Driving in Haiti... Driving in life...

A pretty typical view as you drive down a typical street in Haiti

So driving in Haiti is pretty crazy. The only rule that I know of is that you do not hit anything and anyone and you can do what you want as long as the other drivers don’t mob up against you. Generally speaking if there is someone parked on side of the road you go around him… not so much when it’s safe… but when you can make it without crashing into the oncoming cars or people walking across the street. The closer you come the more successful of a driver you are because you left room for the poor smuck behind you to fill your previously held spot.



Overall this is the prefect place for me to drive. As you can see from the video there are a lot of taptaps (a mix between taxi’s, busses, and ford explorers with cages around them. So, these taptaps are everywhere. They stop anyplace a passenger yells loud enough to get the drivers attention to get out. Your job as a diver is to navigate around them. Safety is not a thought. The only thought is not getting into an accident. That’s all. Minus that… it’s free game.

Overall driving is a breeze here with exceptions to a few intense spots. Example, a round-a-bout as we call them in the states is first come first serve. The idea is to get your nose out in front first without getting hit. If you don’t do that, the driver behind you will politely let you know with a honk of his (mostly male drivers here cause all the women are working and earning a living) horn strait up till you get out of his way.


The other day I was driving to pick up the tribe from school (if you don’t know who the tribe is… you should) and there was a taptap in front of me broke down right before one of the crazy intersections I was talking about. I did a perfect maneuver around said taptap only to see that he has not really pulled over… he was sitting still in traffic. I had successfully tried to pass this guy only to block the oncoming lane. So there I was, head to head with a very angry taptap driver in front of me, behind me a mad driver who took advantage of my bonehead move to get on the street, the driver to the right of me wondering how this Blone (stupid white guy) ever got a drivers license, and of course a cop with a big gun looking at me too.

I really screwed up.

This happened right in front of me about 5 minutes before I crossed his path.

After I maneuvered out with precision accuracy never looking at the cop who was surely wanting to stop me, I said ok… God… where are you in this? This is what he told me;

We make choices in life every day. Some big, some small. When I started to go around the taptap, I honestly had the best intentions. I was not trying to block the road, make all the drivers mad, or tick off Mr. Police Man. But there I was. 100% at fault and my error. Everyone staring at me, no place to hide, no place to run to. I could not undo it. I could not back up. I just had to wait for the error to simi-pass and maneuver out and keep moving forward. Sin in my life is like that. Wrong paths in my life are like that.

Last year I made a choice. I zoomed out thinking it was right. All roads pointed to what I felt was the right choice. I went for it. Like a driver making a swift and precision pass around a taptap… I went for it. I suddenly was in the spotlight and everyone looking at me thinking… “You are the dumbest dumb person I know…” All I could do is sit there and look back at all the faces knowing while I did not sin (I guess), it was a dumb choice otherwise God would have blessed it. I don’t know where my theology is on what God allows and what trials he puts you through. In either case… with bad moves, you can either run from it, steer back in the path, and move forward… or you can run or hide from it.

What God wants us to do is to press on. Keep living a life pursing a creator who is passionately wanting our attention and love. Don’t live in regret and fear. Steer back in the lane of life He has you in and keep moving forward. There is road ahead to travel and more mistakes to make. No matter if you have run into a brick building with a dump truck or simply took a wrong turn. Keep pressing on, don’t live in regret, and don’t live in fear.

Something I struggle with mightily.

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A friend of mine shared these lyrics with me today:

I want to live in a house with God
only to keep my eyes on you
I want to be in your Kingdom parade
but my heart is bruised

I need the weight of the world to settle
only to know that you're here in the struggle
I need know that there's life in the dark

I want to love with a love undending
I want to know that you're here with us
I want to know that there's life in the struggle