9 Manna issue 80 - How I Came to the Lord 我怎麼來信主的－markvmax 的部落格

Manna issue 80 - How I Came to the Lord 我怎麼來信主的

Erick Enrique Flores Perez—Guatemala City, Guatemala

瓜地馬拉的瓜地馬拉市 Erick Enrique Flores Perez

Finding true faith and healing. 找到真正的信仰，並且得到醫治

GROWING UP IN GUATEMALA 瓜地馬拉的成長

From Catholicism to Protestantism 從天主教到新教

Protestant Christianity arrived in
Guatemala at the end of the 1970s.
It was a breath of fresh air after many
years of government restrictions
and alliance to the Roman Catholic
Church. By the 1980s, the Pentecostal
movement had experienced a massive
boom in the number of its churches
and members. These churches’
teachings were mainly influenced by
their US counterparts. Most of us
were fed the prosperity gospel—the
doctrine which asserts that God will
bless us with health, wealth, and
success, if we proclaim our faith in
Him—something that appeared to be
the right weapon to help Guatemalans
battle extreme poverty.

基督教新教到來瓜地馬拉在1970年代末期。
在多年政府管制，並且聯合羅馬天主教聯合之後，
終於帶來一股清新的氣息。
在1980年代的時候，五旬節運動的經歷，
帶來了其教會數目及信徒人數的巨大成長。
這些教會的教導，大部份是受到美國的五旬節教會所影響。
我們許多人所領受的，都是讓人變有錢的福音說法 -
教義是聲稱，若我們信祂的話 - 神會以健康，財富和成功來祝福我們，
就剛好出現這個東西，可以幫助瓜地馬拉人來對抗極度的貧窮。

In 1990, when I was eighteen,
I converted from Catholicism to
Protestantism. Eight years after
my conversion, I thought I knew
everything there was to know about
God, Christianity, and the church. It
also seemed that God loved me so
much He was willing to satisfy any
desire of mine.

1990年的時候，那時我18歲，
我從天主教改信了新教。
改信八年之後，我認為我已經知道一切所要知道的事，
關於神，基督教和教會。
看起來也是，神很愛我，祂願意來滿足任何我的願望。

At that time, I remember feeling
very annoyed by the social divides
I observed, and the church’s
corresponding helplessness or
inaction. I felt that there was a
distinct dichotomy between what
was taught in church and what was
applied to help society. For example,
the inside of the church was always
beautiful, nice, and clean. But once
we stepped outside the church, into
the neighborhood or surrounding
areas, there was a plethora of social
and spiritual problems—drugs, street
kids, pornography, sexual abuse, and
violence against women.

那時候，我記得自已對於所看到社會分裂的情況，非常的生氣，
並且很不滿教會沒有提供幫助，並且沒有作為。
我感到，在教會裡面所教的東西，和運用來幫助社會之間，
有很明顯的分歧。
例如，教會內部總是很漂亮，美好，清潔。
但是一旦我們踏出了教會，走到鄰居和附近的地方，
就有很多的社會和屬靈的問題 -
吸毒，流浪兒，色情，性虐待和家暴問題。

Struggling With Sin, Learning to
Serve

對抗罪惡，學習服事

Personally, I was also struggling with
sin. I battled an inclination towards
pornography, suicidal thoughts,
deep depression, and hate. I often
wondered whether I would ever be
good enough to be accepted by the
Lord. Could I really free my life from
sin? The Catholics of my childhood
and the Pentecostal Christians both
told me the same two principles:
first, faith is not about thinking, but
only believing what the priest/pastor
says; and second, “We the Catholic/
Pentecostal Church is the only true
church, and there is no other way
to reach heaven except through our
institution.”

我自已也在罪中掙扎。
我在對抗愛看色情影片，有自殺想法，
很大憂愁，及心中的懷恨。
我時常在想，自已是不是夠好，為神所接受。
我真的可以讓自已的生活脫離罪惡？
小時候的天主教，和身為五旬節基督徒的時期，
兩方面同樣都告訴我二個原則：
第一，信心不需要思考，而是只要想信聖職人員和牧師所說的話；
第二，"我們天主教/我們五旬節教會，是唯一真教會，
除了經由我們這個教會之外，沒有其他的方法可以進入天國。

In the latter part of 1998, I stumbled
across the Guatemala City garbage
dump. I was horrified to discover that
many families lived there amidst the
rubbish: young children, elders, single
mothers, all rummaging through the
rubbish for scraps of food, for survival.
I never imagined humans could live
like that; I had grown up in poverty
but never to the extreme I saw that
day.

