WHEN THE YELLOW BUS ARRIVES

KYRGYSTAN

After arriving here in Tokmok, we went to get groceries and returned to get settled in. Feeling excited to start the day - we were reminded of the hard days and nights people face here in this country. Electricity goes off at night, sometimes water is turned off for long hours and you cannot depend on things - comforts that seem second nature to most of us.

The reminder came when we looked out the window and the yellow bus arrived. It is not just an ordinary bus - it is old, curtains are in the windows and it has a very specific job. It comes to take away a deceased person and the family. They travel over to a burial site and then return the family to the same place in which they were picked up. Our hearts were heavy for the family members, knowing that this yellow bus is now a reality in their lives - it came to "their" home. Someone is now gone from them forever. We are watching out of our window.

Why do we return here again and again? Because the yellow bus will come again and again. We want to share, love and bring hope to the hopeless. Over 24,000 children die daily in the world because of preventable disease, abuse and hunger. How can we get upset because of a simple creature comfort such as electricity being interrupted? We must set aside all comforts to move forward and serve - TO SHOW UP AND STOP FOR THE ONE IN FRONT OF US.

Soon our partners David and Jayne will be here - sharing the urgency to bring hope and dignity to all whom we meet. We anxiously await their arrival. For they understand the yellow bus. John and Julie, Bekka and Emma will be here soon - they too know the pain and suffering behind the yellow bus. Our prayer is that we might serve many BEFORE the yellow bus returns.

Blessings...you are loved.