BUSES International Weblog

BUSES had a busy weekend of ministry.  We supplied all the sound equipment to two different church events – The Mid-Atlantic District Youth Winter Retreat at Kalahari Water-park in Sandusky, OH and the Great Northern Explosion Conference in Cleveland, OH.  Sound good?

We just talked to Pastor Jean-Martin Etienne in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  He and his family are surviving, but things are bad.  He reports that already the relief effort is beginning to loose its strength.  We’ve seen this happen in past disasters.  There is a great initial response, but after a few weeks and then a few months, the help and support falls away even though there is still a lot of need.  He said that disease is a real concern with all the dead bodies still buried in the rumble.  Food and safe drinking water continues to be a high priority.  He said the need for the mobile clinic is huge.  BUSES International is still raising funds to build this Medical / Dental Bus for Agape Mission in Haiti.  Visit www.busesinternational.org for further details.  Please pray!

Our friend and brother, Pastor Jean Martin Etienne of Agape Mission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti is alright.  We final heard his family all survived.  Praise God! He’s located at the epicenter of the earthquake.
 
Back in November 2009, BUSES International hosted him here in Lorain, OH and made plans to build a Mobile Medical / Dental Clinic for him and Agape Mission.  Mission teams and doctor will use the mobile clinic to provide free medical care to the poor.  We are still moving forward with these plans to get this unit to Haiti ASAP.  We already have the bus.
 
We are accepting tax deductible donations for this project through our website or by check.  Please pray for Pastor Jean Martin and the people of Haiti… the needs are great!  Go to www.busesinternational.org to learn more.

Today, a 40-foot shipping container (a semi-trailer full) left BUSES International headed for San Salvador, El Salvador. It is filled with donated food, clothing, shoes, hygiene items, blankets, toys and BUSES’ Christmas Shoebox-gifts.

Missionaries Don and Terry Triplett of King’s Castle Ministries are waiting to distribute them to victims of Hurricane Ida. There is still need among the people, and these relief supplies will make a huge impact.

Below are a few pictures of the donated items as they were stored in our warehouse and a few pictures of the items being loaded into the container.

Additional pictures can be found on our website.

Praise God for everyone who responded in some way to make this effort possible. Please pray God will make the supplies effective in displaying His love to the people of El Salvador.

Unit #80 is complete.  Heaventrain is a street evangelism bus that ministers to over 1,500 children each Saturday in some of the poorest neighborhoods of Cleveland, Ohio.  They also distribute food and clothing throughout the year.  Yesterday, we participated in the dedication of the bus.  We were thrilled to see the faces of the workers as they toured the completed vehicle.  It’s a mobile church on wheels.

Visit our website (http://www.busesinternational.org/clinics/80/80.shtml) for more information and photos about this ministry unit.  You can also visit the Heaventrain website (www.heaventrain.org) to learn more about their work and ministry.

Since 1992, BUSES International has collected Shoebox Gifts for poor and needy children at Christmas.  Each shoebox is filled with school supplies, small toys, candy, toiletries, underwear, socks, etc.  The shoeboxes are transported to poverty stricken areas like Mexico, the Appalachia Mountain Region or the inner cities.  Every kid wants to get something nice for Christmas.  These boxes are a powerful expression of love.  Some donors make it a family project, and they write personal notes to the child encouraging them.  Each box given means the child that receives it is not forgotten or overlooked.  Each box brings validation that the child is important.  Sure the items in the box may not last long, but the feelings of joy will linger; and if God will use “even a cup of cold water given in His name”, then a Christmas Shoebox can be powerful.  For details on how you can participate this year, visit our website www.busesinternational.org and click on the little girl holding a shoebox on the homepage.

We are so excited to announce the completion of Unit # 80, a street ministry unit for Heaven Train.  This unit will operate in the Cleveland, Ohio USA area to share the Gospel with literally thousands of children each year.

For more information and photos of our current and complete projects, visit our web site at http://www.busesinternational.org and click the Clinics menu.

For more information about Heaven Train, visit their web site at http://www.heaventrain.com.

We are back in the shop!!  The trip to California to deliver the medical clinic was a great success. We met a lot of great new friends and made several good contacts along the way.  We are busy here at the shop and preparing to deliver the next unit on Friday. Our success can be attributed to your prayers and support — Thank you!!

We are also working on a food-service unit to feed the homeless here in Ohio.  We will also be starting on a unit for weekend programs very shortly.

Check back soon for more details!

For over a year, we have been in talks with a ministry about building a mobile surgery center for Nigeria, Africa.  We are pleased to report, this week we received the go-ahead to move forward and begin building this bus.  We are currently looking for an appropriate bus to meet the project requirements.  Be praying for us as we begin our search.

Also, be praying for Nigeria!  The needs of the people are great.  Political turmoil abounds and the persecution of Christians is troubling.

The staff at BUSES International is very excited about this opportunity.  Ever since our Kenya Project with Peter Mbogo Kamau of Take Heart Assocation Project (THAP), we have desired to continue our impact on the continent of Africa.

As always, we so appreciate your interest, your prayers and your support of BUSES International.  The work continues …

So much of our work deals with far away places, that it’s a real blessing when an opportunity arises right here in Northern Ohio.  We’ve been working closely with RAM-Ohio (Remote Area Medical of Ohio).  It’s a non-profit organization that sets up free healthcare weekends in some of Ohio’s poorest areas.  Hundreds of medical personnel along with dozens of hospitals volunteer their services to provide free medical and dental heathcare to the poor.  It’s really a neat program and we are honored to work with them.

This past Friday, BUSES International donated a plethora of medical and dental equipment that filled an entire 26ft Super Mover U-Haul Truck.  We loaded it and then unloaded it at their warehouse.  The equipment will be used at the coming RAM-Ohio health-care weekend the first weekend of May in Cuyahoga County.

We are continuing to work on phase # 1 of a Food Service Bus for We Care Connection of Cleveland, OH.  It will be a mobile kitchen that will serve hot meals to the homeless.

We’ve cleared the snow and we’re keeping busy!