在1998年後期，我偶然發現瓜地馬拉市的垃圾場。
發現有許多家庭住在垃圾中間，把我嚇到：
有小孩子，老人，單親媽媽，都在到處翻尋垃圾，想找一些食物來生存。
我從來沒有想過，人們可以像這樣生活；
我過去在貧困中長大，但從來沒有像過去那天所看到的極端情況。

On the same day, I met some
Christians working with the garbage
dump community. As they needed
more volunteers, I joined them. For
the next five years, I volunteered on
weekends. After that, I worked for an
additional year as a paid full-time staff
at the NGO running the project.

在同一天，我遇見一些基督徒，他們在垃圾場的社區工作。
因為他們需要更多志工，我就加入他們。
在接下來的五年，我都在週末成為志工。
之後，我又多工作了一年，成為全職受薪的非政府組織雇員，
執行一些專案。

Our work was focused on children
and teenagers. But these were no
ordinary teens. Most of them had
undergone all the traumas that a
hostile environment could hurl at
them: violence, sexual abuse, lack
of a father, addiction to substances,
etc. Working with these youths was
a formidable challenge. It was then
I realized that perhaps God had
allowed me to experience the same
issues while growing up as a way to
prepare my heart to understand and
have compassion towards others.

我們的工作是集中在小孩和青少年身上。
但是這些並不是普通的青少年。
他們大部份的人，已經經歷過各種不利環境所能加諸在他們身上的傷痛：
暴力，性虐待，失去父親，迷戀物質，等等。
要和這一群青年一起工作，真是很艱難的挑戰。
然後我才了解到，或許神讓我長大的時候，體驗到同樣的問題，
就是一種準備我的心，來了解別人，對別人有同情心的一種方式。

Later, I joined forces with a friend to
open a shelter for a group of twentyfive
children who used to gather near
the garbage dump and were addicted
to glue sniffing. This house operated
for just six months. it was not as easy
as we thought it would be to change
someone else’s life by getting him
or her to read the Bible, sing hymns,
and pray. We needed more help and
training. There were spiritual forces
at work, and things beyond our
understanding. The children had to
undergo detoxification processes, but
we lacked the know-how. This was
when I was first learning how to serve
others.

後來，我和朋友一起合力，為一群25個孩童，
開了一間避難所，他們以前常聚集在垃圾場附近，
一起吸食強力膠。
這間避難所只開了六個月。
這並不像我們所想像的那樣容易，
可以藉著讓他們讀聖經，唱讚美詩和祈禱，
就能改變某個人的整個生命。
我們需要更多的幫助和訓練。
有一些屬靈的力量在工作，而且事情超乎我們的了解。
這些小孩一定要經過解毒的程序，
但我們卻缺乏這些專門的知識。
這就是，當時我開始學會要如何來服事別人。

FROM GUATEMALA TO TAIWAN 從瓜地馬拉到台灣

New Life, New Challenges 新生命新挑戰

In 2004, a friend of mine, an exvolunteer
in the garbage dump
program, recommended me as a
candidate for the Taiwanese Foreign
Affairs Scholarship Program. I did
not expect to be selected, but God
had a different plan and He worked
through my friend’s influence with
the Taiwanese diplomatic bodies
and government. I was granted that
scholarship. We ran the shelter right
up to two days before my departure.

2004年，我一個朋友，他之前也是垃圾場計劃的志工，
推薦我成為台灣外交部獎學金活動的候選人。
我並沒有期待會被選上，但神有祂不同的計劃，
祂的工作經過我朋友來影響台灣外交機構和政府。
我因而得到了獎學金。
我們一起經營這間避難中心，直到我離開的二天前。

Taipei 台北

I did not have an exact image of what
to expect when I got to Taiwan. But
nothing would have prepared me for
that modern and rich metropolis. I had
to attend language school to get my
Mandarin up to speed. I really felt out
of place because my classmates were
the children of high-level Taiwanese
diplomats and government officials,
but I tried to just get on with my
Mandarin lessons.

我已經沒有當我來到台灣時，自已所期待事情的真正記憶了。
對於即將來到的現代又富裕大都市，
我並沒有任何的準備。
我得要參加語言學校，來讓我們中文可以跟得上速度。
我真的覺得自已不太合適，
因為我的同學都是高等台灣外交家，或是政府官員的小孩，
但我僅僅試著去跟上自已的中文課程。

I attended a church in Taipei, the Ling
Liang (Bread of Life) Church, which
had a very large congregation. The
worship atmosphere was very similar
to churches in Guatemala—throbbing
music, flashing lights, shouting,
dancing, and exciting messages about
how to become wealthy, prosperous,
and successful in life.

