Al said so well—to refresh the ground. The return means cooler weather working in the afternoon, it means less time spent watering our kitchen garden, it means less dust and haze in the air. But it also means more difficulty in travel, increased prices for outside goods at the market in Namalu, more malaria, and more difficulty in working outside (we are currently trenching at the new clinic site and every morning the trenches are full of water and the soil is like modeling clay).

They say our same stream further down in Naturum carried away a small girl yesterday.

And so, we are in our annual cycle of learning to be content with what God has given us. My coworker, Thomas said today that God has many eyes and many ears—that he has heard the cry of the truck drivers and farmers alike asking for dry weather and rain in turn—that he listens lovingly to our petitions and gives us what he knows is best for us. Pray for us and our neighbors as we are given opportunity once again to learn this lesson on our journey of growth in grace.