After the Rain............

What we call l'Hivernage (lee ver nawge), is one of the most interesting seasons in West Africa.  It is a time of Extreme Power Cuts, often no or little water pressure.  And most recently we survived a strike by the local internet company that put us out of commission for several days. 

But, what l'hivernage is really know for is the Rainy Season.  It is a time of heavy humidity and rains.  I know, most people think of Africa as being dry and dusty, and most of the it is in the subsaharan part of Africa, as where we live, but there is a rainy season.

In the Casamance, the region in the south of Senegal bordering Guinea Bissau, the rainy season is really the rainy season.  It rains most days of the week, and a lot, but since it happens often and the Casamance is a region of mostly villages it is refreshing and not usually a huge problem.

In Dakar, it is true, it does not rain as often, but when it rains it rains.  Today, as one day last week, we had a HEAVY RAIN.  It did not rain long, but it was like someone pouring a bucket the size of Charlotte, North Carolina over all of Dakar.  Within 30 minutes our laundry room was filled with water above my ankles, the back courtyard was like a baby wading pool and the front was encroaching on the front entry. 

The pictures in the slide show above are after having done most of the cleanup.  I have to admit, it was not as bad as I expected, I just reminded myself of when I was a kid and how I often played in the rain.  My husband tells me that he still likes to play in the rain, so I reminded him of that as we were bucketing out our backyard and digging trenches in front of the house.

Our neighborhood is not bad, some roads are only large puddles, and some are half way up the tires, but in other neighborhoods of Dakar, especially in the Banlieue where we are doing ministry thousands of homes are filled with water, and people are living in homes filled half way to their knees.

These homes will be flooded for weeks to come, so please pray for those families living in flooded situations or in tents provided by the government.

Blessings to you all for reading this, and praying for our neighbors in Senegal.