For Him and Them by Dean Cowles, YPN President

A monthly message from YouthPartnersNET President Dean Cowles.

For Him and Them by Dean Cowles

February 2008

The Wheels on the Bus

Have you ever booked a flight to the wrong airport? Well, I did last month - or better yet, maybe God arranged it. Either way, the whole trip deeply impacted my life. I went from a plane to a Greyhound and it blew me away. Part of your gift helped me purchase that $26.75 ticket, so thanks for "putting me back on the bus". I needed it.

First of all I need to explain how and why I bought the wrong ticket. I was invited to speak at a mentoring banquet and to do some training for our ministry partners, staff and board members in rural Johnson City, Tennessee. I'd been there before and they invited me back. I'm always trying to save YPN money so I pulled up Expedia to get the best price. Somehow in my mind I confused Johnson City with Knoxville, TN - two hours away.

I emptied my pockets within five minutes. I must have stood out like a sore thumb.

When I called the director to pick me up, he informed me of my mistake but it was too late and would have cost a lot more to change it. No problem I thought, my bad, I'll just take the Greyhound. So I got that ticket online and thought no more of it.

That is until I got to the bus station. It's been a long time since I've ridden Greyhound and it's a lot different now. First of all it was near midnight when I finally got to the station. And it was full of folks obviously down on their luck. To be honest, I was kind of scared and felt really out of place.

There was a single mom with one infant strapped to her back, two other toddlers hanging on each arm and three large luggage bags in tow. She said in her southern drawl, "Thank you sir" as I helped her with her bags. The deteriorating station was full of other stranded passengers and homeless men looking for some "change for a cup of coffee". I emptied my pockets within five minutes. I must have stood out like a sore thumb.

I'm sure you get the picture. I stood there, since there was no place to sit, for an hour just waiting. No Starbucks T-Mobile hot spot to plug in my computer to pass the time. No flat panel TV to distract me from this sea of humanity. All I could do (which is why I think God had something to do with this) was just stand, watch, and become overwhelmed with "compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd".

I wish I could tell you that I passed out blankets or hot coffee or even prayed with people. But I didn't do anything except help with some bags and give away my change. I was rather stunned and at a loss for words. All I could think was "What would Jesus ride?" I'm sure it would be the Greyhound or Metro Bus #15 along Colfax. I know where He'd be on that cold January 21st Martin Luther King night. (See my blog at www.YouthPartnersNET.org for more MLK reflections). He'd be right here in the bus station like he was with the woman at the well and countless other scenes when Jesus was "moved in his bowels with compassion" KJV.

I was reminded again to whom it is Jesus calls us. He calls us to reach out "to the least of these". I was also reminded of a list I made several years ago. On that list are three things each of us needs to do each year.

  1. We need to attend a baby dedication to remind us of new life and innocence;
  2. We need to attend a wedding to remind us of lasting love and renew our own vows;
  3. And we need to attend a funeral to remind us to live everyday to the fullest and our eternal destination.

Here's a new one.

  1. We need to ride the bus every now and then to remind us how most of our fellow brothers and sisters live out their daily lives.

What would Jesus ride? I'm pretty sure he'd take the bus.

For Him and Them,

Dean Cowles

LIVE COMPASSION!

Your Donations at Work:

Rehoboth Christian School was founded in 1903 as a ministry to the Native American peoples of the Four Corners region. A day school now, Rehoboth continues its ministry through education. Rehoboth's student body is both ethnically and economically diverse. Approximately 70% are Native American students and 40% come from very low-income and poverty-level families.

A Rehoboth education helps students develop confidence, competence, and compassion. Rehoboth is committed to building students up not only intellectually, but also spiritually and emotionally, helping them grow into mature Christians who approach the world with a healthy perspective and the skills necessary for living in it.

YPN is honored to provide another grant from our Native American/Rich Mullins Fund to Rehoboth Christian School for their tuition assistance program which serves the students with the greatest financial needs.

Rehoboth Prayer Request:

Their greatest prayer need at this time is not for a student, but for the family of a student, Rehoboth sophomore, Megan Ortiz, who went home to be with God on January 19 at the age of 15 years.

Megan had battled a rare lymphatic disease for the past five years, with countless hospitalizations, doctor visits, and operations. Through it all, Megan courageously fought for life with her mother and grandmother at her side.

Megan was a wonderful, bright girl whose determination to never give up inspired all who knew her. She was a natural leader who would take initiative to get things done, especially those things that she was passionate about. She strived to live as normally as possible even though she knew her disease would eventually take her life. Megan gave her life to the Lord at an early age and insisted right to the end that she was ready to go be with Jesus.

Megan's favorite Bibles verse was John 3:15. She called her Bible: Basic Information Before Leaving Earth. And she used a portion of the phrase from Dietrich Bonhoeffer as her verse for life: "Live each day of your life as though it is your last". Megan's life will forever remind us to live life to the fullest, to love others, to face our trials with courage and finally to live each day in faith.

Your prayers for Megan's family and the Rehoboth family would be greatly appreciated.

Megan Ortiz

• Visit the For Him and Them Archive