Epilogue
To be part of a trip
that encompasses the touch of an Angel makes the rest of the trip
somewhat anti-climatic. Yes,
there were some young folks who accepted Christ as a result of the
back-yard Bible studies. Yes,
there were some of our kids who realized the call that God placed on
their lives and they were moved to accept that call.
Just as important,
there were young folks who were not called into special ministry by
God, however, they are being used by Him in everyday life. Working; raising families while being
responsible citizens is a special call on anybody’s life.
These young folks are no less important to God
than those He has called for special ministry. To be a person with the anointing of
the Holy Spirit on your life can accomplish as much as those who are up
front leading churches and ministries across America.
It is to that end
that knowing what could have happened on the side of the hill in
Virginia going down Interstate 81 still leaves a queasy feeling in my
stomach. I have even accepted
the fact that there will be many restless nights remembering not what
happened but visualizing what could have happened.
Yes, I know that God
was and is in control. I also
know that God is going to call me home one day and ready or not I am
going. Does that make me want to
leave any sooner than He has planned?
Not
necessarily. More specifically,
I do not wish to be behind the wheel should God decide to call me home
with 46 kids, chaperons, and ministers trusting in me.
What
I want is to be the best professional driver any charter coach company
has on the road. To do that, I
will have to abide by all the rules of the road; the DOT; and the
company policies.
It is not as if it
cannot be done – drivers do it all the time. I have just got to place my
perspective in being one of those drivers.
The restless nights
will subside; the queasiness will vanish; and you know what – God will
still be in control! So I have
decided to let Him be God. Just
let Him be God! He is going to be anyway – who am I
to think that I could make any kind of a dent in who He is.
Now regarding why I
have decided to share this information with the general public? After leaving the professional ranks
as a charter driver, I purchased a 1986 Model 10 Eagle motor coach for
the ministry.
I converted it for the purpose we had for
transporting drivers from hospitals home or to other medical facilities
near their home. In the time
span from the year 2000 to 2015, we helped over 100 drivers get home to
their families when they had no other resource.
Carol and I were the
drivers. Getting our patient
home was as important to us as the kids who were on the choir. Many times, she and I would drive
over 1,000 miles in one day so that we could get a driver home with as
few days on the road as possible.
We did it switching
out and taking turns. Many of
the days, Carol would drive as many miles as I did. We usually started about 4:30 in the
morning. I would drive until
about 8 and then we would stop for breakfast.
Carol would take
over at that point and drive until noon. She then prepared a meal for the
coach while I fueled and made sure everything was as it should be on
the outside.
I drove after lunch
until around 4:30 or 5 when she again would take over and drive until
early evening. She did not like
driving after dark.
I finished off the
day driving until 7:30 to 8:30 each evening. We could cover almost 2,000 miles in
two days and usually get the patient to his or her front door by the
second evening.
Yes, we would be tired. At the end of the day, when we laid
down in the bedroom at the rear of the coach, we knew that we had done
our duty to the best of our ability.
Our age finally
caught up with us as both of us are approaching 74. We, after much prayerful
consideration, decided that it was time to turn the coach over to
younger drivers.
I placed the coach
on the market and within a month we had a trucker’s charity in Illinois
that was interested in adding the service to their organization. The deal was made and the coach left
our yard for good.
I am not now nor
will I ever be a full time driver of a motor coach. I am not interested in getting behind
the wheel of any motor coach period.
We enjoyed our work
through TransAlive. We do
conduct the services that we had before, just not the coach
services. One can go to http://www.transalive.com to see
the services that we still offer for the transportation industry.
We still offer the
AmCoach service on our website.
It is, however, understood that any calls we get for the service
will be directed to Truckers Charity for completion.
Being completely removed
from the responsibilities of driving, I can now share how God responded
for the choir tour to be saved on that fateful night in Virginia. God, how I praise Him for what He
did.
You see, I come from
the transportation industry and I know the statistics on accidents;
death; the loss of life and limb.
I have been preparing safety tips for drivers for 30 years. There are over 500,000 copies of my
safety tips in print each month across America.
Those tips currently are being published in the
print media and with web site providers. Trucking companies copy the tips for
their local company newsletter.
I research, script,
and record the safety tips. The
tips were played back on the Bill Mack Trucking Show for over 20
years. Mack’s trucking show aired
during the early morning hours 5 nights a week.
Ironic that after
nearly losing a coach with 46 lives in the early morning hours in
Virginia, now I am recording and playing back safety tips for drivers
who are driving at the same hours as I did in 1986. I trust that they are benefiting from
my mistakes.
Regarding the
balance of the choir trip for First Baptist Church Euless, it went off
without a glitch. The kids
seemed more energized each and every day; the back-yard Bible studies
went great; and the choir presentations were on target each and every
night.
We made it back to
Euless according to the time schedule pre-decided and the parents were
glad to see their kids come home.
I watched as each parent ran to their child and hugged them with
great love. In the back of my
mind, I could not help but think, “How it could have been …?”
The final choir
presentation in the home church was the grand finale event of the
summer. The kids were beaming
with pride and their expressions of appreciation for their church
making it possible for them to travel.
It was a great end to a great summer.
Before closing this
book, I would like to give an opportunity for those that would like to
accept Christ as their personal Savior.
It is as simple as ABC and can be done right now in the
quietness of your home between you and a loving God.
Just follow the
simple instructions and Christ is waiting at the altar for you. His arms are open for you.

After praying this
simple but profound prayer, find someone you can share your
decision. Let them help you find
a Bible believing church. You
will know it is a Bible believing church when as the pastor begins to
speak, he opens God’s Word.
You may also call
800-USA-HURT for more information or my personal cell phone
817-320-0567 24/7/365. God
bless…
|