It Rained & Poured For (Three) Days-eys, Days-eys

It’s been 3 days...of rain, wind, clouds, cold (for Swaziland) and I don’t know how to process it all.  It has rained more in the last 3 days than in the last 3 months, knocking out power for over 24 hours.  Yet, I sit here at the end of it, in my dry house drinking a cup of tea and I can’t wrap my brain around it all.

As I closed my windows so that the rain didn’t come in, I thought of my friends who have mud walls or stick walls to their huts.  There’s no way to keep the water out when you have holes or it rains sideways.  As the rain kept coming, I imagined them moving their important things to the middle of the hut or trying to hang them from the sides of the hut so that they didn’t get wet as the water seeped in.
 

The electrical poles & the river
after the storm the last few days.

As I listened to the roof as the wind blew so hard last night, I thought of my friends who have tires on their houses to weight the roof down during storms.  I thought of a friend who told me that her house leaks all over when it rains because her roof is not pitched at high enough of an angle.  I thought of another friend who told me she stands in one spot in the middle of her house when it rains because it’s the only place to stay dry.  I still can't imagine living in a hut with a dirt floor...let alone living in one during a rainstorm.
 

As I thought about the piece of chicken & milk in my fridge that I would have to throw away because the electricity had been out too long, I thought of my friends who rely on the carepoints for their only meals through the week.  It’s been rainy (=MUDDY) since Tuesday night, so most carepoints didn’t cook Wednesday or Thursday (imagine walking half a mile, cooking outside over a fire)...which means some of the kids in the area haven’t eaten for 3 days.  And if they didn’t cook today (Friday), some kids could go almost a week between meals because of the rain.
 

As I pulled a blanket over my lap, made a cup of tea, worked on admin stuff and read books, I thought of my friends who can’t get excited about a lazy rainy day.  They still have to go collect water at the nearest tap or river.  They still have to go outside to cook over a fire.  They still have to herd the cows, herd the goats and do chores.
 

And as I go to bed tonight, humbled & praying for my friends, I wonder why me?  Why has God allowed me to be the one in a house with a warm bed & electricity & a full stomach?  Why am I not the one with a blanket on a dirt floor in a house made of sticks wondering when I will eat next?  And I pray that this continues to keep me moving forward every day in ministry, continues to keep me growing in compassion, and continues to keep me from growing numb to the poverty & needs all around me.