Ya' Way - - - - - - -the before picture

CORRECTION: I had the wrong link in our previous blog for the Big Red Bus website and I wanted to put the correct link here. Here is the correct link http://www.bigredbus.org/index.htm.

We felt pressed upon our hearts that in order to connect with people who we want to reach, we needed to be able to go to them. One of the ways we felt we could do this was with a bus. The bus will allow us to go into neighborhoods, community events, local church functions and can be used for relief aid. The bus will draw people to us so that we can minister to them and develop a relationship of trust and acceptance.

Once we knew that God was leading us to have a bus and deck it out like the Big Red Bus, we were not sure WHERE we would get a bus and how much it was going to cost. Jeff searched around for a little while and even checked on Ebay. During this time, he drove by On the Rock Ministries and noticed they had some buses there that did not look as if they were being used. He was planning on going by there to talk with them about it, but did not get around to it that particular week. Well, that weekend someone from church came up to him and told him that Ken from On the Rock had called to get Jeff's cell phone number because he was wanting to donate a bus to Vision Onward. What???? We got a bus without even having to ask for it???? Apparently, Ken had heard from someone else that Jeff was looking for a bus and God took care of the rest. That is the awesomeness of God!!!! And thank you to Ken for his generosity!!!

So at this point. . . . we have an idea and we have a bus. Naming it was the tricky part. We did not want to name it something meaningless so we began brainstorming. We asked some of our creative friends to help us come up with a name and we had many, many great ideas. Most of us really liked the name Ya' Way - - -which was contributed by our great friend, Jude Henry. Jude has also been a HUGE asset in everything we have been doing. We deliberated over this name for a while and asked a number of people what they thought about it. We were a little concerned about the idea of naming a bus after Yahweh, God, and changing the spelling. We did not want it to be disrespectful to God in any way, nor did we want to offend anyone. We then sought out some wise counsel - -a handful were pastors- - -and I think most, if not all, thought it would be just fine to use Ya' Way as a name. We then learned that Jah (Yah) also meant God in Hebrew. So, by naming it Ya' Way- - -it means God's Way. Thanks Jude for your creative juices that gave the bus an awesome name. Also, thank you for all the time and dedication you have given to Vision Onward- - -you are a blessing to us!

We are currently in the midst of fundraising in order to get the bus ready to go out on the streets for ministry. If you are not sure what the vision is for Ya' Way, please visit this link http://www.visiononward.org/?page=ministries to read more about it. We will keep you updated on how things are coming along with the reconstruction of the bus.

We have been so blessed with many amazing people around us who have been supporting us through time, counsel, donations, ideas, contacts and prayer that we are hoping to be able to say thank you to one or two people with each blog we post. So, today was your day Ken with On the Rock and JUDE- - -THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!!

God Bless!!!!