Those who have partnered with us in prayer over the years know that we have had a bus and/or vans on our prayer list for nearly ten years. We have prayed and waited, and prayed and waited, and prayed and waited some more.
In the fall of 2020, while passing through Franklin, TN, I stopped at the dealership where our current bus was purchased in 2009. I spent a couple hours with a salesman learning all about school buses from pictures and videos because there were no buses on the lot. Orders had been delayed for months due to the shortage of parts and computer chips. The salesman encouraged us to take good care of the bus we had and “drive it until it dies.” He helped me understand the pricing of various models and suggested that we put a bus on order soon if we hoped to have one by the fall of 2023. That was three years away! I left the dealership feeling more committed than ever to pray for God’s miraculous provision for this specific need. The long wait and high price for a new bus were daunting, but I was convinced that the Lord knew of this need and would provide for it in His time for His glory.
Three years passed. The 2023-2024 school year began, and still no bus. We had researched. We had contacted other dealers. We had watched Facebook Marketplace. I shamelessly stopped at every business and auto center where I noticed buses sitting unused for more than a couple days and asked if they were for sale. None of this seemed to lead us anywhere. By October, the CCA Board of Trustees agreed that it was time to prioritize the purchase of a new bus and authorized school administrators to begin the process. We began bus shopping in earnest. There were still no buses on lots in the Midwest. We found a used MFSAB near Seattle, but its list price was more than that of a new one ordered directly from the dealer. So, we prayed.
We contacted the Franklin, TN, dealer again, negotiated a deal, gulped, prayed, signed a purchase agreement, put a bus on order, sent a check for a downpayment, and prayed some more. We were told that the new bus should roll off the production line in February, and we could expect to take delivery by mid-March. The balance would be due on delivery. We trusted that God would bring in the remaining funds over those months.
Our December 2023 edition of CCA Forward shared the story of our current bus and asked our CornerstONE FAMILY to join us in praying for God’s provision for a second MFSAB. By early spring, God had once again proven Himself faithful. The prayers and gifts of God’s people shared with CCA had provided for both the full annual budgeted amount for student assistance AND for the balance of funds needed to complete the purchase of a new bus. Just in time!
I contacted the dealer to arrange delivery, only to be informed that production had been delayed. Perhaps we could take delivery in April. April came. Another communication with the dealer informed us that the production line had been shut down for quality control improvements. That news was not only discouraging; it was concerning. We kept praying. News from the dealer came in May that production was rolling again. Maybe we will get our bus by late June.
Late one afternoon during the first week of June, a salesperson stopped by the school office and asked if we were in the market for a bus. I shared that we had one on order and had already put money down on the purchase. I explained that we wanted to honor our purchase agreement, but that we would take his information and be in contact with him if something fell through. As a point of comparison, I asked if he could send me any information on the comparable units their company had in stock. Like most of the other dealers, they did not have any current inventory, but they had an allotment of MFSABs on order, and they could earmark one for us if necessary.
I contacted the dealer in Frankin to inform him that we had been in conversation with another dealer and to ask for a production status update. I told him that, due to our enrollment growth and the age of our current bus, we were in a position where we absolutely needed to have a second bus by August. He guaranteed that and stated that we should expect to take delivery by the end of the second week of July. I sent the salesman copies of CCA’s Let’s Pray! lists and the link to the CCA Forward article about the bus. I asked him to pray with us.
On July 12 (the Friday of the second week of July), I emailed the salesman. He responded by asking me to call him at my earliest convenience on his direct line. My heart began to race. Was there another delay? Or, was our bus ready? I picked up the phone and dialed the number. I have never liked conversations that start with, “I have good news, and I have bad news.” The bus production at the company where ours was on order was on another shutdown. The dealer was considering discontinuing its contract with them. My heart sank. Were we going to have to start the whole process over again somewhere else? As I was summoning my best firm but gracious response, the Lord prompted me to “be still and know that He is God.” A beat of silence. The salesman continued…
Another organization had placed an order through this same dealer with a different and more well-known manufacturer – one with whom we had been unable to work due to their high volume of orders. This organization was unfortunately unable to secure the financing needed to finalize the purchase. The bus was on the lot in Franklin that afternoon. It had features that were not included on the bus we had ordered and was about $15,000 more than the list price of our bus. I was thankful for the Holy Spirit’s prompting to be still. Instead of going into hardball mode, God gave me words to enter into a gracious exchange that ended with the dealer honoring our purchase price and providing delivery of the bus to us at half the cost of their typical transport fee.
The following Friday, the delivery driver called me at 12:45 PM to let me know that he was an hour out. I don’t typically tend toward a lot of emotion, but I was overcome in that moment. Years of prayer by hundreds of people. Months of research. Hours of communication and negotiation. It was not just about getting a new bus. It was about learning to trust God. It was about waiting on Him. It was about His people praying and sharing their resources for the accomplishment of something beyond themselves. It was about helping our students to take care of and be grateful for the things God entrusts to our care. It was about “praying until we really prayed” as our founders faithfully trained us to do.
At 1:30 PM on Friday, July 19, I went outside to wait and watch for the bus. It was an unusually quiet afternoon – the only day of the week that we didn’t have camps and clinics going on. No one was working outside. There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. It was a beautiful afternoon to sit outside looking over the property and thanking God for His goodness to His school.
At 1:45, a low rumble could be heard to the east – an oncoming vehicle . . . the bus!
I watched it roll toward the parking lot entrance through tears. I instinctively began to sing the song we have sung on so many occasions at CCA over the past 28 years: Great is Thy Faithfulness! A few lines in, I realized someone else was singing with me. Our Facilities Director, Rick Scogin, had come outside to take it all in, too. Our two-person choir would not win any awards, but I am convinced it was a sweet sound to our good-gift-giving God. Advancement Director Ciara Corley rolled into the lot right behind the bus. The three of us stood there thanking God for allowing us to see this amazing answer to prayer.
As soon as the papers were signed and the deal was done, we drove the bus to the machine shed to store it out of the elements and to keep the surprise under wraps. Mrs. Corley shared our story with a local graphic company which agreed to do the design work and apply our logo at a deep discount. This local small business owner was thrilled to be part of the story. And we are thrilled to finally share the story with you!
He has done it again! Our God has supplied our need. (Phil. 4:19). Our Heavenly Father has met our every spiritual need in Jesus Christ, and He even cares about and provides for our material needs. Cornerstone Christian Academy is His school, and He has faithfully poured out His provision once again. “The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes!” (Ps. 118:23)
We have the strong sense that we are embarking on a season of growing even greater trust in the Lord’s provision for the fulfillment of His vision. We believe that the bus story is just part of a bigger story of God’s faithfulness through CCA’s past and for years to come. Stay tuned, keep praying, and make plans to join us on Thursday, November 7, for Founder’s Convocation 2024 when we share about our BOLD VISION, BRIGHT FUTURE, and BIG GOD. He is on the move!
— Beth Sondgeroth, Head of School
