The rainy season...It's here.

Welcome to the rainy season in Ecuador. It's officially here, and it's not going anywhere anytime fast. What does this mean for Monte Sinaí? It rains most days, sometimes all day or all night. The streets that were once dusty (and unpaved) have now turned to mud or swamps. Some areas are impassable without boots (or the kind of courage it takes to stick your foot in murky, stagnant water that´s sat for days and is contaminated with who knows what). There are puddles and rain-made ponds/lakes/rivers speckling every street where mosquitoes breed and parasites hang out (or whatever it is that parasites do). Dengue fever has been on the rise, along with plenty of other afflictions brought on by the rain-caused conditions. Neighbors have worked together to build little bridges out of scrap wood or rocks, dig canals, or purchase giant dump truck loads of rocks and dirt to fill the low areas and allow people to pass or cars to drive through. Just last week, both ends of our street were so bad that water trucks couldn´t enter and our neighbors had no access to water. Houses that are not made of cement or up on stilts are in constant danger of flooding. (Monte Sinaí was recently featured on the news for the severity of this problem right now.) And the electricity...it´s been going out almost every day, sometimes multiple times and sometimes lasting for hours or even a full day. I won´t mention any specifics about the new bugs and creatures that have emerged (love you, Mom). But in short, the rainy season makes the difficult lives of our neighbors even more difficult. It is inspiring to see their perseverence.

A small success story:
Last month, two women came knocking at our gate, asking for the Hogar de Cristo volunteers that live there. (Hogar de Cristo is a huge non-profit that addresses needs like housing, education, community building, health, and ministry in poverty-stricken areas) They sought help in getting a house. Both sisters, single mothers of small children, had been living with a generous neighbor (many people living in a small cane home)after their house had become unlivable. The canal had flooded, turning the floor of their already make-shift shelter made of sheets and plastic into a thick mud-pit. Being single moms, they didn´t have the money to buy a new house (and they can´t work because there´s nobody to watch the kids). Additionaly, one of the women was attacked by her former husband with a machete before he left them. Defending herself, two fingers were cut off. Her hand became infected, and now her whole arm is unusable. To make matters worse, the kids were sick and without medical access. You may be thinking, "This is a SUCCESS story??" Just wait. So hearing all of this, my community mates Belén and Katty went to take pictures of these women´s former home, brought them to the right office at Hogar, and helped get two houses donated. Each of the sisters now has a cane house on stilts, safe from flooding. And the health office has been offering the family support. That is the success part.