我參加了台北的教會，靈糧堂(生命的餅)，
這間教會有非常多的會眾。
崇拜的氣氛非常像瓜地馬拉的教會-
音樂很有節拍，燈光閃爍，一群人又叫又跳，
隨著令人興奮的訊息，說到有關在生命中變的有錢，富裕，和成功。

My time in Taipei caused a crisis
of faith for me. In Taipei Ling Liang
Church, I felt that my value as an
individual was related to my economic
status. Overwhelmed by life in
Taipei, I moved to the countryside
as an attempt to cope with life. I
enrolled in Chung Cheng University,
at the College of Social Sciences in
the Political Science Department in
Minghsiung, Chiayi, Taiwan.

台北的時光，對我而言產生了信仰危機：
在台北靈糧堂的時候，我覺得，
自已的價值就如同個人，是和自已的經濟情況有關。
因為被台北的生活壓得喘不過氣來，
我搬到鄉下，試著要適應生活。
我註冊了台灣嘉義民雄的中正大學，
政治科學系的社會科學學院。

Minghsiung 民雄

I started attending Sunday services at
the Minghsiung branch of Ling Liang
(Bread of Life) Church. Before long, I
started feeling uncomfortable about
some of the church’s teachings and
practices. First, the church leaders ate
dishes prepared with blood (e.g., xie
gao—glutinous rice and pigs’ blood).
Second, some members (as well
as some of the leaders) continued
to worship idols in the temple and
participated in ancestor worship rites
at the request of their non-Christian
parents. When I questioned them,
they would give me the stock answer:
“All these non-Christian practices are
acceptable since we are now under
grace and not the Old Testament
Law.”

我開始參加靈糧堂教會的民雄分會的主日崇拜。
不久之後，我開始對一些教會的教導和作法，
覺得不是很舒服。
第一，教會領導人會吃有滲著血的食物，
(例如，血糕 - 糯米和豬血)。
第二，有些信徒(同樣有些領導人)
在廟裡拜偶像，並且因為他們非基督教父母的要求，
而會參與祖先崇拜的儀式。
我們質疑他們的時候，他們會給我固定的答案：
"這一切非基督教的作法是可以接受的，
因為現在我們已經在恩典之下，
而不是舊約的律法之下。"

This left me quite puzzled. These
Christians and Christian leaders had
been richly blessed economically.
According to the prosperity gospel,
this proved that God is abiding
with them. But their practices went
against His teachings. Why would
God bless us if we do the things that
He has forbidden? Specifically, if we
can eat blood “under grace,” would
we then need to keep the other
commandments Jesus gave?

這讓我十分迷惑。
這些基督徒和領導人在經濟上大大的受到祝福。
根據成功神學的標準，
這証明了神和他們同在。
但是他為的行為卻與神的教導相違背。
若我們作了那些祂禁止的事情，為什麼神會祝福我們呢？
特別是，若我們可以"在恩典之下"吃血，
那麼，我們還需要去遵守耶穌給的其他誡命嗎？

To be honest, I too wanted to have
a share in such blessings of material
wealth. However, I could not help
feeling that the fundamental basis of
the prosperity gospel did not match
with the experiences of those found in
the Bible. For example, the apostles all
led simple lives; they were not focused
on realizing their dreams or getting
rich. Hence, all this time, I kept feeling
that there was something wrong with
me and my faith. It seemed that I had
never been able to please God.

說實在的，我也想要在這種物質財富的祝福中，分一杯羹。
然而，我忍不住覺得，成功神學的基本教義，
並不符合聖經裡面基本教義的精神。
例如，使徒都過著簡單的生活；
他們並不注重實現自已的夢想和致富。
因此，這一段全部的時間，我一直感覺到，
我自已和我的信仰，有一些錯誤
似乎是，我從來沒有能夠讓人喜悅。

It was a tough time. I was very
lonely. I prayed and asked Jesus to
give me a wife, but I did not set any
conditions for my ideal woman. I told
the Lord I would yield to His will.
About two months later, I met the
girl who would become my wife, Lee
Pei Pei. She was a twenty-four-yearold
Chinese Malaysian, and a firstyear
student at the Political Science
department where I was finishing
my third year. It was love at first
sight for me. Her cheerful, downto-
earth and happy outlook on life
brought me great joy. I knew she was
the one I would marry. We started
living together, with the intention of
marriage. But before we could get our
marriage registered, she got pregnant.
We were terrified, so we decided to
have an abortion. I never thought
I would be able to take such a step.
I knew this was the consequence of
doing things our own way instead of
God’s way. Six months after we first
met, on May 29, 2010, we registered
our marriage in Taiwan and had our
wedding ceremony in the Ling Liang
Church in Minghsiung, Chiayi.

