Monsoon

Okay, so when someone says 'monsoon' I think of East Asia, but there has to be better words than 'heavy rain' or 'thunderstorm' for what we experience. It is not only the fact that half the ocean dumps on our house an hour at a time, it is so loud we can barely talk to each other because of the noise on the tin roof overhead. We are very thankful each and every time the roof protects us from the rain! It is the end of the rainy season here and 3-4 times per week we get huge storms that wash topsoil right off our compound and into the drainage ditch and street outside our front gate. I've seen legos and shoes float by as well...

Yes, those are our ripening mangoes getting washed by the skies...

The center of this particular storm must have passed directly over us because the lightning and thunder were extreme! Once it made us jump and I'm sure one of our neighbors' house was struck by lightning (not uncommon here). We quickly unplugged everything we could. We found out the next day that it had blown out our first current stabilizer, so we have invested in lightning protection for the future. Now there's another thing I never planned on buying... There was also a ton of wind and the rain looked like it was going sideways at times. Now I'm learning the meaning of 'batten down the hatches'!

Hang in there Hoppy!

You can see why rainwater storage is efficient.

It's on our list of renovations to make eventually.

While I am not the fan of thunderstorms, they do make good reminders of the might and power of our Creator. It's no wonder traditional cultures here often have a monotheistic folklore of a powerful god. He has amazing power. Even more amazing through 'monsoon' storms is imagining Jesus standing up and saying 'QUIET!' ...

...followed by stillness.