The Jonah Express Stops at Yaquina Head

Jonah had always hated his name since that day in sunday school when the teacher read them the story of the wayward prophet. He was outraged by his namesake's behavior. How could this servant of God run from his duty and then have such bad attitude when his mission was ultimately successful? If the Lord ever called him to go preach he would not behave in such a way. But he wished his name was Peter, or John, who obeyed God and won souls. No, if God called, he wouldn't run away, he'd go out joyfully.
But as fate would have it, Jonah was "called." You see, it was time for Summer bible camp and he just did not want to spend another summer in a sanitized dude ranch. If he was going to be a faithful servant of God, he wanted to be where the action was; missionary outreach. "Yea, that'd be cool!" Quietly, a little voice in his head made him a better offer, "How 'bout 'Missionary Prophet School,' held at a secret monastery in a far away land; teaching kids how to be great prophets." The voice told him to show up at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse where he would be picked up.
This seemed like a mysterious request. But then again, "the Lord works in mysterious ways."
Having shown up early in the morning of the appointed day, which was threatening rain, he spent his time just looking at the beautiful lighthouse, majestic ocean and ominous clouds. As he lapsed into a daydream about this exciting adventure, he saw it! The clouds parted and there it was, The Jonah Express. Full of would-be prophets and bearing his name.
As he boarded this graceful living cetacean blimp, he was mesmerized. This wasn't the Hogwart Express or the Polar Express, this was The Mother Of All Magical Transports. As he settled into his seat however, his mind suddenly flashed back to his sunday school teacher's words about being inside the great fish and the agonizing prayers of the prophet. He wondered, had he made the right choice. He thought about running down the gangway, but it was too late.
As the great whale slowly floated away from the mooring mast of the old lighthouse, turned, and headed out to sea, Jonah suddenly understood his namesake much better.