2 Fridays ago, work ended in an atypical fashion. A man showed up to the clinic in poor condition and they called an overhead rapid response of sorts to which the entire medical group responded with me in the lead. We got him packed up and shipped out via the German Red Cross ambulance services and I believe in the long run he did well. Sadly there was a needle stick injury in the midst of all this so I had a lot on my mind. When I finally left the clinic that night I was pondering what had transpired as I made my way to the gas station.
Three miles into my journey home I felt my car sputter, shiver, then stop. My first thought was, "Oh no, I think the gas pump handle was green... Diesel is a black handle. I pumped gas into my diesel tank." I don't know jack about cars so I could not prove this but it was my suspicion. I set up my obligatory warning triangle (German law) and called my insurance company for roadside assistance. After 10 min on hold a local stopped and offered to push me out of the circle. He asked what was going on and I explained I had just come from the gas station. He immediately asked to smell my tank. After sticking his nose in the tank he confirmed my gut impression.
Then the unexpected happened. He offered to tow me to his home where he had a small shop and would take a look. Off we went (really fast by the way, really thought we would crash) and soon I found myself out in the middle of nowhere (like a scene from the beginning of a horror film) praying my blind trust was not a fatal error...
True to his word he had a shop
In no time at all, he had my car up for inspection
And after some time I called Jari and filled her in (she was worried as she was expecting me a long while before this) and she made her way out to pick me up with the kids. We went back to base with some spare tanks and we brought back some diesel.
In the moment of any small catastrophe it is easy to panic and think"Why me?" Or "Why now?" These exact questions did not really cross my mind but one of their cousins did where all I could do is worry then laugh about the situation. Why not me? I see that the Lord has blessed me so richly that I have to have some challenges eventually right? People have car troubles all the time. It was my turn after all. Still in the moment it really stinks. And in this case I was worked up for sure.
Mr. Bruno was thrilled to discover I had 4 children . He himself wanted 5 which is a huge number for a German. But his wife said no to that idea and they have 2. He went out to the car and met Jari and the sleeping kids before we headed home.
At 10:30 that night he texted me to let me know the car was running well.
As if this was not enough he then invited us out the next day to see his family farm where his family has lived for 100 years.
The pigs were my favorite.
The one-eyed cat named Captain Hook was the kids' favorite.
We got to see the cows
And we were there when he noticed a new calf running around (bad picture sorry. Those are free-ranging cows on top of the hill).
Here is the only black cow on the farm. They have only Brown cows but one day a black bull got in the pasture. A short while later they had a black cow :)
He gave us some farm life 101 lessons and was very kind.
It was cold but the kids had a great time.
In the end, a moment of distraction lead to a mistake that led to me making a new friend. Bruno is quite the man. I was thrilled to meet him and it renewed my faith in human kindness. And you know what? He would not accept payment at the time. He figures we will eventually get things squared away. A week later we still have not paid him.
I am thankful for God's watchful eye. What could have been a very frustrating moment was softened by the kindness of a stranger. Thank you, Mr. Bruno.
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