It seems that this
past month of life has been one big learning experience, however this morning
was not only a learning experience, but also a major adrenaline rush as well!

The three
musketeers (Michelle, Denise and I) headed out to Karen (a nearby town) for our
first ever matatu driving lesson. Here is a quick side note – Matatus are the
Kenyan version of a van. Think old-school Volkswagon van and there you have it!

Off we went
bumbling down the road in our Adventures in Missions matatu looking for a quiet
road away from the busy traffic. That is something hard to find around Nairobi.
Traffic is constant and is not necessarily made up of just cars. For example
once I was driving on the main road I had to constantly dodge cars, taxis,
buses, public matatus, people on foot, bicycles, cows, goats, men with carts
and at one point we even saw camels on the side of the road! Talk about
aggressive driving – there can be no daydreaming when you are at the wheel or
you will have someone or something under your wheel.

Needless to say
along with adjusting to driving with so much commotion you are also driving on
the other side of the car and the other side of the road.

By the time I had
driven down a dirt road, onto a main road, gotten gas, made it through a
round-about, I was ready for a nap!

The other fun
thing about driving in Kenya is the complete lack of traffic patterns! You can
be driving a straight road and almost every 20 feet or so be forced to swerve around
a big truck, a person or another matatu OR be driving on a straight one lane
road and suddenly there are multiple lanes because if people are tired of
waiting in traffic they attempt to get ahead of it. There does not seem to be
any rhyme or reason to that so many lanes are created, the shoulder is used for
passing and driving and you can suddenly be very close to cars on both sides if
you are not careful!

After my first
matatu lesson this morning I learned that yes I know along the way I will be driving
in Kenyan traffic again. However as for the big picture I am far more content
watching others navigate through the craziness than it actually being me doing
the navigating! Last weekend I saw a bumper sticker that said I survived a
matatu ride – how very true that was today! Although I should say everyone
around me survived my matatu driving!

On a side note - my vertigo still continues to be an ongoing issue. The world spins faster and faster everyday it seems. Please continue to pray that God would be glorified through this every single day!!!