It Rained!

I think it's been 8 months since the last big rain in some areas of Kenya--that's nearly as long as I have been here! Last May when I arrived everything was so green. I was actually surprised because of how lush Kenya felt--I was expecting everything to be super dry because I had heard how Kenya suffered from droughts. Well, it was green for awhile, but then the rains stopped. Over the past few months especially, things have gotten more dry and more dusty to the point that I hear stories of people out in the village fainting and even starving. Animals are dying. Food prices for some items has nearly doubled.

But yesterday it rained hard! Even out in the bush. Some of our team went out to survey how things were (and get an interview for NMSI's website--check it out next week to read "Mama Laisa's story": www.nmsi.org). They said it was so muddy. The hope is that once these rains begin, they will continue through the rainy season. We were just waiting on the first one.

Even with the rains, people are still having a hard time out in the bush. The crops won't really start growing for another few months and it will take awhile for the grass to grow. Last week we received $10,000 from IDES and $3000 from my church in IL (Thanks MPCC!!) so we'll be doing a food distribution at the end of this week and beginning of next. $13,000 is a chunk of change, but really we'll only be able to help about 10 communities. We even have to do a surprise distribution because if the word would get out that we are coming people would come from far and wide to get food and we wouldn't have enough--that could cause problems. I get to drive my car out in the bush! I'm excited and can't wait to help with the food distribution, but mudding isn't so much my thing. Where are all my guy friends from IL when I need them?! 

As I sit here and type the rain sweetly falls on my tin roof =) and I hear the sound of thunder and the see the flash of lightening. I hope it's raining in the rural areas... it's what we've been waiting for.