Lord, Bring the rains!

The sound of thunder rumbling off in the distance gave me great joy today. The parched earth in Nairobi has not seen even a drop of rain since January of this year. This normal cycle of months of gorgeous bone-dry days with vast blue skies filled with puffy white clouds continues to baffle me. Certainly, I love this weather… But I realized the other day as I sat in church that I longed for a dreary, grey day. At the time, I was just missing home, and the cool cloudy mystery that sometimes shrouds southeastern Pennsylvania. The smell of damp air would have done so much to assuage my spirit, but the sun burned the clouds away by noon… as usual.

Of course, these “beautiful days” have broader consequences than just preventing me from reminiscing about Lancaster. For the past several months, we have heard pastors and parishioners offer many prayers, begging the Lord to send the rains so that our neighbors and friends would be able to grow their crops to maturity and bring in a sufficient harvest. Unfortunately, the rains have not arrived in time for many in Kenya, and parts of this country are experiencing famine conditions (See an article by Mennonite Central Committee describing this emergency: http://www.mcc.org/news/news/article.html?id=440).* To address these needs, our church has been running a “chakula fund” (food fund) to help collect aid for fellow Kenyans starving in regions scattered throughout this varied land. Considering this reality, I now anticipate experiencing an even deeper joy in beautiful rainy days filled with dark, grey clouds and massive rain drops. Lord, bring the rains!

*Note: Many scholars argue that famine often (if not always) results more from corruption and poor leadership rather than from a lack of rain. These elements can certainly apply in the case of Kenya at this moment, which has weathered more than its fair share of scandals over the past several months. For more on this argument, consider reading, “Development as Freedom” by Amartya Sen or the article by Jeffrey Sachs found at this link: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989405,00.html. I’d love to discuss it with you!