It's A Blessing In Disguise

This is the exact same spot as the photo above less than 24 hours later

Above the Kaleya bridge

Below the bridge...notice the girl at the upper right corner....we estimate the water was four feet above her head when the river crested

Maize along the river

Complete destruction of a rural farmer's maize plot

A blessing in disguise?

Have you ever heard that phrase……….we say it to others going through something we can’t fathom….and if we are honest, dread having it said to us. Well, we currently find ourselves in such a situation....

 As we posted yesterday we received, what some farmers are saying is, the most rain Chikankata has seen since records began back in the 1940’s. To be precise we receive almost 2 ½ inches of rain in a matter of forty five minutes…….we were the lucking ones as some outlaying areas received as much as 4 inches in the same time period…..couple that with the fact that we live at the bottom of a huge valley…..you get the picture. The small Kaleya River swelled to unprecedented levels…….I have included pictures from above and below the Kaleya bridge……..we are estimating that when it crested the rivers was almost 4 feet over the head of the young girl at the top right of the picture from below…..that is roughly a 25 ft wall of water.

Our neighbors the Kirbys, who have one of the largest dams on the river, reported that the water had spilled over the top of their dam and dug a huge hole on the back of the main wall…other reports are coming in that dams that have not had water in them for years are being filled…reaction as a whole has been mixed. While many of the commercial farmers will sustain some crop damage the real victims are the impoverished rural farmers who, in some cases, could have lost the majority of the small field they planted. Some of the fields I photographed were completely decimated…..the maize plants being completely uprooted (see pic). For these families the coming year has gotten off to a very desperate start…….or has it.

Living in the midst of so much lack is at times extremely overwhelming…….I mean, in comparison to the overall need that exists…what can I do. This is where I have to smack myself back into reality…..to remember that my outlook on the situation is not based off earthly limitations but rather, on my Father’s capability. In essence from Heaven towards Earth……not the other way around…..

 ²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

Matt 19:26 (NLT)

Would you join us in asking the Father to reveal the blessings in all of this…………that maize would be resurrected….dams would hold……..and a platform would be created for His power, love and amazing grace to be displayed to the hearts of those without hope…..oh, by the way we are all ok…………will keep you all posted…….