這是一段困難的時光。我也很寂寞。
我向耶穌禱告，祈求神給我一個妻子，
但我並不沒對我理想中的女人，設立任何條件。
我告訴神，我會順服祂的旨意。
二個月之後，我遇見了一個女孩，祂願意成為我的妻子，李 Pei Pei。
祂是24歲的馬來西亞華人，政治科學系一年級的學生，
而我已經完成第三年的課程了。
對我而言是一見鐘情。
她對生活的樂觀，腳踏實地和愉快的心情，讓我得到很大的快樂。
我知道祂就是我要結婚的對象。
我們開始住在一起，帶著想要結婚的想法。
但在我們可以完全結婚登記之前，她懷孕了。
我們就嚇壞了，所以我們決定去墮胎。
我從來沒有想到，自已會採取這種步驟。
我知道這是我們依自已的意思而行，
而沒有遵造神旨意而行的後果。
在我們第一次相遇的六個月之後，
2010年五月29日，我們在台灣登記結婚，
在嘉義民雄靈糧堂舉行我們的婚禮。

Encountering the True Jesus Church 遇到真耶穌教會

Getting married did not cleanse us
from our sin of fornication. Nor was
it a panacea for all our past issues
concerning our differences in faith,
culture, language, and values. On the
very night of our wedding, as past
offences emerged, we fought, yelled
and even talked about divorce! The
following days brought no resolution.
As days went by, things became even
more aggressive and violent. I started
slamming doors and hitting walls; she
was leaving home for hours without
telling anybody her whereabouts.

結婚並不會清除我們婚前性行為的罪。
也不是有關我們過去一切信仰不同問題，
文化差異，語言隔閡及價值觀不同，解決問題的萬靈丹。
正是在我們婚禮的那天晚上，隨著過去爭端的浮現，
我們有了爭吵，大聲喊叫，甚至說到要離婚！
接下來幾天並沒有任何解決的方法。
隨著日子過去，事情甚到變得更加激進和暴力。
我開始用力關門，用手捶打牆壁；
她離開家好幾個小時，而且沒有告訴任何人，她跑到那裡去。

We knew from the start that we
needed urgent help to repair the
sinking boat of our marriage. Our
church leaders could not offer this
because they too had marriage
problems. We started to look for other
churches that could give us some
spiritual support, and point the way
towards healing and restoration. We
spent almost three months searching.
We attended service after service, but
found no peace. I told my wife we
might even have to leave Taiwan in
order to find a church where we could
find real peace.

從一開始，我們就知道需要緊急的幫助，來幫忙修復自已快要沉船的婚姻。
我們的教會領導人不能提供這種幫助，因為他們也有婚姻的問題。
我們開始尋找其他的教會，因為他們可以給我們一些屬靈上的支持，
指出可以朝向治療和恢復我們婚姻之路。
我們幾乎花了三個月來搜尋。
我們參加一場又一場的聚會，但卻不能找到平安。
我告訴太太，我們甚至或許要離開台灣，
這樣才能找到一間教會，讓我們可以得到真正的平安。

Then one morning, I recalled that
during my first year in Chung Cheng
University, when I was not able to
understand any Mandarin or local
Taiwanese, I had attended a Sabbath
service at the True Jesus Church (TJC)
in Minghsiung. This first visit to the
TJC had come about because of the
perseverance of a servant of the Lord.

然後有一天晚上，我記得在我中正大學大一的時候，
我因為不能了解任何中文，或當地的台灣話，
過去有在真耶穌教會(TJC)民雄，參加過安息日聚會。
第一次會去真耶穌教會，是因為神僕人的毅力。

This particular member of the TJC
collected used cans to recycle for
a living. We met each other every
morning—I would be jogging and
he would be pushing his old bicycle
on his collection rounds. He would
call out the same thing to me in
Taiwanese every morning. Since I did
not understand, I did not respond to
him until, one day, a Taiwanese friend
interpreted his morning greeting for
me. My can-collecting friend had
been telling me, “You have to go to
church. You ought to go to church.”
He was not going to give up inviting
me to his church, so I finally agreed
to go. Because no English was spoken
during the service, I understood
almost nothing and thus decided not
to return. I then completely forgot the
whole incident.

