More rain

Group of sisters at prayer

The whole night howling winds crashed into the City but the rains were relatively light. There was thunder and lightening but not as severe as I had expected. And it rained like this for the whole day. Temperatures kept falling .... the highest at noontime was 6 degrees. It was funny watching people wearing false fur-rimmed hoodies, thick woollen or down jackets, lots of scarves and water proof boots. And it's locals who are dressed up like that. Mind you I was dressed up for the weather too ... a cap to stop rain on my glasses, a beanie over the cap to lessen the wet rain, a T-shirt under a woollen pullover under a hoodie under a water-proof jacket. Yes it was that cold ... and I haven't dressed like that in years.

Cold, wet and dark

Meantime the floods in the coastal cities have subsided ... but not totally. Another person died trying to save a family trapped in a car which was washed away by the flash floods. Sad. Though we need the rain ... I'm afraid the decade of drought has made the people laxed with caution, and municipalities unprepared for a torrent. The Sea of Galilee rose by 3cm in one hour alone. That tells you how much rain was pouring. I was actually thinking last night what would happen if an asian typhoon hit Israel.

I had to accompany a group of nuns today ... in the rain. We tried to limit our walking by visiting only the sites in the Old City. Most of the churches were relatively quiet as most groups have returned to their countries after the Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem. Either that or the weather and the threat of war is deterring people from coming. Anyway we managed to visit all but one of the churches. Winter is not a good time to visit because the sun sets by 4.30pm and most churches come at that time ... hence visiting time is shortened.  

Meantime the tense border situation is silent .... because the rain and floods are taking most of the headlines.