Departure day arrived and the group began showing up promptly at 7 am to start loading "new blue", a 30 passenger Chevrolet bus our church had just recently acquired. This would be her maiden voyage as the "Faith Bus". A few minutes into loading and I got a phone call that two of our number had overslept and would be about 30 minutes late. Oh well, no real worries, we'll go top of the tank, eat another doughnut, and wait it out.
At 7:45 we were on the road and all seemed to be well except around Hazen I began noticing that the voltage meter was beginning to slip. By the time we got just past Forrest City it had dropped down to about 9 amps. Not good I thought. It was beginning to act sluggish so I pulled off at the Earle, AR exit and slid into a parking place (or 4) at a truck stop. As soon as I killed the engine I tried to start it again, I had my fears and of course they were realized. Nothing. So I go into the truck stop and start asking around for a auto or truck repair place that might be close and might be open on New Year's Eve. Also around this time I contacted Bro. Tim Eubank, our super mechanic/deacon/friend and rescuer, as he was the one who had found this vehicle at an auction. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy and his brain began to work. I told him just to hang loose and let me see what I could do.
I got nowhere with the local truck stop so I went iPad on them and found some local numbers. The first was a bust, but the second shop said they could bring us a battery that should make it so we could get to the shop. Between Tim and I we had already decided it was most likely an alternator problem, but until we got the old one off there wasn't much we could do. We waited and waited for the guy to show up, finally after about an hour and a half I got impatient and thought I'd try the impossible and see it she would start. To my surprise she did, and about that time the dude showed up. We followed him to his shop, hoping the battery had recovered enough to get us there.
It did, we pulled into the front yard of a very small automotive shop in downtown Earle, Arkansas. Early tests confirmed, the alternator was dead. Now to find a replacement. One would think that being a Chevrolet van with a 454 engine that the alternator that it would call for would be the same as any other 1997 Chevrolet van with a 454. Well after about 6 hours of trial and mainly error it was discovered that since the van had been accessorized with an electric door, extra lights, etc. that whoever customized the bus put a Ford alternator on it. Finally, late that afternoon in a light rain, the new alternator was installed and we pulled out of the quaint little town of Earle, AR.
One little adventure that bears mention, about noon or so the troops were beginning to get hungry, so I asked the shop owner where we could get something to eat. He told me about a barbecue joint a few blocks away, so I ventured out to check it out. First, it was open...good so far. When I popped my head in there was seating available....good. The man behind the cash register assured me that they could handle 17 for lunch, so I went back to gather the troops. Their eyes widened as we walked around the corner at the Mom and Pop barbecue stand, but everyone enjoyed what they got and memories were made.
As we left, darkness fell as did the rain, and the electric door had been disengaged to let the students get on and off the bus, so we had to stop at a gas station, buy a screwdriver, have super Tim tell us what to do and fix the door so it would fly open with every corner.
But we were on the road! We stopped for supper, and for fuel every now and then, and at around 4 am we pulled into our hotel in downtown Atlanta. We got unloaded, I checked us in and passed out the keys and told the students that we would meet up at 10:30 the next morning, go grab some sleep. (Personal note: these kids had been asleep most of the way but good ole' Jeff had driven the whole way!). When I asked the hotel valet where we needed to park the beast he told me about a AAA lot a block and a half away. When I got there the height limit was way less than the van, so Joe and I drove around until we found a public commuter lot with space available. We look two, paid the computer kiosk and walked the 3 1/2 blocks back to the hotel, in the rain. When I finally laid down, the clock said 5:30 am.
Eight seconds later, or so it seemed, I woke up at about 9:45 am. I quietly showered and ventured out into the hotel's catacombs to find breakfast options. Luckily there was a sky bridge to a mall of sorts that had lots of different little restaurants, so I went back to the hotel to meet the students and have breakfast, which by this time had to be lunch...yaay!
After lunch I needed to go to the Georgia Dome to pick up our tickets/wristbands. The only problem was, it was almost a mile away and it was still raining. Suck it up buttercup, let's get this done. So my trusty helper Joe McDaniel and I ventured through the mean streets of Atlanta til we got to HQ and planted ourselves in line. We were wet and the line was long, but everything worked out and we headed back to the hotel...yes, in the rain.
After a quick supper we all headed down the street to the Dome (again, in the rain) to stand outside (in the rain) until the doors opened. There were 60,000 people wanting to get into the Dome, so even when the doors opened, this just took awhile.
I don't have time or space to go into all the adventures, so I'll just say the first night of the conference was awesome. Lights, music, the speaker, everything was awesome. Then we were separated into our community groups and off we went. After the group meetings were over, we all met up for the trek back to the hotel...yes, that's right...in the rain. When we got back, Joe and I had to go back to the parking lot to feed the meter for the bus's parking spots. When I finally got into bed, the clock said 2:00 am and I had blisters from walking 4 miles in wet shoes, oh well. Tomorrow will be a brighter day.
Well, the next four days of sessions and meetings were great. Really enjoyed them all, and even got to see 60,000 box lunches from Jason's Deli distributed in 24 minutes...twice! The only downside was the long walk to and from the Dome, with blisters, and arranging meals for the group.
On Thursday, I needed to attend a staff meeting back in NLR so our pastor, Techno-Bob had found some software that would enable me to attend the meeting on my iPad. The trouble was the wifi had all been claimed by the Passion people, so I had to go back to the hotel and pay 15 bucks to download and connect.
As good as the conference was, I never got in bed before 2:00 am all week long, so on Thursday night, knowing we had to check out, load up, eat breakfast, and get to a 9:00 session the next morning. I told the kiddos I'd meet them at the front doors with the bus, get them loaded, then send them to the conference. I was gonna grab a nap if I was gonna drive all the way back to NLR from Atlanta.
So early Friday morning I woke up, walked the 3 1/2 blocks to the parking lot (the same one I walked to every night to feed the meters), started the bus and drove to the hotel. We loaded up uneventfully, I instructed the kids of my plan, and where I would try to be parked to meet up after the conference and away they went.
I had arranged with the hotel to park under the canopy for 3 hours while I grabbed a nap and loaded my stuff up, at no small fee! I parked, went to my room and passed out...for 30 minutes until housekeeping banged on my door. I explained to the nice lady that I would be using this room until about 10 am and wouldn't require anything, thank you. Could I go back to sleep? Of course not. So I showered, packed up, loaded up, checked out, and headed out in search of a parking spot closer to the Georgia Dome. What was I thinking!?! Anyway, after much consternation, I asked the valet at the Holiday Inn if I could park on his lot for a couple of hours. Well kids, everything has it's price.
Eventually the conference was over and I found the students and we headed out of Atlanta. We found a Cracker Barrel and chowed down to be able to make the long trip ahead. As we got onto the interstate, Old Blue (the bus) began bogging down on any incline. This made the trip home quite agonizing as we could get up to about 70 mph on a long hill downward, but going up some hills we went as slow as 26 mph. But we drove on through the night. We had to stop every so often for fuel, meals, and to let the bus recover from her fits.
Finally around 1:00 am we pulled into the church parking lot, unloaded and I parked "old blue" in her new spot, letting Jennifer drive me home. When I went to bed Saturday night (the next night) that was the first night in the last 5 that I had been in bed before 2:00 am. This from the guy who watched Channel 16 news because it comes on at 9 pm!
Again, let me say Passion was a great conference, and the kids were great. No grumbling or fit-throwing. But looking back, I think I might have gotten too old for things like this!
