There has been a lot of heavy rains in Venezuela over the past couple of months. Dozens of people have died and many thousands are now homeless. When it rains here its just about the same as americans react to the snow. People don't go out of their houses until the rain stops. They're scared of the rain, they think that they will get really sick if they get rained on. Now, if you go outside and play in the rain like I do, they think you're mentally insane. But anyways, rain does do a lot of damage. Usually it hardly rains...so to have such a long period with consistent rainfalls is really weird. The cities here were not built to drain well, so water accumulates rather quickly. In Maracaibo streets are flooded just after an hour of moderate rainfall. So, there are several towns in Veneuzela that are completely flooded right now. Areas that are really flooded are located near rivers. One of those towns is called La Guajira and its in the northern part of the state of Zulia, the state where Maracaibo is located. There's a large indigenous group called Guajiro that live there. Our church went on a mission trip there in August. Many people that live in this region are now homeless rain has damaged their homes and other possessions. The governor of Zulia is wanting to declare a state of emergency. There are many other states that are affected as well. President Chavez has turned his presidential house into a shelter for flood victims. He's invited I'm not sure, but a number of families, more than 15 families, to live in his own house. I guess I should also add that there has not been a lot of damage in Maracaibo, we're located near the sea, but not any rivers. So, Hebert and I are fine, but we ask that you all will be praying for the families affected by flooding and heavy rains.
