Season Confusion

Kids showing their snowflakes

We’re confused. December is always a confusing month on the islands. The house is decorated for Christmas. We are listening to songs that talk about cuddling up against the cold and venturing out into the snow. There is a snowman on our window and the kids made snowflakes to decorate the table.  But it is HOT and HUMID! We drink a cup of water and our bodies thank us by quickly delivering glistening layer of fresh sweat. We’re melting, but that is what December is like on the islands— not the weather that we associate with Christmas when growing up in the US.

But we’re confused for another reason too. We always thought (after several years on the islands) that December and January were supposed to be the horribly hot and humid months that are waiting for the torrential rains of February and March to break the humidity and bring some relief to the stifling heat.

But this December has been full of torrential downpours! There is no waiting until February this year— we’re already in the middle of full-on rainy season weather!

The seasons on the islands have never been very clear to us and we ask islanders about “normal weather” for any given month we always get a different answer. The islands have basically two seasons: rainy season (known in the local language as Kashkazi) and dry season (known in the local language as Kusi).

The clouds come to us from over the hills

I like the sound of the word Kashkazi. It sounds chaotic and kind of crazy which helps you remember that it is the season of periodic cyclone winds and storms, dumping water on the islands. The problem is asking when it is— some say February/March, others say November, other December. The real answer seems to be that Kashkazi is all the way from November through at least March. It is all Kashkazi and like its crazy name suggests you can only expect it to be unpredictable. You can have long periods of heat and humidity with just occasional rains and afternoon showers and then you can be hit by a solid week of water pouring from the skies.

I must say that the rains have helped us get into the Christmas season more. The winds whip through the house in anticipation of the downpour soon to follow. Sometimes it almost feels “cool” and while it is a long way from “let it snow” weather, at least we can have a fun afternoon inside playing with the kids and singing, “let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.”

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The rest of the language workshop went well and thankfully everyone at the workshop was feeling better and they were able to get through the material they wanted to. Our new teammate is feeling better after her tummy bug. Our new teammates have been blessed by 4-6 of language helpers each! This is a huge blessing and encouragement as they learn language (people usually struggle to find one good language helper).  Thanks for your prayers about kids coming over to pray.  The situation has gotten a lot easier lately.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray as we try to figure out the details of our trip to Kenya— we had a hiccup this week when the doctor we were figuring things out with realized she can’t do the surgery  because of scheduling problems. Pray that housing and appointments come together for that time.  The women’s gathering is finally going to happen this week— pray that it is a good time and that many women come to study and encourage one another. Lots of people on the islands are sick—we got to pray for our sick downstairs neighbors yesterday— pray with us for quick healing. One of the people sick is the man who is supposed to process our teammates’ visas— pray he can get back to work so that our teammates can get their passports back (one is supposed to travel the day after Christmas). Tom has been meeting twice a week with a group of men to study the Kingdom of Light.  The sessions have been going very well.  They will finish the sessions this week and then take a break, but pray that it is only the beginning.  This Wednesday is our English Club Christmas Party.  Pray that this would be a time to deepen relationships and share about the true meaning of Christmas— pray for similar gatherings around the islands.