Raindrops Keep Falling on Our Heads...

     Yes, this is the rainy season, but enough is enough.  It reminds me of winter in Alaska.  At first you can enjoy it , snow is fun and pretty and here the ground here needs the moisture etc.  But then day after day night after night it gets annoying.  I have never heard rain so loud and strong during cloud bursts as I have heard here in Africa.  The thunder and lightening are really cool.  But this past week, we had flooding and that is not cool at all.  The previous week there was flooding near Maputo and I guess the storm moved north.  Often the houses that are made of mud simply vanish.  Walls with a stick foundation become transparent.  People quickly move belongings to higher ground, but in some  neighborhoods there isn't any higher ground.
     When we were traveling back from Beira on Tuesday, about an hour and a half outside of Quelimane we saw the worst storm damage.  I have so many pictures it is hard to choose which ones to share.  Along with the flood damage comes diseases in the water.  Bugs enter into your feet and many people get sick from walking through the water.  People have all their documents lost because they haven't been properly stored, rice is wet, clothes float away, you get the picture.  Most of the time families have to wait until the water subsides to dig out the mud and clean up. Then the rain starts all over again. It is frustrating to not really  know what to do to help.  The Elders hope to rebuild some walls next week and we have helped some families with food.
     The storms seem to be born on the northern part of Madagascar and head west into Mozambique.  Looking at the satellite picture on the weather channel, we are still bracing for more water to fall.
     This is what you are missing while you are building your snow forts today!


People carrying their sleeping mats and other belongs to the side of the road.



This house is completely demolished, you can see the roof in the background.



On local streets people roll up their pants, carry their bikes and keep moving through
these low spots in the road.



Outside their home Raul and Bendita walk in knee high water to greet us.  Not much entered the
house thank goodness.

You can see the original mud wall to the left and then the damaged wall in the forefront.  At least
this house had a wood structure to rebuild from.  If you look carefully you can see capulana is
hung to provide some privacy inside the home.

People still have to get to school and work, just more slowly  Note the pink bike.  I have
never see so many pink bikes in my life and they are almost always owned by men!

Ever diligent and fashion conscious, Elder Osborn walks down the road searching for an
investigator's home.



Kids grow up quickly here in Mozambique and learn survival skills
when they are young.  This may beat a boring day at school on many fronts.