rainy days

I apologize in advance for any incoherence to this entry. I am sick. Just a cold. I've learned through my experiences working with kids that if it's just a cold I have nothing to complain about. So here we go... feigning normalcy.

This week has been one of the best. I am finally getting used to waking up to forty different females' faces. I am finally enjoying the lunacy of frozen milk and exercising at six in the morning.

Boy, it sure rains a lot here. A lot. In fact, it has become my number one source of entertainment. Tuesday night after small group, (one of the leaders and three other girls and myself hang out on Tuesday nights- which has been great fun and very refreshing) the four of us girls started walking back from our leader's house. It had been raining most of the evening but had decided to take a break. Just as soon as we got a block away, it started sprinkling. Sprinkling turned to rain and rain turned to downpour and we were left between a rock and a wet place- we were almost exactly between our starting point and home. No one had an umbrella or rain gear or anything, so we started to run through the middle of the deserted streets. Then simultaneously we all burst out in laughter. I think we realized how ridiculous we looked- I mean, first- we were running (as if we will out run the drops of rain as they fall and escape somehow miraculously dry). Second, we were wearing ridiculous outfits. We had left Janine's house in our slippers and socks & flip flop combos and a straw hat with flowers that we had found on the ground. Truly a sight, if anyone had happened to pass. We dropped off one of the girls where she is staying, took a few pictures and then splashed through every puddle we could as we walked through the alley to our house. The laughter and joy of feeling like a kid again stayed with me for the rest of the week.

The second rain experience I am grateful for this week was a double rainbow. I saw them early Thursday morning just before starting morning chores. They were in the shape of an ark from one spot on the horizon to another. One rainbow was magnificently bright- rainbows here seem to be brighter than ones I've seen elsewhere and they also contain an almost fluorescent pink under the purple. The other rainbow was the exact same shape, above the bright rainbow and a little more faded. I've never seen a sight like this one. It was incredible.

Now, I'm just going to go ahead and be cheezy for a minute. I can't help but take these physical experiences and apply them as a spiritual lesson. There are so many things to complain about here. The living situations, our schedules, etc. are totally out of the ordinary. In fact sometimes I'm surprised to find myself still here. But I know I am here because of what God does. He takes the rain, the gray, the cold, and turns it into a source of laughter, joy, rejuvenation, and beauty. That's a promise.