What Do You Do When it Rains? (Part 2)

More than once, twice or... well, let's just say every chance possible when it rains around here, you will find missionary children outside playing in it. Not the Cameroonians, usually - unless there is a soccer game involved. They tend to have more sense. Our mothers told us, "Get in out of the rain!" Not here; our children will rush out to feel the cool relief the rain offers. They will play soccer in mud and pouring rain. Yes, official games too, so the refs get the shower as well. In fact, many of the high school kids say they prefer to play in the rain; it's more fun, they say!

The local Cameroonian pedestrians, in contrast, hide from the drops. As soon as the rain starts, the walls and front awnings of shops along the roads suddenly burst with passersby who want to stay dry. In a sudden downpour the taxis, and, depending on how hard the downpour is, possibly most all motorists, will pull off the road, park and wait for it to let up.

What do I do? Well, in years past I'd rush out to get the laundry in. Some of us have been known to hang out and take down the same set of laundry three or more times in one day before we give up and wait for tomorrow or decorate the interior with all sorts of wet clothes. More recently, I've been praying that the rain is not too hard so it won't find the leaky places of our home and come inside as I go and make sure my laundry is protected on the porch or in the hallway.

The kids, after well-filling duty!

And most recently, I was very grateful for my silly children who filled tubs or buckets with the water pouring from the downspout to dump into our depleted well. Yup, they stayed out there and exhausted themselves so mommy could have some more running water in the house, coming out of the pipes instead of the ceiling!

Gotta go, I hear the drops starting and that laundry is out....