Rain Rain…

…go away. Come again another day.

I mean it. It is the rainy season here in La Paz and it will continue to be the rainy season until March I think. We have had some fierce rain. No water shortage here. (By the way…is there still a water shortage in Georgia?)

Anyway, the situation here is actually very dangerous. And by dangerous I mean that this past week a mini-bus overturned on a bridge when the river overtook the bus and two people died.

There are two big rivers that flow nearby in my hood and earlier this week there was so much rain that one of the rivers flooded the street. There were huge rocks and debris in the street but cars kept driving around them. It was obvious that the people here definitely have experience driving around lots of rocks in the road. My street was safe but right down the hill from me the street was basically a river.

About eight to ten blocks away two people lost their lives.

It is fierce. When it rains here mudslides and avalanches are problems in some areas.

Yesterday, I rode with a friend in his truck outside of La Paz about an hour to visit a retreat for the youth of the Anglican church. This retreat was for all of the Anglican churches in Bolivia and there were about seventy youth there. The camp was in a rural area called Achocalla. It was a cool place. We played volleyball in the afternoon and then the mud fight started. It has rained a lot so there were mud puddles everywhere.

And no one was immune. And by no one I mean me. I tried to run but five guys picked me up and dragged me through the mud. My clothes were filthy. But I kind of see it as a way of bonding with the youth and their way of showing that they think I’m alright…there was no way this gringo was escaping the mud.

When we drove back at night we had to get out of the truck several times to examine the road before proceeding. Call it a plan of attack. The roads were flooded and we had to be careful about which route we took. And at one point there was basically a wall of mud in the road but thank God for double traction in the truck and we made it through no problem.

I promise pictures of some of this stuff that I am talking about when I get the internet at my house. It is top of my list right now. Thank you for your patience. Photos should start coming in February.

And one more thing about the water. Pastor Willy called me while I was at the youth retreat to tell me that because of all the rain some water distribution something or another was broken and that my area of La Paz will be without water for two days.

Yes you guessed it...the one day that I go and get thrown in the mud is the same day that I find out that I cannot take a shower for two days.

Life IS like a box of chocolates sometimes just like Forest Gump said. Enjoy those showers today and tomorrow folks.