When a freshly painted bus pulled into the parking lot of First Baptist Church in Sharon on Monday night, with lights, horn and Christmas music blaring, it was greeted with cheers -- and tears -- of joy.

First two, then four, then dozens of people came out of the church, where a choir practice was about to get under way, came out to see what was creating all the commotion. What they saw was a white and green van, with a cross and "West Hill Ministries" painted on the side.

The 15-passenger bus was a gift of the O'Brien Childrens Memorial Fund and Strimbu Memorial Fund; it had been on West Hill Ministries' wish list for nearly a decade.

"This is unbelievable," said the Rev. Mark Juchter. "We've been trying for a bus for at least eight to 10 years."

The bus, filled with donors and gifts, was followed by a dump truck loaded with other items from the ministry's wish list.

West Hill Ministries is a cooperative of First Baptist, St. John's, Sacred Heart and First United Methodist churches, all Sharon. The program provides activities, learning opportunities, and after-school programs for underprivileged youth.

"One of our board members saw the list," said Bill Strimbu, of Strimbu Trucking. "We got a good deal on the bus, and had some of our vendors work on it. Then we decided the rest of the list should be filled too."

The bus was bought from the Mercer County Community Transit Authority. It was overhauled, fitted with new tires, and given a new coat of paint before it was driven up to the church.

Rev. Cindy Swogger of First Baptist stood speechless as she looked at first the bus, then the pile of other presents being unloaded from the back of a truck.

As an air hockey table, a laptop computer, copy paper, snacks, afghans and other gifts were pulled out, all she could say was, "Wow."

"This is a complete surprise," she said. "This is unbelievable."

"You're heart's still beating, right?" someone asked her, as more and more gifts were unloaded.

"This is what Christmas is all about," Strimbu said.

Whitney Sterling and Kaila Becker were getting ready for choir practice when they heard the commotion.

"I almost cried," Whitney said.

"Watching Cindy get excited, I almost did too," said Kaila.

The bus was delivered with the help of Santa Claus, who was portrayed by Rocco Vadala. He presented Rev. Swogger with the title to the bus.

Also helping make the gift of the bus and other items possible were: Rien Construction; Nick Strimbu, Inc.; John Cerni of Cerni Motors, Inc.; Jerry Clement of Super Shield; Joe Flynn of Flynn's Tires; Parts Room Supply; Joseph J. Fonagy, DDS; Steven O'Brien; Anna Houlihan; and Jim and Geri Weller.

The bus, which came equipped with a wheel chair lift, will be used by the children's programs in all four churches.

The O'Brien Childrens Memorial Fund and Strimbu Memorial Fund also help fund the Shenango Valley Foundation.

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