真耶穌教會的某個信徒，會回收舊瓶罐來過生活。
每天早上我們都會互相碰到對方 -
我們是正在跑步，而他會正推著舊腳踏車，進行著他的回收路線。
他每天早上，會用台灣話，向我叫著同樣的事情。
因為我聽不懂台灣話，我就沒有回應他，
直到有一天，有一個台灣朋友解釋了他早上向我打招呼的話。
我的這個收集瓶罐的朋友一直向我說，
"你一定要去教會。你應該要去教會。"
他並沒有要放棄，邀請我去他的教會，
所以我最後同意和他一起去。
在因為聚會的期間，並沒有英語講道翻譯，
我幾乎沒有聽懂倀何東西，因此就決定不要再回去。
然後，我完全忘記這整件事。

Revisiting the True Jesus Church 再訪真耶穌教會

Four years later, and desperate to find
a church that could be a source of
healing for my marriage, that first visit
to the TJC suddenly came to mind.
My wife agreed to attend the Sabbath
service at the TJC. By this time I was
able to understand Mandarin and
some Taiwanese. On that visit, I felt
as if I had come home. I just loved it.
I felt peace and knew that God would
take care of everything.

四年後，因為急著想要找到一間教會，
想要這間教會可以成為治療婚姻問題的來源，
那第一次去真耶穌教會的情況，突然讓我想到。
我太太同意去真耶穌教會參加安息日聚會。
因為這一次我可以了解中文和一些台灣話。
就在這一次的拜訪，我覺得就好像回到家裡一樣。
我就是很愛這種感覺。
我得到了平安，知道神會帶領任何事情。

Within six months of attending
services, my wife received the precious
Holy Spirit. Both of us received water
baptism on May 1, 2011. After I was
baptized in the name of Jesus, in
living water, I felt different. Words
cannot adequately describe it, but I
somehow felt imbued with power to
overcome sin in my life. A long and
secret addiction to pornography, and
the shame it produced, came to an
end. I knew, too, that God forgave
me for the abortion, even though the
healing of our marriage still had some
way to go. I started praying earnestly
to receive the Holy Spirit.

在接著六個月的參日聚會，我太太得到了寶貴的聖靈。
我們兩個在2011年五月1日都接受洗禮。
在活水中我奉主耶穌的聖名接受洗禮之後，我覺得很不一樣。
沒有辨法用言語來很合適的描寫這種情況，
但是不知怎麼一回事，我好像受到灌輸，有力量來克服生活中的惡事。
長久以來，暗地迷上看色情影片，以及之後產生的罪惡感，終於結束了。
我也知道，神已經赦免我的墮胎，
即使要把我的婚姻治好，仍然還有一些路要走。
我開始認真禱告，要得到聖靈。

Previously, when Pei Pei first
attended Ling Liang Church and
noticed the lack of good role models,
she wondered why I insisted she
convert to Christianity. What is the
difference between being Buddhist
and Christian? Why be a Christian if
our behavior is no different from non-
Christians? After we came to the TJC
we learned that if our faith is based
on people, we may fall away one day.
We had to turn our eyes away from
man and towards God.

之前，當 Pei Pei 一開始參加靈糧堂的時候，
注意到並沒有好榜樣，她就想為什麼我堅持她要改信基督教。
到底成為佛教徒和基督徒之間，有什麼不一樣呢？
為什麼已經是一個基督徒了，然而自已的行為和不是基督徒一樣，行為沒有不同呢？
在我們來到真耶穌教會之後，
我們學到，若我們的信心在建築在人的身上，
有一天我們或許會離開，
我們要將自已的眼睛轉離看人，而是朝向神。

More importantly, our search led
us to God’s truth. Isaiah 58:13–14
teaches that the church of God ought
to keep the Sabbath. I also knew
that in the Acts of the Apostles,
the believers kept the Sabbath on
Saturday, not on Sunday, which is
the Catholic Church’s holy day based
on their teaching of the Lord’s Day.
Even before coming to the TJC, we
had decided, as a couple, to keep the
Sabbath day. In the TJC, a church that
observes the Holy Sabbath, we found
a confirmation of our beliefs.

