“Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the
latter rain; [so] the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of
rain, to every one grass in the field.” Zechariah 10:1
It is dry season here, and we’ve been watering by hand. It’s
not such a daunting task when there are dozens of students here to help out,
but during vacation this July, it took four people hauling water with the
tractor nearly all day to keep the gardens and fields alive.
And so we began to pray for rain. We prayed, and prayed and
prayed again. For over a week we prayed. We prayed at morning worship, before
meals, and kneeling in the shade beside the tractor after emptying the 500-liter
tank for the 5th time in a morning. Still, the hot dry weather continued. But so
did our prayers. Then, around noontime one hot, clear day, we heard thunder.
Big cumulus began to accumulate, and a brisk breeze brought them into position
directly overhead. Thick drops began to fall, and steadily increased to a
downpour. The sun shone through from the clear horizon, west to east, painting
the precious showers golden. We rushed outside to play and breathe deep the clean
smell of rain.
The cloudburst lasted for almost an hour, enough to penetrate
the dry ground to a good depth. Later, I asked our friends in nearby Yata how
long it had rained there.
“About fifteen minutes” they replied. On the other side of
the school, the highway to GuayaramerÃn was practically dry.
The next day the brown fields on campus were already
sprouting green. God is certainly abundant in mercy to His children! This
singular answer to prayer reminds me that God will certainly fulfill His promise
to send His Holy Spirit in abundance when we seek Him diligently. I pray that I
will be found beneath the cloud, not on the dry side of the cloudburst.
