Walter's Flying Bus

Camilla Parker walks into Whit's End hoping her sister is nowhere in sight. When Mr. Whittaker asks what is wrong, she admits she is tired of hearing Olivia go on about exciting things like her upcoming trip to the National Theater in Washington, D.C., while Camilla herself gets to do nothing. She says she feels like an appendix, a part of the body that nobody needs, since Olivia has all her cool activities and Matthew is the technical whiz who helps Dad with his computer. Whit assures her that her family loves her, but Camilla is not convinced. Over a chocolate milkshake, she learns that Whit has just finished programming a new and very different Inspiration Station adventure, and he offers to try it out with her.

The adventure drops them onto a gravel road in Africa, where they meet a cheerful boy named Walter, an old friend of Whit's. Walter was badly burned when he was little, but he tells Camilla not to be embarrassed by his scars, because he is strong and able now. When he asks what Camilla is, she answers that she is just a kid, nothing special. Walter, on the other hand, has a dream, one he insists is important: "I will be a bus driver." He wants to pick up people who feel stuck and carry them to a home. As he speaks, mysterious music swells, and a chorus of children's voices begins narrating the story. Whit explains that the adventure is shaped by everyone inside it, since both he and Camilla are sharing Walter's dream.

The singing children lead them to a rusty, broken-down bus tangled in weeds. Camilla sees a wreck, but Walter sees a good vehicle that just needs love and help. Help arrives in a parade of animals and friends: Rachel, a girl who cannot walk and rides everywhere on her elephant JoJo, who lifts her with his trunk like a superhero; a boy who cannot speak but arrives with a noisy water buffalo; and Debra, who has cerebral palsy, only ever says "hello," and commands a troop of blue monkeys. A lion named Zombo licks Camilla's face, elephants spray everyone clean with their trunks, monkeys work on the engine, and at Camilla's suggestion the birds are used like paintbrushes to give the bus a bright coat of red, yellow, and blue. Gorillas heave the new wheels into place, and a boy named Tavon and his meerkats bring diesel fuel from a town miles away.

Watching Debra, Camilla suddenly realizes that all of these kids are disabled. Whit tells her they know each other from a local orphanage, but that their scars and weaknesses are only what shows on the outside, not who they are on the inside. When Camilla wonders why Walter doesn't simply imagine himself without scars, Whit answers that Walter doesn't feel sorry for himself or wish to be different; he makes the most of his life. Walter shares an African proverb about traveling together instead of alone: "If you want to go far, go together."

The bus is ready except for one problem: the battery is dead. Camilla remembers watching Matthew and his Inventors Club push-start Mr. Hagler's truck at the junkyard, and she proposes having the elephants and gorillas push the bus to the top of a big hill so it can roll down and pop into gear. Whit says it just might work, then surprises her by announcing that she, Walter, and the others must finish the journey without him. Before leaving, he hands her a little inspiration: a card with Colossians 3, reminding her that God's chosen ones should do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Nervous but determined, Camilla coaches Walter through the clutch and the key, the animals push, and the engine roars to life. Walter whoops with joy that he is driving at last, and tells Camilla she is amazing.

Then the bus sputters out of fuel in a dark, noise-filled forest, something neither of them imagined. Camilla suggests dreaming up a way to fly out, and Walter seizes the idea: everyone will build kites from the scraps and strings in the back of the bus, kites that will be like wings, like hope. Camilla doubts that a handful of kites can lift a bus that took three gorillas to hoist, and she holds hers back until the others urge her to try. The moment she adds her kite, the bus rises into the sky. They soar over the trees and land gently in the place of happiness, where crowds of parents have gathered to meet the children and give them families. Walter explains that this is why he wanted to be a bus driver, to bring his friends somewhere they might find someone to love them. He tells Camilla that each friend has something to give, that she helped them all get there, and that God knew they needed her, adding that it is often easier to see how valuable other people are than to see the value in ourselves.

Back at Whit's End, Camilla admits the adventure got her thinking about her family, how everyone needs each other, and how God made each person unique. She concludes, "God made us, and He doesn't make junk." Whit agrees, saying God sees us with all our scars and sin and loves us anyway, so we should love others the same way, even Olivia. When Camilla guesses that Walter and Rachel are based on real orphans, Whit confirms there are quite a few of them waiting for families. Camilla hatches a plan on the spot: she will write their story down, Olivia will draw the pictures, Matthew will put it online, and Mom and Dad will spread the word at the clinic, the library, the office, and church. As Whit smiles at how inspired she has become, Camilla is already composing the opening scene: Walter walking down a road by himself, until he sees a bus.