Strike

Tuesday afternoon Kevin was out playing soccer on the field with boy's team. The cross country team was running laps and students were hanging out under trees socializing. It was a fairly wet overcast type of day, with storm clouds threatening. When the rain started to fall most of the students went inside, most of the athletes continued to work out. Suddenly the light rain turned into a torrential downpour. I was inside with the kids, Louisa recovering on the sofa when I realized that the shutter to the window right over my bed was open. Many times the rain blows sideways right through the screens into the rooms, so during rainstorms we run around slamming the wooden shutters shut until the storm is over. So down to my room I dashed... no one likes a wet bed! When I got to the kitchen window, I looked out to the field, wondering when the soccer players would give it up and come inside. It was really pouring. At once the entire field went white and a loud boom shook the house. It was as if someone on the other side of my window had taken a flash photo right into my face. Wow, I thought. But then I heard Louisa screaming about rebels and gunfire. the boom being as loud as a very close big gun. So I rushed in to assure her that this was thunder not a gun and that everything was okay. That's when I saw Kev at the door looking wide eyed. Evidently the strike had come down very near the field. Kevin and all the other boys on the field were knocked off their feet, pushed down to the ground. Kevin felt like his hair was standing on end, another coach's head felt like it was on fire. Everyone jumped up and ran for cover. Once the storm passed and it was safe to go back out, Kevin headed over to school to make sure all the boys were okay. Fortunately they were all fine, just shaken up. However the power system at school wasn't so lucky. The strike took out all three power systems. We are in process of getting everything back up now. And feeling very thankful that inverters, fuses and charge controllers were the only things seriously struck.
I do have to admit that after our trauma with Louisa and this latest strike we are emotionally shaky. Life here has never been described as easy, I guess some days less so than others.