Hurricanes and Cholera

Right now I would normally be singing songs and practicing new vocabulary with my 4th grade class, but its raining.  Here, we have rain days, like snow days at home, when school is cancelled due to large down pours.  The roads are flooded and hard to pass; the motorcycles who are brave enough to go out have to drive very slowly through the mud and puddles and they try to keep dry with raincoats, garbage bags, umbrellas, and/or some combination of covering materials like cardboard boxes and newspapers; the people walking have usually given up entirely and are as wet as if they have been swimming; and the people at home are emptying the catch basins that they put under the many leaks in their roofs and raising their belongings off the floor so that if the overflow of rain comes in off the street, they can save what little they have.  This is what happens on a normal rainy day.  Today though, isn't a normal storm, its Hurricane Thomas.  My community is lucky to be far outside of the danger zone of this hurricane, and we'll only get up to 4 inches of rain (which is still a HUGE amount for a city that sees street flooding when there is anything beyond a sprinkle).  The other side of the country, closer to Haiti, will see up to 8 inches of rain.  There will probably be mudslides, overflowing rivers, and countless other problems that will occur from this storm.  They are in the "warning" zone.  Haiti is in the danger zone.  As if there aren't enough problems in that country already, they will be pummeled with up to 12 inches of water, high winds, and huge waves for about 78 hours.

This morning, as I couldn't sleep because of the wind whipping through the palms outside my window and the rain pelting on the metal roof, I was very thankful that I was inside, dry, and warm.  The water won't come in the convent house and the wind won't do any damage beyond knocking off a few extra mangos on the tree out back, and we have electricity and water (and if the electricity goes, there are back-up batteries, and a back-up, back-up generator).  I'm very lucky.

They are nervous that the massive amount of water that is flooding onto the island is going to increase the cholera problem.  I know that this problem has made the US news because Haiti is such a hot topic country right now.  There is cholera here too, but luckily not to the degree that they are seeing in Haiti.  My 4th grade English class last week was interrupted for about 10 minutes when some of the doctors from the Centro Buen Pastor health clinic came in to talk to the kids about cholera and how to prevent it. They were talking to the kids, about washing their hands when they use the bathroom and simple sanitary lessons, but they were really trying to reach the kids parents.  The kids were told to make sure their parents used clean water to cook and wash dishes, they were told how much chlorine should be added depending on the size of the water tank they had at their houses, and they were told how to explain to their parents that vegetables and fruits should be washed before eaten.  I have always believed that giving children access to education is a key element is curbing the problems of the third world, and it was exciting to see this in action as these 4th graders were being taught how to avoid cholera and how to keep their families healthy.  I've never seen them so excited and motivated as they rushed to the bathroom to wash their hands before eating snack.

Cholera Educational Posters at the school

On Sunday, I have been asked to speak about Risk Taking Mission at Second Church, and obviously I can't commute in to do so, so I have made a video that will be shown during worship with photos about my mission and the risks I am taking here.  I won't post it before it is shown at church, but I'll try to post it online afterwards for anyone who wants to see it.  This hurricane and the cholera out break remind me even more about the risks I'm taking.  I also wish that so many people wouldn't ask me if I'm nervous about living alone in the convent right now.  I don't think I'd be so nervous if they didn't keep insisting that I should be nervous so often!  But, I am living well and I am living well prepared.  I don't have to worry about unclean water because I have access to bottled for all my needs, the house is well built to prevent damage from hurricanes and to prevent invaders, and I the two dogs are wonderful watchdogs who make me feel very safe.

Keep Haiti, Dominican Republic, and the rest of the Caribbean in your prayers this week as Hurricane Thomas continues to pass through.

Dios les bendiga,


Tina