Tongatapu, Tonga · October 2022The plumber’s twenty

We needed to get to town to arrange some papers for our baby, and couldn't find a ride. So my wife and I started walking with him, hoping that someone would pick us up.

After half an hour, four or five large dogs came at us from a house by the road, the kind with something wild in their eyes. Their owner came out and helped us. A few minutes later there was another pack on the road ahead, already barking from a distance. This time we stopped.

So there we were, my wife, the baby and me, between two packs of dogs.

Several cars passed without stopping. After ten or fifteen minutes one slowed down, a bit reluctantly. The driver was embarrassed and tried to tidy away the things lying around in his car. I've done some plumbing, so I could tell that he was most likely a plumber.

He took us all the way to town, although he didn't live there. I sat wishing I had a twenty-paʻanga note to give him for his help. Then he reached back towards us with a twenty in his hand.

He told us he was doing the plumbing at the Bible college, and really wanted us to have it. Instead of feeling guilty about not having anything to give him, we could rejoice and accept the gift, because we saw God in it.