In Fermanagh area we have been praying for some time that the Lord would guide us in new ways to reach those children in our area that are as yet unreached. At Easter Conference 2018, He burdened our hearts about the possibility of conducting clubs on board a double-decker bus with a Lego brick theme!
This seemed impossible to us, as it may have seemed to Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and it was through these verses that God confirmed with us His leading. Nehemiah 2:18, “Let us rise up and build.”.
We were overwhelmed (although we shouldn’t have been) at how God moved and provided for all that we needed to get the project up and running. Mind you, like Nehemiah, the road wasn’t always straight and smooth with hurdles such as insurance, tax, and MOT to mention a few. Yet as people prayed God moved and cleared the way. Now we have a bus that is converted, fully insured, taxed and with an MOT certificate, allowing us to conduct Lego brick building clubs upstairs and a teaching zone downstairs.
What a joy it was to have the bus at a motor event where we had 150 children on board at the end of June. We attended the Enniskillen Agricultural Show in August and welcomed over 400 children on board and distributed over 750 literature packs. We have had a number of bookings from Boy’s Brigade companies, Church Lads groups, church youth groups, schools and lots of interest from other groups for bookings through the spring and summer.
Our vision and burden for the BIG RED BUS was to see more children reached with the Gospel and to see new doors open and that is exactly what is happening! It has inspired churches in the area to try new ways of outreach. It has opened doors into new schools and been the catalyst for allowing us to go in with Gospel calendars before Christmas. It has also provided an opportunity to talk about the Gospel with parents, grandparents, teachers and many others, as we have shared of God’s goodness, our vision for the bus and as they see the interest and excitement from the children coming on board.
We praise God for how He has touched many hearts to get involved financially and practically in the project and we pray God will greatly bless them.
This article first appeared in our Spring 2019 National Newsletter.
