Rain!

Rain....our experience of rains in the US may be very different, depending upon your home area. I remember hard thunderstorms in Iowa; gentle spring rains; and summer showers, which cooled us off for a few minutes. Winter rains often meant sleet or freezing on the roads. Wherever we live, rain means life and growth in the fields - often bringing more GREEN and colorful flowers to the landscape! Sometimes rain brings heavy flooding and problems. It can be a blessing but also a problem! Well, here in South Sudan, the rains have been different from our experience in Kenya. The rains tend to come during the daytime hours and often blow in with strong winds, thunder and lightning! A few days we have seen the clouds hang low and produce rain for hours. Such was the rain of last Wednesday! We left Yei with clouds and could tell the rains would come as we traveled 11 miles out of town to Ligitolo! (it only took us 45 minutes to travel those 11 miles!) When walking is the primary means of transportation for people and many activities (like cooking)are enjoyed outside, heavy rain is more than inconvenient....it can be "event-changing!" The rain started soon after our arrival before 10 a.m. and only 4 people had gathered, and they were there for a different training. We moved into an unfinished church building to stay drier, and people slowly arrived over the next 3 hours as the heavy rain continued. Some conversations were possible with individuals - YET THE TRAINING COULD NOT START AS THE SOUND OF THE RAIN ON THE METAL ROOF WAS SO LOUD THAT LITTLE ELSE COULD BE HEARD! We Americans were obviously more bothered by the disturbance to our schedule. The church building was filled with chatter; people welcomed each newcomer; and some leaned against the wall and rested. Finally, about 1:30 pm, the meeting started, with 10 women from 3 different churches (plus others who were still waiting for their trainers to arrive!). The schedule for the day's training of TBAs (traditional birth attendants) was re-adjusted and the meeting proceeded well. Tea and rice was shared with everyone; UMCOR birth kits were distributed; singing and dancing warmed us up!; and everyone considered it a wonderful day! Of course, the road was full of mud and puddles as we tried to help participants avoid such long walks on their ways back home. Most still had 3-4 miles to walk back home, even with the lift. The day ended later than we expected. But, all in all, the blessing was ours!