The young minister was asked by a funeral director to hold a grave-side service for a homeless man, with no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.
 
As he was not familiar with the backwoods area, he became lost and had to find his way. He finally arrived an hour late. He saw the backhoe and the crew, who were eating lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.
 
Apologizing to the workers for his tardiness, the minister stepped to the side of the open grave, where he saw the vault lid already in place. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch.

He then proceeded to share a eulogy, pouring out his heart and soul with tender words. As he preached, the workers began to respond with "Amen," "Praise the Lord," and "Glory!" After his 15-minute discourse, he concluded with a prayer and walked back to his car.

As he the car made its way down the dirt road, one of the workers said, "I ain't never seen anything like that before, and I've been putting in septic tanks for over twenty years."