Rain, thunder, and lightning

Yesterday we took the bus home from class. We had planned to go to the grocery store on our way home, but as we made our way home, the sky started to look rather dark. When we got off the bus, we decided to skip the shopping trip and get home before the rain started. It turns out that rainstorms in Managua don't begin slowly. We only have to walk 5 blocks from the bus stop to our house. That was plenty of time to become absolutely drenched. We got our backpacks under Mitch's rain jacket, but that's all that stayed dry.

We've never seen rain fall as hard as it did yesterday, save for the time Lauren nearly drove through a tornado in South Dakota. Other storms here have been that powerful, but we've been inside for those. The downpours are quite lovely from inside a sturdy house!

More amazing was the thunder and lightning. We've heard that you can count the time between thunder and lightning to see how close the storm is, and there were many flash-bangs that were too close together to even reach the number one. And the volume was unbelievable! Even though the lightning made it clear there would be a loud boom, Lauren found herself jumping multiple times. Never have we ever heard thunder that loud.

We are so grateful for the house we're able to rent, and for your financial support to do so, when we have storms like that. There are many in Managua who don't have adequate shelter for these storms, and in the last deluge, 5 people were killed when a barrio flooded. It's sobering to know that while we enjoy God's display of power, others are in dire situations. We want to say a big thank you for praying for our safety and for your financial support that enables us to live here safely. We are grateful for your support every day.

We'll try to give you another update this weekend about what we've been doing each day, along with pictures and videos. And for those who enjoy pictures and videos of puppies, we'll have those, too. Emre registers pretty high on the cuteness scale, so be prepared. Lauren was pretty taken by him before he was even in our house. Once again, a big THANK YOU to everyone who stands behind us while we live and work here in Managua.

Make it a great day,

Mitch and Lauren