Day 43.

He was on a work for the dole scheme in North NZ. The church house I was living in was eligible for this free labour scheme. So this group of young men and a supervisor were commissioned to did a drain and build a wooden fence around the church property. It took them a while, and at lunch time they would sit on my back lawn, and I would go out and engage them. Because they knew I was a minister they would often ask meaningful questions.

It was a Friday before a long weekend, the others had packed up and gone and Sonny walked through my shed towards the curb. We got involved in a spiritual discussion and I felt impressed to give him the gospel and call for a decision about Jesus and the salvation he was offering Sonny at that moment. His response was, “Yeah I believe in God, and I’m going to get around to it. When I get married (he was engaged) and settle down and have kids, we will find a church to attend.”

My response to him was along the lines of, “Sonny, you are not promised tomorrow, more important that you make a decision now because you do not know when your last moment will arrive.” He made no verbal profession at that time, but I still wonder what was going through his mind as he walked away.

The next day we heard that there had been a car accident in which two young people from the town had perished. No connection was made. However, on the Sunday as I was gardening, my wife put her head out the window of our house and said, ”Hey Ross, those young people in the car on Friday night were Sonny and his fiancée.” They had been driving the 400kms to Auckland.

I felt sick inside. God had used me to give Sonny his last call. I know not his destiny because I knew not his heart, only God could see that. But I like to think that he went away with what we had discussed in his mind and that he knew that without Jesus he was lost. I wondered if he had discussed our conversation with his fiancée. I also wonder what his last thoughts were before he died. I hope Sonny and I will meet again in the resurrection, and we will be able to recount our discussions at Kaitaia NZ.