Navigation

Terrifying.  That wouldn't usually describe the trip to church on Sunday mornings, but this week, that's exactly the word to use. Since the director of the school is visiting in the States for a few weeks, we were left with no means of transportation for church this past Sunday.  Edmond, the man who is the driver for the school, said that I could drive one of the trucks on Sunday.  He gave me a driving test which lasted about 2 minutes, just enough to make sure I could handle the quirks of the clutch in the beat-up old pickup. His only words of advice were, "You just have to watch out for tap taps and motos."  That would be public transportation in Haiti.  A tap tap, which functions like a public bus or train, is a truck with a crowd of people jammed in the back, and a moto, which functions like a taxi cab, is a motorcycle that you can jump on and ride through town to your destination, sometimes on the road and sometimes on the sidewalk...

Sunday morning came and I was more than a little anxious. Then nine of our kids showed up wanting to join us for church. So, not only was I supposed to safely transport a handful of American summer school teachers, I would also have a truck bed full of precious children and teenagers.  I pulled one of the boys aside before we left and told him that his job was to pray the whole time we were driving that God would allow us to get to church safely.

Thankfully, the journey didn't go too badly.  There was a lot of laughing and maybe a little shouting as we navigated the streets of Port au Prince and made the 30 minute drive to Quisqueya Chapel. Octaline, one of the older girls from the children's home, said that she could be our navigator, since I don't have a great understanding of all the twists and turns.  This too was pretty amusing as more than once she gave a wrong direction and we turned down a street that was obviously not the right path.  At one point, Bernaldo shouted from the back, "This is the wrong way!  This is the way to Africa!"

Needless to say, we made it to church safely, praise the Lord!  It was a blessed time of fellowship and worship with an encouraging word from the sermon and lots of joy-filled songs from beautiful Haitian voices, including my sweet Magdala.

Through the misadventures of driving around Port au Prince, I was struck by my great need for navigation.  As I clung tight-fistedly to the steering wheel and tried to maneuver through tap taps and motos and water trucks and wandering goats and chickens and pedestrians and sprawling street-side markets and potholes the size of small valleys, I kept asking anxiously, "Where do we turn next?" I needed direction. I needed a navigator with a strong and certain voice to tell me where to go.  

I find myself following the same metaphorical patterns through this life. I don't know which way to turn.  I feel anxious and worried about making a mistake or picking the wrong path, and so I'm frozen by indecision.  I need direction.  I need a navigator with a strong and certain voice to tell me where to go.  

And slowly, by His grace, I'm learning that He is here, and He has indeed given me all the direction I need to navigate this life...

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ~Matthew 22:37

When my eyes are centered on the truth of God's grace and the present realities of His gospel in my everyday, then navigating this life is made both simpler and much more profound.  When I'm not distracted by the many other things that pull at my affections, I can abide in the truth of Christ's great love and grace.  When I remember Him, then I am free to respond and follow wherever He may lead.  

Thank you for following along with me on this summer's journey!  I'm thinking of you all and praying for God's peace to reign in your hearts as you walk through your own journeys, with eyes fixed on Him!  Much love in Christ, Jessie