Jesus said "many are called, but few are chosen".  An old friend told us once that few are chosen because few people choose to be chosen.  Discipleship is not an easy path  to follow.

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May 11 - Nothing Rocks More

     There are sacrifices and hardships that other people are simply not faced with. So when we find someone who shares the same strong desire that we have to go out and reach lost souls, it is a thrilling experience.  Today, May 5, 2007 was one of those thrilling days!  We met 20-year old Daryl, who has decided to take that giant leap of faith into becoming a disciple for Jesus!   Backtracking a few hours, this is how our day began...

     We arrived to Santa Cruz at about mid-day after making the long trek from Los Angeles.  Most of us slept through the night as Andrew drove the bus northward.  By noon we had arrived and met  with a few old friends, Marie, Kerry and Ivan.  We sat and fellowshipped with them for a short time and then headed out to downtown Santa Cruz in search of souls and disciples.  It didn't take us long to feel the spirit of this little city... a rich, ocean-side town with an extremely liberal population.  Within two hours of witnessing we had talked with several Buddhists, Hindus and philosophical people who tried to explain away the existence of a higher being.  One man told us that they had just found Jesus' bones in some cave outside of Jerusalem and asked us what we thought about that.  We asked him where he got his information from and when he realized that his only answer was that he had seen a report on television, he immediately withdrew his comments.  It was surprising to us, to find out that many people here based their beliefs on one or two books written by who knows?  It almost seemed to us that it is in fashion here NOT to believe in the Bible, but rather some kind of wordy philosophy that apparently only the educated can understand; as the Bible says, they are "ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."  That certainly is a far cry from what Jesus told his disciples, that unless we are converted and become as little children, we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  As far as we can remember, Jesus was the only man on earth to ever say: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man can come to the Father but by Me." And he is also the only man we ever heard about that died on one day and rose from the dead three days later.  After two hours of in depth witnessing on the streets, we had prayed with 12 people to receive Jesus as their Savior!  And then we met Daryl...

     Daryl, 20, had been visiting with some old friends in Santa Cruz for the past month.  They had witnessed to her about Jesus and about what it was like to become a full time missionary, a disciple of Jesus Christ.  She arrived late that night for dinner and was immediately drawn to our message of giving 100% to serve Him.  We shared the words that Jesus gave his disciples 2,000 years ago: "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33).  It didn't take her long to ask if she could join us and become a part of the Prophet Bus team.  Devon and Marianne spent several hours with Daryl, explaining about the sacrifices of discipleship and she accepted the challenge.  The other members of our team discussed the possibility of Daryl coming with us and we all agreed that this was her hour, her time of discipleship.  Daryl jumped on the bus and became the very first Prophet Bus disciple in the 21st Century!  We are all thrilled. Thank you Jesus!