在愛中相遇

Encountering in Love

國際同工:李慧敏(柬埔寨)

在工場上,神讓我第3次與他相遇,一切從他的調皮開始……

20178月,我與短期服侍隊到柬埔寨西南面的國公省,在百光島最後兩天行程,再次見到一個約11歲的小男孩,幾天的教會活動他沒有來參加,當他突然出現的時候,頓時令我驚喜萬分!

20168月第一次遇見頑皮的他,他正在欺負一個小朋友,我示意他不要這樣,外表硬朗的他也很聽教,亦有一顆童真的心。他對我們帶來的乒乓球很有興趣,於是我借給他玩一了會,所以我對他特別有印象。接著與他幾次彷似擦身而過的相遇,原來神有更美的意思。

這次是我第3次接觸他,因語言不通,以往沒有機會聽到他的故事。感謝當地的傳道同工跟他了解近況,讓我們知道原來他的父母已經不在人世,自小便跟著祖母在廟宇裡生活,而他也即將成為和尚。聽到這裡,我心裡既難過又焦急,從沒有想像過他有這樣的遭遇。或許這情況在柬埔寨很普遍,或許在世界其他角落也不斷地發生,但我所認識的「他」原來是這樣,這樣一個真實的生命就站在眼前。那刻我們正要離開,也不知道可以怎樣做,於是叮囑他明天是我們最後一天在教會,希望他再來。那天我們在晚上的分享會也提及他的故事,我跟香港的同工一起經歷整個過程,我倆的感受最強烈。我在思前想後,當再次見面時我應該說些什麼,我關心他的生命、他的人生方向。

感謝主的眷顧,幾經辛苦,第二天我們再次見到他。早上10時多他便在教會外徘徊,可是當時我們分成兩個隊伍進行佈道探訪,不能跟他詳談,而且我想待香港的同工回來,一起去經歷及見證,於是我請他放學後5時再來。輾輾轉轉,最後我與香港的同工及傳譯的同工,終於能夠跟那位小男孩展開對話了。

我們了解他想當和尚的原因,他以為這樣做能為去世的雙親積福,當說起是否很想念爸媽的時候,他的眼淚立刻湧出來。我能感受到那份傷痛,這麼小的孩子,獨自承受了很多苦楚,心裡一定有很多沒有答案的問題。我也忍不住我的淚水了,那刻我能做到的是陪伴他,與哀哭的人同哀哭,讓他知道有人明白他的無奈及傷痛。其實他並不是很願意做和尚,我們跟他分享主耶穌的愛,並告訴他是天父差派我們來與他相遇,他的人生有選擇,也有出路,並鼓勵他到教會尋求幫忙,並且人生要有夢想。

                                                                                   

經過短短的交談後,最後他願意不當和尚了,嘗試回家跟祖父母表達。我擔心他因為家境貧困,在迫不得己下家人要他去寺廟修行,於是便問他是否有經濟上的需要。他回答我沒有,他只是欠缺一個書包及一雙拖鞋,這些看似是很微不足道的東西,但對一個無父無母的小孩來說是期待已久的渴望。臨別前我們帶他到市場,選擇他喜歡的書包及拖鞋,日後當他看見這些東西時,能喚起他的記憶:曾經有一些基督徒的哥哥姐姐,關心他的生命、關心他的成長。

每次服侍隊只能夠短暫停留在一個地方,我們可以做的就是把握時間,盡力去分享神的愛,當服侍隊離開百光島後,深信唯有神才能繼續看顧他、保護他。

後記:等待了半年的時間,我有機會再次到訪百光島,並打聽到小男孩的消息。不知道什麼原因,他真的沒有成為和尚,神是獨行奇事的主!感謝主!

 

International Member: Mandy Lee (Cambodia)

God granted me my third encounter with him in the mission field. All started with his naughtiness…

I went with a short-term ministry team to Koh Kong Province in the southwestern part of Cambodia in August, 2017. During our last two days in Paklong, I met a boy again, who was about 11-year-old. His sudden appearance gave me an unexpected joy as he has not joined our church activities in the past few days.

I first met this naughty boy who was bullying a kid in August, 2016. I signaled to him not to do that. He has an unyielding appearance but a childlike heart to stop and obeyed.  He was very interested in playing table tennis which we have, so I lent it to him to play for a while. These interactions with him have deeply impressed me. After that, I only passed by him several times, but it turned out that God has a better purpose.

This was our third encounter. Due to language barrier, I never have a chance to learn about his story. Thanks to the local fellow pastor who asked him how things have been with him lately, we then came to know that his parents have passed away already.  He lived with his grandmother in the monastery since he was very small and he was going to become a Buddhist monk soon. I was sad and anxious at that point. I have never imagined that he has such a bitter experience. Perhaps cases like this are very common in Cambodia, and are occurring in other parts of the world too. However, this boy, whom I was informed of his background, was a real person standing in front of me at that moment. As we were going to leave soon, I didn’t know what to do and just told him that the day after would be our last day with that church and hoped that he would come. We talked about his story in our sharing time that night. As I and a co-worker from Hong Kong have witnessed the whole process together, so our feelings were especially strong. I turned over in my mind, what I should say to him when I saw him again. I concerned about his life and his future direction.

Thanks for God’s caring! Against all the odds, we met him again the next day. He was loitering outside the church a few minutes past 10 am. However, we could not have a long talk with him as we were going out in two groups for evangelistic outreach and visit. Besides, I wanted to wait for my co-worker from Hong Kong so that we could experience and witness our encountering with him. I therefore asked him come back after school at 5 pm. At last my co-worker from Hong Kong, the local co-worker interpreter and I have a chance to start our dialogue with this little boy.

By then we realized the reason why he wanted to become a Buddhist monk. He thought that by doing so, he could accumulate good fortune for his late parents. When we asked if he missed his mum and dad, he burst into tears immediately. I shared the pain and grief of this little boy that I could not hold back my tears. He bore a lot of hardships alone and had a lot of unanswered questions.  At a moment like this, all I could do was to be with him, as it was said “weep with those who weep”, letting him know that someone understood his helplessness, pain and grief. In fact, it was not his wish to be a monk. We shared with him the love of Jesus Christ and told him it was the Heavenly Father who sent us to him. We also told him that he could make a choice for his life and he always has a way out, and that everyone should have a dream for his life. We encouraged him to seek help from the church.

After a brief dialogue, he no longer wanted to be a monk and would go home to tell his grandparents about his decision. However, I worried that his family might force him to go to the monastery to study since the family was poor. So, I asked him if he has any financial need. His answer was no, but he indicated that he lacked a schoolbag and a pair of slippers. To a parentless child, what seemed to be insignificant stuff could be his long-awaited desire. Before we said goodbye, we took him to the market to buy a schoolbag and a pair of slippers of his choice. In future when he looks at these things, he will remember some elder brothers and sisters, who were Christians, did come to care for his life and his growth.

The short-term ministry team could only take a brief stay at a place each time. All we could do was to take the time to share God’s love as much as we could. We truly believe that only God can continue to take care of and protect him after our team left Paklong.

P.S. After half a year, I have a chance to visit Paklong again and enquired about this boy. For some unknown reasons, he did not become a monk. Thanks be to the Lord, our God who alone does wondrous things!