Praying for Rain

Fall is usually a very rainy season in Tajikistan.  The first time we moved here, it felt like it rained all November non-stop.  We were in a temporary house for five weeks, and I remember being stuck inside with small children all day with nothing to do but just watch the rain fall.  I've come to enjoy the rainy falls after long, hot sunny summers.  It helps to usher in the quiet season where the days get shorter and the temperatures cools down to cozy levels.  The mountains start to turn green again after being brown all summer long, and the grass in town comes out of its summer dormant period and beings to grow again.  The air is washed clean from summer dust and we can enjoy the view of mountains again - mountains that become increasingly snow-covered as the rains continue.  

This fall, however, has been different.  The sun has continued to shine relentlessly every day, stubbornly refusing to hide behind clouds or rain or anything that would bring some water to the land.  When we arrived in September, that was normal.  As we headed into October, the rain-free weeks became a little distressing, but I didn't complain about the lovely seventy-degree days (detoxing from the winters of Astana will take some time).  But when November showed up and we had only had one good day of rain since we arrived, I started to get concerned.  

Now it's December, and there still hasn't been any rain.

I grew up on the East Coast where it rains on a regular basis, and 'droughts' look like grass that gets crispy around the edges and trees start to look a little sad.  When I moved to Utah, which is much more dependent on winter rain and snowfall, I started to pay attention to those things a lot more.  There were several very dry years that made the reservoirs drop alarmingly, and a lot of prayers were given asking for the rain to come.  We've lived in dry countries every since leaving Utah, and rain is something that I appreciate much more than I did in my youth.

All of Central Asia is dependent on seasonal rainfall.  No rain of significance falls during the summer, so all of the water for the region comes from snow that accumulates during the fall, winter, and spring rains.  All of the agriculture is watered from the rivers that flow from the mountains, winding their way across plains that grow food for the region.  If there is not enough snow to melt, there isn't enough water for the rivers, and there isn't enough water to irrigate crops.  It's a very important cycle to maintain.

Tajikistan has an even further reliance on water that goes beyond agriculture to power generation.  Over ninety percent of the country's power is dependent on hydroelectric power, which doesn't work when there isn't enough water.  So a dry year for Tajiks not only means less water next spring, but a very cold, dark winter.

It is not uncommon to have power cuts at the end of the winter as the reservoir gets low before the spring melt.  The villages are often limited to several hours of power per day, but Dushanbe usually has full power.  Friends who were here last year told of rolling blackouts in the city for several weeks at the end of last winter.

This year, however, the blackouts have started earlier.  We are very blessed to have a whole-house generator which automatically switches over when the city power goes out.  A few weeks ago, the generator started turning on for a few hours a day.  Then it was on from 8-5 every week day.  Next it started turning on for a few hours on the weekend.  Now it runs from 8-6 and from 10-4 every day.  

This means that in our neighborhood, which is a very rich neighborhood (remember, the presidents of Russia and Tajikistan had a meeting just one street over back in October), only has power 8 hours a day.  The remaining 16 are dark, cold, and without any water.  Brandon has heard from his staff that other parts of the city have power for 2 or 3 or 4 hours a day.  The villages are restricted to two hours a day - one in the morning and one in the evening.  They can't cook food, heat their houses, or have any electric appliances or running water.  So far, the weather hasn't been too cold, but it's not yet winter yet and will only get colder.

There isn't any rain in the forecast for the next ten days - just sun, sun, and more sun - so nobody knows when the rain will come and the power will return.  That's the funny thing about the weather - everyone has to live with it, but nobody can do a single thing to change it.  Instead we just have to wait and pray.  That's all anyone can do.  

Hopefully the rains will come, the reservoirs will fill, and the mountains will be thick with snow.  Hopefully the sun will hide for all of December and we will be ready to see it again in a month or so.  Hopefully everyone will get to enjoy warm, bright homes through the cold of January and February.  I certainly and praying for that.  But that's all I can do - hope and pray.  Nothing more.  The rest is up to God.