It is Monday and I find that my anxiety is getting higher and higher as we look ahead to Hurricane Eta hitting Nicaragua and the U.S. elections tomorrow.
Hurricane Eta may be a category 4 storm by the time it hits and it is bringing lots and lots of rain. We are nearing our rainy season, which means there is not a lot of room where all this rain can go. Crops are almost mature in the fields and if we get too much wind or rain, we could have extensive crop failures.
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| Hurricane Mitch 1998 |
I remember Hurricane Mitch in 1998 hitting about this same time of the year...there was massive flooding and mudslides and deaths...whole communities buried. It was the deadliest hurricane of the 20th century. At least with Hurricane Eta the Sandinistas are in power, so we are not as concerned because they have called up the army to help people evacuate, unlike the inaction of the Liberal party of 1998. The Sandinistas deal with disasters better.
And then there are the U.S. elections and the word that stores have run out of ammunitions. Our children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, friends, supporters, and on and one are up there. We're scared for them as everyone else. All of the gatherings will cause up ticks in COVID-19 cases. It may be the makings for a perfect storm.
We are also concerned about how the many, varied, elections will go...and what that means for the poor of the world, the people of Nicaragua, and our work.
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| U.S. voting - photo Shutterstock licensed |
So yep, I'm a mess. I'm ready for this week to end so I will know what we are up against. Maybe next week I will have a more hopeful message. For this week, we are battening down the hatches, watching the news, and praying hard.
-Kathleen
