It's rainy season here in West Africa so having heavy rain and bad storms is common for this time of year.
I remember one night last year during rainy season I woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of a violent storm raging outside. I love storms. I love them. I really looked forward to moving to Burkina because of the sometimes daily thunderstorms I heard they received during rainy season. Definitely a bonus for a girl who loves the thrill of weather. But during this particular storm last year I woke up afraid. The storm was so strong. The winds were whipping mercilessly against our home, the rain pelting down with incredible force against our metal roof. The windows rattling. The shadows of the many large trees in our yard bending and whipping against the forces at work outside.
The noise was deafening.
I immediately sat up in bed and stared at the useless t.v. sitting on our dresser in front of the bed. That wouldn't help me now. My first instinct was to turn on the Weather Channel or local ABC news and check the Doplar radar and see if a thunderstorm warning had been issued for the area. To see how strong the winds were. Did we need to move away from the windows? Was this tornado weather? Did they get tornadoes here? Would the trees hold? Was it almost over?
My whole life I have always turned on the t.v. to tune into the weather news. To watch the greens and oranges and reds move across the screen. It brings such peace of mind in the midst of bad weather. Weather reports are so commonplace in our American culture, a staple, a built in safety feature. So much so that I had forgotten what a gift it is that we have it.
Until I woke up that night and realized I didn't have it anymore.
There would be no Weather Channel or ABC news to check the local radar. There would be no up-to- the minute reports in the lower right hand corner of my empty screen. There would be no reports on wind speed, rain fall, flood levels, or storm clouds.
We are just in the complete unknown here when it comes to weather and you have to take it as it comes.
I remember feeling really vulnerable that night, as I lie awake in bed listening to the storm rage.
I thought about that night from over a year ago last week, as I was woken up again by a very similar storm. It was absolutely fierce outside. Sydaleigh came into our room in the middle of the night, afraid from the noise. Her and Marvelly were sleeping on the floor in the living room so I followed her out and laid down on the couch with her below me on the floor.
By morning the worst had passed but there was still some lingering rain outside, and it was dark and dreary. It wasn't long after I awoke that I received a call from Isaak saying that an Air Algérie fight that had left Ouaga last night during the storm had crashed in northern Mali.
The whereabouts were unknown.
Survivors unknown.
People from my community were on the flight. Ouagadougou maybe a capital with over 2 million people, but the ex-pat community is very small. Foreigners make up a very small percentage of Burkina's population and it is easy to know or know of everyone.
Everyone took the news very hard.
As the hours ticked by more and more news slowly began to emerge. The passenger list was made public, revealing names of many people who were well known and involved in the community. The owner of our local grocery store was on board with his two sons. A husband and wife who owned and operated a little hotel-the wife also happened to work at our own U.S. Embassy for 30 years in the med unit. The owner of a local home goods store around the corner from my house. Entire families.
I prayed that there would be survivors found. I prayed that not everyone would have perished. That help would get to them quickly....please Lord....
...help did eventually arrive. They located the aircraft just about 50 miles north of the Burkina Faso border in northern Mali.
But the plane was completely destroyed.
Not a single survivor.
The air craft was beyond recognition.
Just remnants remained.
Not long after leaving Burkina the pilot requested a change of course because of very bad weather in the area and poor visibility. Seventeen minutes later their flight disappeared from radar, having crashed in the remote desert.
While I was up listening to the storm rage from inside my home, a pilot was flying 117 other people through it. And having sat awake that night, it's not hard to imagine that it had the strength to bring down a plane. It was fierce.
While it is unsettling and vulnerable at times to ride out the storms here without knowing the severity and extent of threat it poses....I had no fear of death that night.
Yet it's incredibly hard to think of all those people on board that plane, people from my small community, flying through the darkness and the raging storm....who were fearing death, and would ultimately succumb to it.
It's very surreal.
When I think about what happened, the people I've seen around town, interacted with...my mind wanders to what it might have been like inside the plane, when they knew they were going down. Were they hysterical? Quiet? Were parents clutching their children as the rain pelted the windows? Were strangers seated next to one another holding hands in solidarity as the plane went down? Did the pilot give any last words? Did believers comfort those around them? Did anybody pray?
Was the name of Jesus cried out to?
I sincerely hope so.....it's hard to think about....entire families perished on that plane.
Following the crash, the country declared two days of mourning last weekend for all those who perished, many of whom were also Burkinabé. A memorial was set up at the airport where friends and family gathered to light candles and lay flowers. The U.S. Embassy is holding a service today. President Holland said a memorial is going to be constructed at the crash site in honor of those who died. Many nations as well as many families and loved ones are mourning as a result of this personal tragedy. So many people left to grieve and continue living through their loss.
I sincerely hope that during that tumultuous flight the passengers felt the presence of the living God in the midst of them. And that those who didn't know Him when they boarded the plane, knew Him when it was all over. And the tragedy that their loved ones are left to face in their absence catapults them into the comforting arms of Christ.
In the midst of real storms and "life" storms....Jesus has promised to be with us through it all. He beckons us to trust in Him and not be dismayed.
I've faced a lot of bad storms in my life, both those caused by rain and life's trials...and when faced with them God doesn't promise us the benefit of a doplar radar to predict its course or magnitude. He doesn't promise us a smooth landing or that we will even get off the plane when the storm has passed. He does, however; promise to remain close beside us through it all, and provide the strength and peace we will need as we face the onslaught of the winds and rain.
"Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10
2 comments:
been grieving with you.
with Burkina.
and love your passion, and promise, of Jesus. Of him with us. love you.
i cry when i think of the anguish those people may have felt - and then i pray that they only knew God's peace and that they stepped off that plane into His arms long before it ever reached the ground. i shopped in some of those places. i knew some of those faces. Praying for their families. Love ya.
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