Africa Journal Posting #2

I think my awareness became the most heightened when the black man on the bicycle nearly wore the front left fender of our automobile. He actually wobbled a little as we came very, very close to his tire. I found me shoving my both feet tightly to the floor boards trying stop everything and assist Steve Chaloner to stop the car and miss the man. But that action was useless as I was in the back seat squeezed tightly between Alida and the back left passenger door. Alida and I were sandwiched into the back seat of the Peugeot along with Rick Tozer from Ontario. In the front seat was Steve, behind the wheel, on the right side of the car along with his wife Heather – sitting directly in front of me guiding Steve as he drove us through rather unfamiliar streets of Nairobi.

Don't get me wrong here – Steve is an excellent driver. We never touched anyone on the road including the man on the bicycle. The greatest challenge is the other million or so drivers that rush and push and ply and toot their horns and give hand signs at each other to squeeze into the lanes that every one is competing for – and they are terrible drivers! This is not a normal world where people drive normally. These drivers have never been to any driving school – in fact today I looked for any evidence anywhere for the “putt-a-long” Driver Training cars. There are none! This is Nairobi and it is rush hour – but it seems to be rush hour all the time. North American drivers have no idea of what this is like.

Now let's up this excitement just a little. On our way to the outskirts of Nairobi the sky opens up and the rain begins to fall. Well not exactly fall... it was the next thing to a deluge. Noah likely saw this as the beginning of the 40 days and 40 nights of the first rains. The road way was beginning to cover with rushing, red rivers that spread at times across the pavement. The ditches, as they were, began to run wild with the streams that were growing by the minute. This seemed to confuse some of the drivers that became more tense and more ramming at each other. We could hardly see out of the windows as it was coming so hard – neither could they.

Now turn it up one more notch. Every so often there are a very European idea – a “round about” – or a traffic circle. Now as we drove on the left side of the road you approach the circle in either the left or right lane. There are two lanes rounding the round about. To exit on any of the up to five different roads exiting from the traffic circle you need to be on the outside left lane of the circle just before that exit. Add one more factor each of the four or five lanes has two lanes coming into the circle with drivers all making their intentions known that they want one of the other four exits. On the round about you will have just seconds to move over or get out... or stay close to the right lane and go round and round and round.

Oh yes... and one more thing... the cars are not more than one breath apart. Some times you could not blow between the fenders and bumpers. If you did blow you must first inhail some hefty diesel fumes and cough between the breaths.

It was at one of the round abouts that the black man, riding the old bicycle, decided to cut across two lanes and make his exit. Now add to that it was after dark as we were returning home – and it was black outside.

My hat is off to Heather and Steve as they minister in this community and others across Africa. They are amazing people. But they are people and these people subjected to this kind of daily danger need prayer. Through out the day yesterday as we rode with each other more stories came to light as they shared the dangers that have happened even a week ago with robbers breaking into the homes of our missionaries to steal whatever they can. On two occasions there were guns involved and shots fired. But no one was hurt.

This trip yesterday has made prayer for Steve and Heather, as well as the other soldiers in the missions army of East Africa, even more important. These people need our support and care brought to a mighty God. God does answer prayer. Some where yesterday in Canada there was some one praying for our safety between 6:00 AM and 12:00 PM. I want to tell you for a fact that the prayer worked.

Thank you so much for praying.

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~