一粒慢慢進到家裡的種子

我想先說我自己。Let me start with myself.

很多年前，我邀請了一位老朋友，去上一門專門認識宣教工場的裝備課。Many years ago, I invited an old friend to take a course made to help people understand the mission field.

那位老朋友，就是 Michael Chin。他和 Joanna 是一對夫妻，從第一天起就和我同行——每次我回來，他們接待我；我往外走，他們用奉獻差派我。That old friend is Michael Chin. He and Joanna are a couple who have walked with me since day one—when I come back, they welcome me; when I go out, they send me with their giving.

這支影片，是他被問到：當初為什麼會去上那門課。This video is him being asked: why did he go take that course in the first place?

他說得很簡單。他說，是我邀請他的，而他也想更認識前線的工作。His answer was simple. He says I was the one who invited him, and he wanted to understand the work at the front more deeply.

他說：「我這個老朋友邀請了我，我也覺得這門課能讓我更認識宣教工場上的工作。」In his own words: "My old friend invited me, and I felt this course could help me understand the work on the mission field more."

我聽了心裡暖暖的。原來差派的人，是先陪著要往外走的人，一起坐進同一間教室，才一點一點看見那片工場。That warmed my heart. The one who sends first sat in the same classroom as the one who goes—that is how he slowly came to see the field.

然後他講起課裡讓他印象最深的一段。Then he told the part of the course that stayed with him most.

他說，有一位宣教士，去到一個以回教為主的工場。在那裡傳講耶穌，是很不容易的事。He says there was a missionary who went to a field where Islam is the majority. To speak of Jesus there is not an easy thing.

那位宣教士做了一件 Michael 一直記得的事：他穿上當地人的衣服，住在隔壁那戶人家旁邊，慢慢地、有耐性地，和他們生活在一起。That missionary did something Michael never forgot: he put on the local clothing, settled in beside the family next door, and—slowly, patiently—lived life alongside them.

Michael 說，他印象最深的，就是那份耐性。Michael says what struck him most was that patience.

他說：「他在做這份宣教工作的時候，其實非常、非常有耐性。」In his own words: "As he did this mission work, he was actually very, very patient."

我問他，這對他有什麼影響。他講的那段話，我抄了下來：I asked him what that did in him. The words he said, I wrote down:

「如果我們能夠用不同的角度，還有不同的語言的方式，甚至跟當地的文化連結的時候，這個種子，就有可能慢慢的這樣，進去到他們的家，也許就會傳播到這些還不認識耶穌的人。」In his own words: "If we can come from a different angle, in a different way of speaking, even connecting with the local culture—then the seed can, little by little, enter their home, and perhaps spread to those who don't yet know Jesus."

我停在「連結」和「慢慢」這兩個地方很久。I stopped a long while on the words "connect" and "little by little."

種子要進到一個家裡，靠的是先住到人的旁邊，穿上他看得懂的樣子，跟他的日子連在一起。先有了連結，種子才有路走進那道門；想靠著辯贏一場，從來打不開那道門。A seed enters a home by first living next to someone, putting on a form they can understand, weaving life together with them. Connection comes first; only then does the seed have a road into the door. Winning an argument never opens it.

這就是 me 到 us 到 WE：我邀請一位同伴去看看工場，沒想到他看見的，正是我自己每天也走著的那條路——慢慢來，跟人連在一起，讓種子自己長大。This is me to us to WE: I invited a companion to see the field, and what he saw was the very road I also walk every day—slowly, woven together with people, letting the seed grow on its own.