Rain!!

I can’t even begin to explain what that word sounds like after more than of a month of 120*’s heat, a constant river (not a drip) of sweat running down every part of me and sleeping with a soaking wet towel every night. Every gust of wind is a beautiful gift and we pray the power doesn’t go out at night so we can sleep. I thank God for electricity, and after babies crawling all over me and their sweat mixing with mine, I sometimes have to take a break inside under the fan. The common phrase here immediately following “Hello” is “Il fait chaud (it is hot!).” Or in Mooré "Ya Toologo". I had considered sleeping in my shower when the heat came, but decided it was too much work. Plus the towel stays wet basically the whole night.

But with that said, I AM surviving! I never thought that 90-100* heat would feel like a relief, but we praise God for a few cooler days.

The other day, one of our workers (who was sweating MORE than me at that point- I always love to see the Burkinabé sweat, it shows I’m not crazy) told me 20-30 days til rain. I almost did a dance of joy right there. Harmattan winds, tons of dust and sand everywhere, 24/7 heat almost DONE? There have been points Brittany and I think we’ll get a rain- even the smell of rain in the air- and we make a deal that whoever wakes up first from the rain has to wake the other one up so we can run outside no matter what time it is. As very rare as it is at this time of year and the couple months past, there have been a couple 10 min rains.

Today (5/7) though… RAIN!!! And rain like I’ve never seen before (minus the huge tornado and storm last year in Manistee). I had a Mooré class in the afternoon and went out with clouds in the sky, the smell of rain, and thunder in the distance. We’ve had this a few times though, so I didn’t expect anything too spectacular. After about 20 minutes of class though, we heard a few sprinkles on the tin roof. I looked at Nongewende (my teacher) and grinned- RAIN! He didn’t seem convinced it would be too much, but five minutes later it started to downpour!!! I said excuse me a minute and ran outside to catch a few drops (I think he thought I was crazy)- Brittany was walking over with Therese to do the same :)… I headed back in after a minute expecting to get back to class. The rain continued to intensify though, and we couldn’t even hear each other to work. The classroom we were in was outside under a tin roof with straw walls. Luckily there was one desk with a lid, so I stuck my books inside. We sat around for over an hour waiting for the rain to stop!! It was absolutely pouring; thunder and lightning too! The rain changed directions three times so we ended up moving all around the classroom trying to avoid getting too wet. I even had goosebumps at one point. I think it was the first time I’ve had goosebumps since December or January. The winds were crazy too- I looked outside a few times to see the branches being blown so much I thought we might have hurricaine winds coming up ;)… It was absolutely incredible. The thing with tin roofs here is that even a slight sprinkle makes a ton of noise. Imagine not being able to talk to one another when you are right next to each other- that’s what it’s like with a downpour.

The storm!!

Following the rain was just crazy as well. The once dry sand/dirt everywhere had turned into huge brown lakes and rivers. Flip flops get stuck very easy and you end up walking right out of them into the mud. Have you tried walking with weights attached to your feet? That’s kind of what it feels like to walk in the mud here. The kids, of course, couldn’t wait to start a game of soccer in the mud. Britt and I set up a bench to watch the slipping and sliding (and falling) in the mud. Very funny. It was so great to see the joy on everyone’s faces- rain after so long! Ruth says we’ll probably have a bit longer before the rains truly start and cultivation can start happening (it’s better for everyone if the rains start a little later for planting too). To me, this was a beautiful day (as I sit in the cool temperatures writing this), but I guess you’ll have to ask me how I feel about the rain after a few months more of it.
After the rains!

A servant for Him,
~Liz

(Side note: Friday night (5/8) we had HUGE swarms of termites flying all around the windows and doors. Interestingly enough, about an hour after they started, they all died. There were piles of them everywhere. The kids informed me that this always happens in rainy season and that they only get bigger… Wonderful… And yes, Pastor Pat, they eat them in soup when they’re bigger. Thanks for the heads up!)