Drought and torrential rains

It’s been a very dry year so far – and this is a cause for concern. It has also been very hot!

A lagoon that I have often passed appears to be drying up – partly due to the drought, partly to the local government that has been sucking out the water for use on road work.

The rainy season usually begins in May but this year there has been little rain. In some places, the ground is dry and hard; so people have not planted. Others who planted earlier have been fearing that their crops would dry up or would yield only a limited crop.

There is a concern about possible hunger scenarios.

But the weather yesterday and today may mark the beginning of the rainy season.

Yesterday was a beautiful day.

As I left the Celebration of the Word with Communion here in Plan Grande, I remarked to someone how clear and fresh it was.

In the afternoon I went to the youth group meeting in the nearby aldea of Candelaria, noting the threatening sky in the distance.

The rains came in the middle of the meeting and the torrential rains on the tin roof made it almost impossible to hear each other. So I did an activity with them – a trust fall.

After the meeting I drove home – in the midst of rain and fog.

When I arrived at the house I noted that the electricity was off. Then I went upstairs and noted a little lake on the terraza.

The drain is too small for all the rain to flow out and so I proceeded to push water over the side with a broom.

The rains continued – something with a lot of force – during most of the evening and into the night.

When I got up about 6:00 am, the electricity was still off and a thick fog engulfed the house.

Ar midmorning it's overcast, but the sun is peaking through the clouds.

Whether the dry season is over, I do not know. I hope so – for the well-being of the people.