更重要的是，我們的尋找，帶我們找到神的真理。
以賽亞書 58 章 13-14 節，教導我們，
神的教會應該要遵守安息日。
我也知道，在使徒行傳裡面，信徒在星期六遵守安息日，
而不是星期天，那是天主教的聖日，是根據他們主日的教導。
甚至在來到真耶穌教會之前，
我們已經決定，身為一對夫婦，要來遵守安息日，
在真耶穌教會，教會遵守聖安息日，
我們終於找到自已信心的實証。

When we started attending
Sabbath services in the TJC, we
thought we knew all about God and
salvation. However, teachings from
our previous church that we thought
were from God turned out to be non-
biblical. For example, it is wrong to
think (and teach) that believers can
influence God’s hand through their
actions. Famous pastors from mega
churches teach that giving money to
the church is like planting the seed for
God to give us returns and blessings.
These pastors say that by giving, we
are producing and creating faith, and
God will then move for us. Thank God
for leading us to the truth.

當我們開始在真耶穌教會參加安息日聚會時，
我們認為自已已經知道一切有關神的事和救贖的道理。
然而，我們之前教會的教導，我們認為是來自於神，
結果卻是沒有聖經的根據。
例如，認為(教導)信徒可以透過他們的行為，
來影響神雙手的作為，就是一種錯誤。
許多大教會的有名牧師教導，送錢給教會就像是為主種下種子，
以後種子會給我們回報和祝福。
這些牧師說，藉由施捨，我們會產生，並且生出信心，
然而神會為我們而有所作為。
感謝神帶領我們進入真理。

FROM MINGHSIUNG TO TAIPEI 從民雄到台北

Life as a TJC believer 成為真耶穌教會信徒的生活

After graduating from university, I
found a job at Taiwan International
Radio, so we moved to Taipei. After
I started working, I hardly had any
free time. I really enjoyed my job, so I
would work from early in the morning
to late at night. Because of this, I
read the Bible less and prayed less.
My conversations with my wife were
reduced to wishing her goodnight.

大學畢業之後，我在台灣國際廣播電台找到工作，
所以我們搬到台北來。
我開始工作之後，我幾乎沒有任何空閒的時間。
我真的很享受自已的工作，
所以我會從早工作到晚。
因為這樣，越來越少讀聖經和禱告。
我和太太的對話大大減少到只剩晚安。

My church life suffered too. I would
attend Sabbath services, but my
intention was to rest and catch up on
my sleep! I slept through the sermon
and prayers, only to wake up when
I heard the phrase, “This concludes
our service today.” I was physically
exhausted and my relationship with
my wife was also showing clear signs
of fatigue.

我的教會生活也受到困難。
我會參加安息日聚會，
但我的用意是休息，並且補眠！
我會睡過講道和禱告時間，
我會來當我聽到句子"今日的聚會到此結束"，而醒了過來。
肉體上我很疲勞，我和太太的關係也現出很清楚疲乏的訊號。

Things came to a head during
a spiritual convocation in Muzha,
Taipei. A Holy Communion service
had been scheduled, so members
were encouraged to prepare their
hearts before attending. But I did not
fully appreciate the deep significance
of the sacrament and so I did not
treat it as important. Besides that, I
had become complacent about my
spiritual cultivation and pursuing
God’s love and will. On the morning
of the Holy Communion service, I told
my wife to leave first, promising to
follow twenty minutes later. An hour
and a half later, my wife called and
woke me up. “Didn’t you say you
were coming to church? Why aren’t
you here?” We started to argue and
I finally retorted, “Why don’t you
go by yourself?” I bluntly told her I
would not attend service unless I had
a proper rest.

事情到了台北木柵教會靈恩會的時候，到了緊要關頭。
因為聖餐禮的聚會已經被安排了，
所以信徒被鼓勵要在參加前把內心準備好。
但我並沒有完全感謝聖禮深入的重要性，
所以我沒有把聖禮當成很重要。
除了這樣之外，我變得很自滿自已的靈修，追求神的愛和旨意。
在聖餐禮聚會的那個早上，我告訴太太先離去，
應允她說20分鐘之後會跟上。
一個半小時之後，太太打電話來，把我叫醒。
"難道你沒有說，你會來教會嗎？
為何你沒有在這裡?"
我們開始爭吵，我最後反駁，
為何你不自已去就好?"
我很粗魯的告訴她，
除非我有好好休息，不然不會去參加聚會。

On that very day, my wife took
her passport and some of her things,
and left home without saying a word.
Later, she rang me from the airport,
saying that she was going home to
stay with her mother in Malaysia. I
was very angry, and told her, “Fine,
if you want to leave, don’t ever come
back.” I thought my threat would
make her change her mind and stay,
but instead, she hung up on me.

