人生不設(shè)限·走出去的熱情

不要擔(dān)心你到底能為別人做多少，只要伸出手，并了解到，你的小小善行會(huì)加倍，而隨之產(chǎn)生的力量會(huì)強(qiáng)大到超乎你的想象。當(dāng)約翰·品格捎來(lái)更多消息，我就愈來(lái)愈常想到南非，愈來(lái)愈想去那里，就跟那位香港學(xué)生一樣。

Don't worry about how much you can do to benefit others. Just reach out and know that small acts of kindness multiply and are strengthened beyond anything you might imagine. Like the student from Hong Kong, I became more and more passionate about traveling to South Africa the more I thought about it and the more I heard from John Pingo.

我為可能的南非之旅禱告了三個(gè)星期，然后，我真實(shí)地感受到召喚，要我去那里。不過(guò)，我對(duì)南非幾乎一無(wú)所知，而且之前從來(lái)沒(méi)有在爸爸、媽媽不在身旁的情況下，旅行到那么遠(yuǎn)的地方。我爸爸有朋友住在那邊，跟他們通過(guò)電話后，爸爸心里更是七上八下。朋友告訴他，南非的治安問(wèn)題很?chē)?yán)重，常有外來(lái)者被攻擊、打劫，甚至被殺。

I prayed about the proposed trip for three weeks. After that, I really felt that I had a calling to go. I wanted to offer inspiration without limits, and this seemed like a good first step toward a worldwide ministry. I knew very little about South Africa, and I had never traveled that far without my parents. My dad did have friends who lived there, and after he spoke with them, he wasn't reassured. They reported that violent crime was a serious problem and that travelers were often attacked, robbed, and even killed.

“那個(gè)地方不安全，力克。”爸爸說(shuō)，“你連這個(gè)約翰·品格是誰(shuí)都不知道，為什么要相信他，讓他帶著你在南非到處跑?”

"It's not a safe place to go, Nick," my father said. "You don't even know this John Pingo. Why would you trust him to take you all over that country?"

我的爸爸、媽媽就像天下所有的父母一樣，非常保護(hù)我，而因?yàn)槲疑眢w的障礙，他們覺(jué)得自己更有理由顧慮我的安全。但是我渴望走自己的路，回應(yīng)心底的召喚，我希望成為福音布道家和激勵(lì)講師。

My mum and dad have very few gray hairs, which is surprising given some of my adventures as a strong-willed young man. But like all parents, they are very protective of me. Given my disabilities, they felt they had all the more reason to be concerned about my safety. But I yearned to make my way, to follow my calling and get on with my career as an evangelist and inspirational speaker.

當(dāng)我提出南非行這個(gè)可能性時(shí)，他們最初是擔(dān)心我的生活與財(cái)務(wù)狀況。那時(shí)我剛用賺來(lái)的錢(qián)買(mǎi)了第一棟房子，他們認(rèn)為我應(yīng)該努力還清貸款，而不是到處亂跑。

When I raised the prospect of the South Africa trip, their initial concern was for my welfare and financial stability. I'd just bought my first house with my earnings, and they felt I should be paying off my debts instead of gallivanting around the globe.

聽(tīng)到我透露以下這兩件事，他們的不安更是急劇升高：

Their concerns increased dramatically when I also revealed to them that (1) while I was in South Africa, I intended to give away more than $20,000 of my life savings to orphanages, and (2) I wanted to take my little brother with me.

1.我打算從存款中捐出兩萬(wàn)多美元給南非的孤兒院;

2.我要帶弟弟一起去。

今天我從我爸爸、媽媽的觀點(diǎn)回頭去看，已經(jīng)更能理解他們?yōu)楹文敲磽?dān)心，但我的心意已決?！妒ソ?jīng)》上面說(shuō)：“凡有世上財(cái)物的，看見(jiàn)弟兄窮乏，卻塞住憐恤的心，愛(ài)神的心怎能存在他里面呢?”[35]我希望通過(guò)服務(wù)他人，以行動(dòng)活出我的信仰。我憑借著信仰勝過(guò)身體的障礙，覺(jué)得自己更有能力，也認(rèn)為該為我的人生目的展開(kāi)行動(dòng)了。

Looking back from my parents' perspective today, I can better appreciate how worrying it must have been for them. But I was determined. The Bible says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" I wanted to act on my faith by serving others. Though I am disabled, I felt enabled by my faith, and I felt that it was time to serve my purpose.

我還是必須說(shuō)服父母，讓他們知道我的南非行是安全的。不過(guò)，我弟弟亞倫起初也不是那么想跟我一起去。事實(shí)上，當(dāng)我問(wèn)他時(shí)，他一開(kāi)始是拒絕我的，理由除了從新聞報(bào)道得知的南非暴力問(wèn)題之外，另一個(gè)則是“我不想被獅子吃掉”。我一直游說(shuō)他、刺激他，試著跟他解釋獅子的事。我已經(jīng)號(hào)召了兩位堂弟同行，但其中一位后來(lái)退出，所以亞倫就覺(jué)得有義務(wù)幫我搞定這次的旅行。爸爸、媽媽和我為此行禱告，最后他們送上了祝福。雖然還是會(huì)為我擔(dān)心，但爸爸、媽媽相信上帝會(huì)照料我們。

I still had to convince my parents that I would be safe. Even my brother was not all that enthused about going with me at first. In fact, when I asked him, initially he refused because of the reports of violence and "I don't want to be eaten by a lion." I kept pushing and prodding him, tried to explain the situation about lions. I'd recruited two cousins to go; one had to drop out. Aaron then felt it was his duty to go and help me make the trip. My parents and I prayed about this journey, and eventually they gave their blessing to go forward with it. They were still concerned, but they trusted God would look after us.