Raining on the Inside

Well, I've only got a few minutes to write a brief post to share with you the events from last evening... After getting home from the grocery store around 4:30, I noticed some small puddles in the entrance of my apartment. It's become pretty normal in my house to have small drips from time to time, which is caused by an unknown leaky source somewhere above me, but it's never been too severe. However, while making and eating supper last night, I heard more water coming down, and assumed it was raining outside, until I felt the cushions of my couch and saw the water near my door. Looking up at my ceiling I saw a clear line of cracks and seeping water from my front door all the way to my kitchen (about 10 feet across the ceiling). The water was dripping quite consistently at this point and I knew that I needed to investigate the situation. 

I talked to Laurens next door and we began to ask Amy and Rachel upstairs if there were any water problems. We soon found out that during the day, the mission had run out of water (a common problem), so when Rachel's cleaner had come to clean the shower, she accidently left the tap on. So from the time the water truck came to when Rachel returned from the Hope House and turned off the shower (an undetermined time, but it was at least a few hours), the water was gathering in the cement between her floor and my roof which eventually began to leak from my ceiling.

Fortunately we identified where the water was coming from, which now means that Rachel's shower will need to be repaired. And I spent the evening moving furniture to avoid the wetness as well as spreading towels and pails from one end of my house to the other.

Luckily, when I woke up this morning the leak had decreased significantly, however it will probably be a few more days until all the water has drained completely. I've taken a few pictures of the damage that I will post for you to see soon.

I need to get back to my afternoon of teaching now, but I just wanted to send you that update and ask you for your prayers in this situation.

Even though it was a complete accident, it was a little discouraging at first to see my freshly painted and decorated apartment get damaged, and yet I have come to realize that it could have been a lot worse.

Thank you for praying along with me that the leaking will subside and that I can soon get back to living in a dry house... I guess it's another lesson for me to never take anything for granted in Haiti!