在那同一天，我太太拿著護照，一些她的東西，
就離開家沒有說一句話。
後來，她從機場打電話來，
說她會回家，去馬來西亞陪她媽媽。
我非常的生氣，並且告訴她，
"很好，若你要離開，那就永遠不要回來"
我以為自已的威脅會讓她改變想法，並且留下來，
但是結果相反，她就卦了我的電話。

That night, the realization that my
wife was really gone hit me. I also
realized that I had a lot of physical
complaints because I was overworked.
Worst of all, I realized that I had
drawn so far away from God, from
my Father in heaven, that I could not
bring myself to pray to Him.

那天晚上，了解到太太真的離開了，給我大受打擊。
我也明白到，自已身體有很多地方不舒服，因為我過度工作。
最糟的是，我明白到，自已已經離神離的很遠，離我們在天上的父很遠，
所以我已經不能讓自已跪下來向祂禱告。

Several nights later, in my
stubbornness, I thought: Look at
me. My body is ill; I have ulcers and
intestinal bleeding. It’s all my wife’s
fault. Maybe I should just divorce her
and find somebody else to marry—
I’ll be much happier. I was trying to
comfort myself. Indeed, I started to
cheer up because I thought a fresh
new start was exactly what I needed.

幾天晚上之後，我仍在固執之中，我想：看看我。
我的身體病了；我有潰瘍和消化道出血。
這一樣都是太太的錯。
或許我應該和她離婚，找其他某個人來結婚 -
我將會更加快樂。
是的，我就開始快樂起來，
因為我認為有一個全新的開始，正是我所需要的。

Happily, I returned to my room
and I slept very well. But at 3 a.m., I
heard a stern voice say, “Erick, Erick.”
I immediately recognized the voice of
the Lord Jesus. No one had to tell me
who it was because the voice carried
so much power and authority. It was
neither a dream nor a vision; the voice
sounded as if it had been amplified by
a huge speaker in my room.

很快樂地，我回到自已的房間，睡得很好。
但是在半夜早上3點的時候，
我聽到一句很嚴正的話說，“Erick, Erick.”
我立刻就認出是主耶穌的聲音。
沒有人有需要告訴我，這是誰的聲音，
因為聲音帶著很大的力量和權威。
這即不是一個夢，也不會一個異象；
聲音聽起來就好像是被一個我房間的大喇叭，擴大了聲音一樣。

As soon as I heard that voice, I
replied, “Lord Jesus, You know how
much I love you.” But He cut me
off and said, “Why have you drawn
farther and farther away from Me?”
He called me again, “Erick.” I wanted
to say again, “Lord, You know I love
you.” But He just kept asking me,
“Why did you leave me?”

我一聽到那個聲音，我就回答，
"主耶穌，你知道我很愛你"。
但祂打斷了我的話，並說，
"為什麼你會離我越來越遠呢？"
祂又叫我一次，“Erick.”
我想再說一認，
"主啊，你知道我愛你"。
但是祂就一直問我，
"為何你離我呢？"

He did not say anything else, but I
understood. There are no excuses in
front of the Lord. I had no evidence to
show I really loved Him. If I could not
love my wife whom I could touch and
see, how could I love the invisible God
whom I could neither touch nor see?

祂沒有說其他的話，但我都了解。
在神面前是沒有藉口的。
我沒有任何証據可以証明我真的愛祂。
若我不能愛我可以觸摸和看見的妻子，
那麼我怎麼可能可以去愛那即摸不到，又看不見的神呢？

When this realization hit me, my
body started to shiver uncontrollably.
I wept and wept. I then knelt down to
repent and confess my sins before the
Lord, and ask Him to forgive my sins.
After the prayer, I contacted my wife,
and told her how sorry I was. I asked
her to forgive me and come home. All
these things happened at the end of
2011.

當我明白過來的時候，
我的身體開始不能控制的發抖。
我哭了又哭。
然後就跪下來，在神面前悔改並且承認自已的罪，
求祂赦免我的罪。
禱告之後，我連絡了太太，告訴她我很抱謙。
我請她原諒我，並且回家。
這一切的事情發生在2011年的年末。

After Pei Pei’s return, a preacher
came on a pastoral visit to our home.
We shared our problems with him.
The preacher then asked me, “Would
you like to place all your questions
and burdens into the hands of the
Lord? If you are willing to trust Him,
Erick, you have to prepare your heart,
because you’re asking the Lord to
come into your life to fix things.” I
told the preacher I was willing, so we
all knelt down together to pray.

