A New Bus: Our Daily Bread
Visitors to Westlake will no doubt notice an addition to our fleet—a newer, sleeker, quieter utility bus. The story behind this acquisition actually began a number of years ago.When we were buying our building in 2005, a small number of committed and generous people invested their personal resources to enable us to make the down payment. One particularly large promissory note came due this past year, so imagine our delight and surprise when the investor insisted that the note be rolled over for another ten years!
So how do we use the monthly payment we had budgeted for that note’s principal over the next several years? We decided to open a special savings account to prepare for depreciating items which will need to be replaced at some time in the future, a practice we have never been able to do before. Now we can plan and save for major repairs and capital improvements without creating a financial crisis. The first use of that fund is here. We determined last fall that our old white utility bus was facing some major, expensive repairs and we needed to replace it. Thanks to the new depreciation account, we now had the money to do that, and by God’s grace and guiding wisdom, this past week we bought and paid cash for that new bus.
We were able to make this critical purchase not only with the help of that generous investor, but due in large part to the many donors who have contributed so lovingly over the past several months. Our current financial health enabled us to use the depreciation account for it’s intended purpose rather than ‘raiding it’ for regular operational expenses. We are thankful for each person who faithfully supports Westlake. And because of your generosity, we were able move forward with this much needed capital purchase for our school.
Martin Luther once reflected on the implications of the phrase, “give us this day our daily bread.” He believed it is a prayer for the farmer who grew the grain, for favorable weather, for the miller who made the flour, for the baker who baked it, for the teamsters who transported the grain, flour, and bread, for the grocer who stocked it—in short, for everyone whom God has used to provide for us. In like manner, we must see His hand so evidently at work in graciously providing for our needs through investors, through donors, through sustaining power, through sparing us from expensive disasters, through the students and families He sends our way. To God be the glory for our daily bread!
