Forty-five people haven’t bathed in days, haven’t had decent sleep. Forty-five people are hungry. They haven’t had much to eat. Forty-five people are crammed into a twenty-two passenger bus. Bodies are strewn out across the aisle and under the seats. It’s hot, it’s humid and it reeks. Nobody wants to be here, but there’s nothing we can do. “This is what I signed up for,” I told myself.
This is the situation my squad and I found ourselves in last week. In all of this, we chose to have a good attitude even though we didn’t like it. This scenario was set up to depict real events that my squad and I may encounter while on the field.
It was about 1am and everyone was restless. We believed a lie, even if was only for a few moments. We gave in to the lie that our joy was circumstantial. The Lord then led my mate Steph to speak up, suggesting that we focus on Christ and thank Him for what He has given us. Instead of sitting there miserable, we decided to praise Jesus. He was stirring something within our hearts. I’ve never heard such a beautiful sound in my life. When we had all the right in the eyes of the world to complain, we chose to be thankful for what we had. Singing, praying, and giving thanks to God went on for hours and hours. The Holy Spirit did a miraculous work in all of us that night in our bodies and minds. Souls were set at ease, backs, feet and knees were healed, demons were cast out, and minds found rest. The presence of the LORD was thick like I’ve never felt before. Although We didn’t get any physical sleep, it didn’t seem to matter. We took on the next day as if we had gotten a full night of sleep. The Spirit was keeping us going.
This could have been a miserable experience since we didn’t sleep for 48 hours, but God is so much bigger than that. In Him we have joy! It doesn’t matter where we are or who we’re with, as long as we focus on Jesus a choose to have a good attitude, we will encounter The Lord. Encountering Him doesn’t always mean getting butterflies in your stomach. Sometimes you won’t feel a thing, but He’s there. Papa loves His children. As many of my mates have said, “God doesn’t always give me what I want, but He always gives me what I need.” The bus was not comfortable, but it was exactly what we needed. Being refined by fire hurts, but it is the only way we can become pure. Sleepless nights will come. You may not like it, but hear me out, sometimes you need a bus.
I have 7 more months to raise $8,000! I’m also looking to build my prayer team. Help me out by writing a check to Adventures in Missions with my name in the memo
Sitting on top of the bus just before sunrise
