(Young) Life is a Highway

By Jonathan Schultz
dec. 16, 2020

“In college I drove for Young Life Transportation, got to see all of the camps and many kids’ lives saved. Our son and his family live down the street from us here in Orlando, Florida. Due to COVID-19, as you know, Young Life camps were canceled. As a result, Orlando Young Life had one of their camps in Orlando. One of my grandsons, Reeves, was on work crew while my other attended the activities and club. He also took a friend who had never been to Young Life. I received a call from our son asking if I could pick up Andy, my grandson, and his friend after club. ‘Yes!’ I replied, and away I went. Immediately, I was taken back to the late ’60s when I was driving buses and taking kids to and from camp and I realized I was taking two kids in 2020 to and from camp! God spoke to me as I drove and picked them up. Just like in the bus so many years ago, I asked, ‘How was club? Did you enjoy the talk and time with everyone?’

​ The answer was a resounding, ‘Yes!’ At this point I was overwhelmed; thanking God for Young Life, leaders, camps and the mission worldwide. So, for me, Young Life Transportation is still alive and doing well in 2020!”

— John Oakman

Want to know more about what drives John in his passion for Christ and kids? Please read on!

All Aboard!​

In 1964, John was a high school kid in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Roger Harlan was a Young Life leader there and, though he was a great leader, in John’s words, “The only reason I went to Young Life was because of a beautiful blonde named Cindy Bessey.” Whatever his reason for first attending Young Life, John connected with Roger and began to follow Jesus at a fall camp in Maryland in 1965. Several months later, John joined Roger — surprise, Cindy was going too — on a cross-country trip to Star Ranch ​ in Colorado.

Colorado or Bust!

In 1969, while John was attending college, Roger asked him to serve as a counselor on one of his cross-country Young Life trips with high school students. John was a counselor for a week at Frontier Ranch and then served on summer staff for several weeks after.

In John’s own words, “This is where it all started!” It was during this time John worked for Joe Shelly, and leaned into his God-given mechanical ability, making sure the camp “Scouts” would run a lending a hand with the buses.

In 1969, Young Life owned buses to be used for transporting kids to and from camp. One day, Joe asked John to fix the air conditioning on one. John said, “This was the start of my adult life and working in the bus industry!” John continued to offer his time and expertise to Frontier Ranch for the next few years. When he turned 21, he earned his CDL License and became a Young Life Transportation driver.

Stopping for Fuel:

Remember Cindy Bessey? Well, one day during these early years, John was at a truck stop in Nebraska, praying for God’s direction on whether he should ask Cindy to marry him. The only catch was he needed to get back to Philadelphia and would need the money to purchase a ring. In John’s words, “Watch out what you ask for! Right then and there Joe Shelly told me there was a load of kids who needed a ride back to Philadelphia, and the pay ($250) was exactly the amount needed for a ring!” Cindy and John wed in 1971, following John’s graduation from college.

For the next year, Cindy worked as an RN, while John landed his first job. During a personal trip, the two encountered a Young Life bus at a toll booth on the Pennsylvania turnpike. On the way, Cindy asked John if something was wrong.

“The Lord is telling me we are not doing what He wants us to do.”

Immediately, they stopped and called Joe Shelly, who said, “I just let go of my shop foreman and lead mechanic. Want a job?” After some discussion, John went to Colorado where he was offered a job for far less money than they were making. Later, Cindy and John drove up to Saranac, where they met with longtime friends, Roger and Marlin Harlan. According to John, “It was there Cindy and I felt led to take the job, a decision that also positively changed my life forever.”

The Oakmans spent four years working for Young Life Transportation. John remembers “going many a night up to Silver Cliff, Buena Vista, Colorado, and swimming in the pool and looking at the stars. The temperature was 30 degrees outside and 90 degrees in the pool. It was a fun time for me and Cindy.” Eventually, the Lord made it clear the Oakmans’ time was done with Young Life Transportation and they landed in Pitman, New Jersey, where John worked for a bus sales and repair company.

And the Journey Goes On!

In church one day, John had a sense God wanted them to start Young Life clubs in their new community. The pastor gave the Oakmans permission to present the idea to their new congregation and two couples responded. Several years later, the couple moved to build a bus business in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Again, John and Cindy found there was no Young Life in their community, so they helped get things going. As things developed with the fledgling ministry, John offered to donate a bus if they got kids to sign up for Frontier Ranch. They did, and John and Dave Millhouser (Millie) served as drivers!

Since then, John has attempted to retire several times, only to be hired again by Coach USA (twice), and was even instrumental in the creation of a double-decker bus for the U.S. market, as well as the establishment of a U.S. plant for the Belgium bus manufacturing company, Van Hool. While consulting on the Van Hool project in Tennessee, John remembers walking with a group of people including then Governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam. In John’s words, “someone wanted to know how I got into the bus business? Well, I said, ‘I became a Christian through Young Life and worked at Young Life Transportation, and that is how I got to be in the bus business. It was because of the Lord using Young Life.’ Well the group comes to an unexpected stop and someone in the group said ‘What did you say?’ It was Governor Haslam, who also happened to serve on the Young Life Board of Trustees!”

For the past 57 years, John and Cindy Oakman have been on an amazing adventure — a scenic tour of God’s redemptive work in the mission of Young Life and beyond. They have had front-row seats, as both driver and passenger, to incredible miracles in their lives and in the lives of kids. To God be the glory!