Welcome to our series You're Not Alone, in which Allen Sonter, for many years a missionary educator in the islands of the South Pacific, tell stories that help us to know that God is always watching over us wherever we are.
This episode is entitled God Center. Taxi and out of the jungle.
It was another wet morning in Apia, capital of Western Samoa. Not that a wet morning is unusual in that part of the world, where it seems there are just two seasons wet and wetter. I had been trying for a couple of days to make an appointment with the head of the Western Samoa campus of the University of the South Pacific.
The campus was situated at Alafua, about six kilometres from where I was staying near Apia. I'd been told by the principal secretary that she would phone and let me know when he could see me, but had heard nothing from her. It was about quarter to nine on that wet morning when the phone rang.
I picked up the receiver and heard the voice of the secretary. After a brief introduction, she said dr Went can see you in his office at 09:00. I'm sorry for the short notice, but have only just managed to arrange a time.
Can you make it by nine? I thought quickly. If I wanted to see Dr Wen during this visit to Samora, it would have to be now, as I was scheduled to leave Samoa within a day or so. Thank you for your help, I replied.
I'll try to make it. As I put down the receiver, I wondered what might be the best way to get transport at such short notice. A quick call to the taxi company confirmed what I had feared.
Because of the rain, everybody wanted taxis, so there were none immediately available. As usual, I turned to God for a solution to the problem. Lord, I prayed, you know the situation and you can do anything.
If you want me to meet this man, would you please make it possible for me to be there by 09:00? I felt impressed to put on my raincoat, go out to the road and start walking toward Alafua. I'd walked perhaps 50 meters when a large American car, I think it was a Chevy, pulled up beside me. The window rolled down and a woman called would you like a lift to town? She was a businesswoman whom I had met briefly, and she was obviously driving from her home to her place of business in downtown Appia, near the waterfront.
Thank you for your offer, I responded. It's very kind of you, but I'm not going downtown. I'm headed for the university campus at Alafua.
Oh, that's all right, answered the helpful lady. I can take you to Alafua. I'm not in a hurry to get to the office this morning.
Are you sure it's no problem? I asked, and she assured me that she was happy to help. I appreciate that, very much as I have an appointment with Dr. Wynt at 09:00.
Within a few moments, I was sitting in comfort well, actually in some luxury as the big car glided smoothly over the uneven surface of the road. I tried to get a taxi, I began, but with the rain, there were no cars available at short notice. I didn't know how I would get to Alafua.
It's really good of you to take me. My benefactor seemed happy to continue the conversation. As you know, she said, when you come down the hill from my home, you reach that intersection back there, and you can either go straight down to the waterfront or you can come this way and turn down to the waterfront further along.
I usually take the direct road, but somehow this morning I just felt impressed to turn at the intersection and come this way. I believe I know why you were impressed to come this way, I ventured at about the time you were coming down the hill. I was asking God to help me to get to Alafua.
I'm surely grateful that you followed that impression. And the kind lady nodded to her agreement. So I arrived on time for my appointment because God sent a taxi and it was free and better than any of the ones that charged fares.
Our second story happened on the island of Savai, the largest and most westerly of the Samoan islands. It was back in the 1960s, when roads in some parts of the island were little more than a set of wheel tracks through the jungle with tall trees and vines almost meeting overhead. There was such an area in the northwest where the road went through thick jungle for quite a few miles without passing through any villages.
My work took me around the island by Land Rover every month or so, and on one occasion I was with a friend out in the jungle in one of the most remote parts of the island, when, without warning, the Land Rover engine suddenly died. It didn't cough or splutter. It just stopped dead.
Now, I'm not a mechanic by trade, but I've had a bit to do with engines over the years, and I figured that a sudden stop like that sounded more like an electrical problem than a fuel problem. The Land Rover was old and tired, and a succession of troubles had dogged it over the preceding months. It didn't belong to me, but to a Samoan colleague who used it most of the time.
He was happy for me to keep it going for him in return for my using it from time to time. Its most serious trouble had been a fire that burned out the wiring system in the engine compartment. A leaking fuel line connected to the carburetor dripped petrol down near the end of the electrical generator, where the sparks from the combinator were just waiting to set the petrol alight.
I had seen the danger and asked the owner not to use the vehicle until I had time to fix the leak. But he didn't realize the danger, so he took a friend on a visit to another village. Unfortunately for both of them, the inevitable happened.
As they were driving along, the driver was shocked to see flames coming out of holes in the dashboard. The shock completely unnerved him, so he let the Land Rover slow down a little and then opened the door and jumped out, leaving the vehicle to its own devices. Fortunately, his passenger had the presence of mind to reach over and switch off the engine before he too jumped to safety.
The Land Rover careered off the road into a ditch and came to rest with smoke flames spilling out of the engine compartment. Fortunately, nothing exploded and the passenger managed to put out the fire, but not before everything burnable around the engine had been consumed. It was some time before the complete rewire and other repairs made the vehicle usable again.
And now we were out in the middle of nowhere with a dead engine. I have a kind of motto developed over many experiences with the Lord that says what someone else can make, the Lord and I can fix. I'm sure that motto is not appropriate for everything man makes, but it did apply remarkably often to old type vehicles before the days of computer controlled systems.
So I prayed, Lord, you know what's wrong with this engine? Please show me what the problem is. Immediately God seemed to say to me start by opening the distributor. So I unclipped the distributor cap and moved it aside.
Then God said, look at the Cam on the center shaft and the small heel on the end of the spring that rides on the Cam and is pushed in and out as the Cam turns. It is this movement of the heel that creates the spark in the spark plugs to burn the petrol. I was surprised to see that the heel was not tied up against the Cam, but had stayed out where the highest point of the Cam had pushed it.
The spring had lost its tension, so it did not keep the heel against the Cam. I quickly removed the spring and bent it to increase its pressure against the cam, then replaced it and the distributor cap and the engine sprang to life with the first press of the starter button. I thanked God for showing me so quickly what the trouble was, as it could have taken a long time to find such an unusual problem.
Because of God's help, we were on our way out of the jungle in just a few minutes. It's true, my friend. Whoever or wherever you are right now, you're not alone.
God is just a prayer away and he is waiting for us to realise our need of Him and call to Him for help.
You've been listening to our series You're Not Alone stories told by Allen Sonter that help us to know that God is always watching over us, wherever we are. If you have any comments or questions, send an email to
[email protected] or give us a call within Australia on zero two four nine seven, three three four five.
Six. May God bless you and remember you are not alone. You have been listening to a production of Three ABN Australia australia Radio.
