When April Showers

Remember the children’s ditty, rain, rain go away, come again some other day . . .? I must admit to saying that through the month of April. Yes, in North America and merry old England, April showers are expected and welcomed. But here in Ethiopia rain in April is unexpected. Not entirely unwelcome, mind you. The rains that come now keep the reservoirs full. That means two very important things; city water keeps flowing (coming in our compound every other day instead of once or twice a week) and the electricity should be more stable. Not that it has been. If all the hydro-electric dams would be up and running we wouldn’t even think about our electricity. But one is disabled (maybe more than one, but the government won’t tell us) and another is supposed to come on line by the end of the week (no one is holding their breath).

Rain turns Addis into a sea of mud. A heavy rain storm creates traffic jams that live in my nightmares. So I don’t like the rain in some ways. But when I think of the farmers across the country who are seeing rain, even in the off season, I am happy for them. MCC is happy for them. Rain means that crops have a chance. If crops have a chance then people have a chance. If people have a chance then we don’t have to provide emergency aid. The wheat, the maize, the sorghum, the barley, it all has a better shot at making it to maturity.

But how does our garden grow! Our compound guards have long stopped watering our gardens at night thanks to the almost daily rainfall. The backyard is green and lush, flowers bloom in spasms of reds, whites, yellows and blues. The thick growth of the grass reminds me of the fast, thick growth of youthful hair. Remember having to cut your hair so often and how your mother always commented on fast and thick your hair grew? (As opposed to now, for me anyways. Not fast, not thick and frankly thin on top. Come to think of it, sorta like our back yard last year without rain for 4 months).

April was also the month we spent a weekend camping down at Lake Langano. Now Wanda & I are not natural born campers. So when we can go with other families, we can handle camping. Camping is work. Between setting up and taking down tents, all the meals that need to be planned and executed, camping is a lot of work. Yet our girls love the lake. To go swimming, to have the beach to yourselves, that part is very relaxing. The church we go to, International Lutheran Church (ILC), has had a Pre-teen campout for several years now. Previously one family organized everyone but they are gone now. Was anyone going to organize this? Finally, yes, a German family did and in the end several couples plus about a dozen children went down. There was swimming, playing games and devotional times. I think memories from the weekend will last a lifetime.

So now we are at the end of the month. Once again it is raining, lightly today. But it’s ok, the lights are burning bright right now.