The sound of the Amazon Rain is like music to the ears. Listening to it fall, sometimes softly and other times torrential, is comforting.  It is a sweet sensation bringing cooler temperatures and washing away the fine reddish color dust that covers everything like a powdery blanket.  The busy main street outside of our apartment is without traffic and noise and quiet is wonderfully deafening.  On one side of the apartment is a dirt road, lined with small homes, that drops down to the Ucayali River about 3 blocks away. The runoff is pouring down the street creating small trenches in the road – difficult to negotiate for the few Moto-Kars that are ferrying people about today.  In the tranquility of rain I wonder about those neighbors along the dirt road and at the bottom of the incline.

The majority of our neighbors live in lean-to wood homes with dirt floors.  Spaces between the boards allow rain to seep in and the rushing water on the ground flows in over dirt floors. Little is dry. No escape from the wetness.  Some live above the water, raised up a small heighth,  at the shoreline of the river which is always in transition. And the rising water brings a different set of concerns for those families.

Looking out the other side of the apartment are kids laughing and screaming. Kids will be kids – no matter where you are…playing in the rain is one of the simple joys of life.

Then there are those adults that are beckoned outside to be in the rain too….. complete with pancho and rainboots – don’t forget the sunglasses! As soon as the rain clears we are on our way to town to find rainboots of our own.  During the next rain storm that is where you will find us – outside playing in the rain and stomping in the mud.

Stepping outside to soak it all in I notice my neighbor’s laundry hanging on the line to dry. Not today!!

In His Mighty grip soaking up the sweet Amazon Rain. 

Stephanie 

www.TrinitysAngels.org