Jesus Take The Wheel

This phrase took on a whole new meaning for me yesterday morning. I officially became a driver here in Tanzania. I was out in the village of Karansi with a Perimeter team but had to come back to the city of Arusha for some meetings. That meant I had to drive. For starters, I am taking some malaria medicine that has been known to cause night terrors and hallucinations in people. I have had strange dreams but nothing other than that. I intended to follow Yona who works with Imara, so that it would be safer for my first solo voyage. We needed to leave at 6am to make the hour and half drive in order to be there in time. I woke up several times in the night afraid I would oversleep and thinking that I had heard a car horn. I began to worry that I was hallucinating. When I finally got up to leave, I made my way to the car in the dark. All of a sudden I started hearing a very strange noise which is in addition to the barking and whining dogs that sound like they are dying. I was scare that I had begun to hallucinate. What is the noise right behind me! Where is it coming from! Am I really going crazy! Then I remembered that in my backpack that I was carrying was Bobby (my headmaster)'s noise maker and it had turned on in the jostling. Whew! Not crazy! Well, at least not hallucinating. =) I did not see Yona anywhere. His car was gone. I assumed I missed him. (I found out later, he had just gone to go and pick up the pastor and was coming back for me). As I was leaving our gated compound, I noticed two people standing at the gate. I assumed they were the night guards. I stopped my car and rolled down the window. He started to converse with me. I said sawa which means okay. I had no idea what he said. I was just anxious to be on my way. However, as he was getting in my car I realized that I had agreed to give him a ride. Dad, I am okay! Don't worry! I did not take him far. Then, in case you didn't know they drive on the "other" (not the wrong) side of the road. Most people do not actually value tail lights. So, knowing when to stop for someone who has depth perception problems can be a bit of a challenge. Then, came the road block. I was stopped by the police on my native voyage. I just smiled and only spoke English as I was told. He said are you OK? I said yes, He said OK, you can go. I learned how to pass cars and how to be passed frequently. The turnoff for Imara(the organization that I am working with) is a small little sign that I did not notice until going quite a bit past it. I learned how to make turns across very busy traffic where no one lets anyone in, you just have to push your way. But, I made it. This morning I needed to go to Joshua (the teacher's training college). The road to that place would not really be called a road by most people's standards. There are HUGE potholes. All dirt. Ravines. Bumps. Rocks. You have to zigzag across the road so you do not get stuck. During all of my wild driving adventures, I couldn't help but think of "Jesus take the wheel." I did do quite a bit of praying during the whole process. As I was driving, I had this feeling that Christ was sitting right next to me in the car with his hand on my knee with comfort. He will calm the storms. As I was about to freak out a little, I knew He was there. He is always with me. He said I am here. I am taking care of you. Do not fear. I felt like there was a small band of angels all around my car keeping it from falling in a ditch, or getting stuck in a hole, or going into the wrong lane of traffic. I think those angels probably got a pretty good workout. =) But, I am pretty sure that song will always make me think of driving in Tanzania.