Praying for Rain

So, I wish I had some grand stories to share, but alas I do not. Some of you have asked what our days look like. We still don't have a normal schedule, and I am guessing it will be at least another 2 months before we fall into a regular routine. The kids have just finished up school for the year, and now we are on Christmas break until January 12th.

Generally...
5 am April wakes and Steve usually isn't too far behind
6 am the kids are up and getting ready for school
7 am depart for school (school begins at 7:15 am)
8 am Work day begins at There is Hope
Noon - 1:30 it's time for lunch and picking up the kids from school
             Jessie is dismissed at Noon
             Charlie is dismissed at 12:30
             Casey is dismissed at 1:00
             Jack is dismissed at 1:30.....so we are still working out how to pick them all up. Lately we've picked up Jessie and Charlie and taken them home, then one of us goes back for Casey and Jack. Any suggestions????
4:30 Work day ends
8 pm bedtime

Our evenings are usually pretty "quiet" meaning we don't have much going on. Our kids seem to come to life around 5:30 pm when the temperatures begin to drop. Most nights they are outside playing very loud games of tag with our neighbor Diya. Monday and Wednesday night Jenn and I head to aerobics. We're the only mzungus (white people) there and this white girl has white girl rhythm...so I do a fair about of laughing at myself. I haven't been able to get too many runs in, so aerobics is a great alternative.

The sun rises every morning around 4:30/5:00 and sets every evening around 6:00. Our average temperature is near 90. This is suppose to be the rainy season; however the rains have not begun yet. The rains are about a month late and many Malawians are beginning to worry about a drought. The President has called for all churches and Christians to pray and fast this weekend, asking God to send the rains. I wonder if President Obama would ever call the nation to prayer and fasting???

This week there was some sort of explosion at a power plant. The result: more frequent power cuts and water cuts. We went without water for a couple of days. I didn't know about the water cuts on Tuesday and accidently drained our reserve tank doing laundry. Luckily we had plenty of drinking water in the fridge. Wednesday night the water came back on and we filled every bucket and pitcher we had. Our reserve tank if full again as well. Not sure if the water we are getting is from our tank or from the city, so we continue to use it sparingly.

Water is life. I've never really thought about how much water I use/waste until now. It's even more glaring when I think about the lack of rain. Many if not most Malawians depend on farming for food and income. No rain means so much suffering. No rain means no power because most of Malawi's power is generated from a damn on the Shire River. Please join us, and the nation of Malawi as we pray for rain.