Get Off The Bus

“All we know that is we just have to get off the bus.”  David started our morning devotionals with this comment and it immediately brought everything into perspective.  That’s all we have to do- get on the bus.  God chose us so we already have a seat.  The ticket fair has been paid, the journey made, and the driver is already in His seat ready to go.

Our team was reflecting this morning during our devotional time and I (Sarah) couldn’t help but think about the way so many of us just sit.  I don’t care if you’ve taken the time and made the effort to come all the way to Africa or any other foreign land.  It doesn’t mean you’ve stood up and gotten off the bus.  You could have taken the bus all the way to Uganda and still be telling God, “You can take me there but I’m not getting off this bus!”

So often we chose to reach our destination and sit in the seat of salvation.  There we sit, the hot sun beating down through the bus window while others file off to live out God’s will.  We watch from our window seat as people take a step of faith and just go.  Are we too afraid?  Too proud?  Too unsure of the unknown?  We’re saved and have our seat, but so what?  We have to get off the bus.  What good are we to anyone else if we ride the bus of righteousness and sit in the seat of salvation but never invite anyone else to partake in the journey with us?  How many will come if we simply wave from the window as we pass through people’s lives?  How many will say, “I want to be on that bus” if we refuse to stand up and walk in faith?  Not many, I can assure you. 

But what I can assure you, is that this team is not a group of passengers.  The young people in particular have continued to amaze us with their insight and wisdom regarding the things of God.  Matthew shared this morning, “The more we grow the more we learn and the more we learn we don’t know.  He just wants us to submit”.  This is a young man who is on the bus and ready to go.  So often we race ahead of God, even jumping off the bus while it’s still in motion.  But with Matthew we see a man who submits and moves forward with wisdom and discernment. 

Adam, another member of our team, sat quietly this morning before sharing from his heart.  “Today and in our world we talk about making the decision to follow Christ.  Before the trip I had pride and wanted to say I’d been to Africa to help and could now check that off the list.  But more and more God is showing me it’s not about me but rather that He is allowing me to come along and be a part of what He is already doing.  That’s amazing to me.”  Adam is seventeen years old.  Seventeen.  How many of us had such Godly understanding at this age? 

And then there’s Madison.  Asked to close us in prayer, she requested first to share a verse the Lord had given her.  Acts 26:18 says  “I am sending you to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” This girl gets one of the most important spiritual truths but can’t even legally drive a car.  Can you imagine where these three and the other young people on our team (Michal, Millie and Natalie) will be in ten years?  They are our world changers and need our prayers. What a privilege it is for the rest of us to serve along side of them.  They are the ones teaching us! 

These kids are riding the bus and getting off at every stop.  The world is asking, “What good can come from Nazareth?” (In other words, “What’s the big deal about this Jesus?”) And their response is simple. “Come and see.  Get on the bus and come and see.”

First we have to get on the bus.  Are you on the bus?  Don’t miss out.  Your ticket has been paid.  The Driver is waiting and there’s a seat just for you.  Get on the bus, take the ride, and then wait on God.  We’ll make the journey together and before you know it you’ll hear, “It’s time to get off the bus and go”.

And speaking of, we’ve arrived at our fourth village of the trip.  This one has a private school reopened last year by Gulu Bible Church.  There are many children here but no clean water to drink. The nearest water source is almost a one-mile walk each way.  The color and condition of the water is enough to make you write a check on the spot.  At this very moment we are using it to make porridge for the village.  Many of the children here are sick.  One little girl, no more than a year old, has been burned so badly by a fire that one arm is gone and her face severely scared.  There seems to be more crying here today than in the other villages.  And yet…

The kids smile.  They laugh.  And as I write this on a hot bus in the shade, they are playing game after game with whom else but our amazing teenagers.  I wish you could see what I see now.  It makes me want to get off the bus and go.  J Somehow Topher has made his way amongst the youngsters.  Side note:  One evening we found Topher sitting under the stars with the kids like he was one of the crowd.  It made us chuckle because Topher is…well decidedly not in his teens but rather two or so decades removed.  Nonetheless there he was holding his own.  And now I see him once again running around with the kids decked out in his cowboy sunhat, sunglasses and golf socks. 

As Topher keeps the older ones engages, babies are crying because they’re sick and hungry.  The kids have yet to eat a single meal and it’s already almost three in the afternoon.  The clinic has a line forty children deep all waiting to be seen and hopefully treated by our tireless medical team.  Michal has a precious baby tied to her back and has never been happier in her life.  The little one has been asleep for hours and has just woken up drenched with sweat.  The sweetest thing is that she will only allow Michal to hold her and cries if another Mazungu (white person) tries to take her.

Yes, I wish you all could see what I see.  But first you’ll have to get on the bus.  See where He takes you.  Just maybe it’ll be to Africa.