Pei Pei 回來之後，傳道就來家庭訪問。
我們就和他分享的發生的問題。
然後傳道問我，
"你願意把所有的問題和重擔放在神的手中嗎？
若你願意相信祂，Erick，你一定要準備自已的心，
因為你正向神求，請祂來到你的生活中解決問題。"
我告訴傳道，我願意，
所以我們一起跪下來禱告。

The preacher visited on a Sunday
afternoon. On Monday morning,
when I went to work, my boss
called me into his office and fired
me. While I could see the hand of
God in this, I did think that He had
been quite harsh to take away a job
I enjoyed. Nevertheless, it meant that
I had more time to read the Bible and
attend church services. Importantly, I
no longer fell asleep at church.

傳道在星期天下午來訪問。
星期一早上，當我去工作的時候，
我的老闆叫我去他的辨公室，解雇了我。
雖然我可以在這件事上看見神的手，
但我真的認為，祂一直都很嚴厲，把我喜歡的工作拿走。
雖然如此，這代表了我有更多的時間讀經及參加教會聚會。
重要的是，我不再在教會裡面打磕睡。

In retrospect, I recognize God’s
wonderful grace and will towards my
family. I started to draw nearer to God
through reading the Bible, praying,
and attending church services. Praying
with my wife also brought us closer
again. From that time onward, I never
slammed the door or punched the wall
again. While I still occasionally lose
my temper, I quickly apologize to my
wife because I always remember the
voice that spoke to me. The voice had
been so powerful, and so angry, that
I did not ever want to hear it again.
However, since I have the tendency
to immerse myself in my work, Pei
Pei insisted that we leave Taipei for a
change of environment.

回想起來，我明白神給我們家，奇妙的恩典和旨意。
我開始透過讀經，禱告和參加聚會，靠近神。
和我太太一起禱告也讓我們再度更親密。
從那個時間開始，我就從來沒有用力關門，
或再用手捶打牆壁。
雖然偶爾仍然會生氣，
我會很快向太太道謙，因為我總是記得那向我說話的聲音。
那個聲音一直都很有力量，而且很生氣，
我永遠不要再一次聽到。
然而，因為我很容易就沉浸在自已的工作中，
Pei Pei 就堅持我們離開台已作一個環境上的改變。

We left Taipei at the beginning
of November 2011, returned to
Guatemala, and stayed with my
mother for a while. About a year
later, we travelled to the US and
attended church in Irvine. Our baby
girl came to this world and our lives
were blessed with her shining joy.
We travelled to many other places,
and spent a significant amount of
time at my mother-in-law’s home in
Kuching, Sarawak, in East Malaysia.
God blessed us with our baby boy in
January 2015.

我們在2011年11月初的時候，離開台北回到瓜地馬拉，
和我母親住在一起一段時間。
一年之後，我們到美國旅行，並且到爾灣教會聚會。
我們的女嬰來到誕這個世界，
因著祂閃亮的喜悅，我們的生活受到了祝福。
我們到很多地方去旅行，
並且停留一段很寶貴的時間，
待在馬來西亞東部，沙撈越，古晉岳母的家。

Currently, we are still praying about
our future, asking God to help us find
a place to establish ourselves. We also
pray that He continues to guide us
through the process.

如今，我們仍在為自已的未來禱告，
求神幫助我們找到一個可以建立自已的地方。
我們也禱告，祂一直帶領我們，走要走的過程。

Lessons in Marriage 婚姻的課程

Looking back, it is clear that the Lord
had a plan for us: the start of our
marriage was the start of our journey
of faith.

回頭一看，很明顯地，神在我們身上有祂的旨意：
我們婚姻的開始，就是我們信仰旅程的開始。

Even after we were baptized into
the TJC, our marriage problems were
not solved immediately. We still had
conflicts, but we learned to read the
Bible for ourselves and to turn to it to
tackle our problems. We also learned
to talk and communicate a lot more
to avoid misunderstanding each
other, since that is how a lot of our
arguments came about.

即使我們受洗進入真耶穌教會之後，
我們婚姻的問題，並沒有立刻解決。
我們仍有衝突，但我們學會來為自已讀聖經，
轉向聖經來處理我們的問題。
我們也學會更多交談和溝通，來避免彼此誤解，
因為那就是很多我們爭吵如何產生的。

In the past we would look for man
to help us. But we have since learned
to seek God instead. This was why
we needed, and continue to need,
a church where God abides. In the
process of learning to rely on God,
the Holy Spirit really gives us strength.

過去我會找男性友人來幫我們。
但是自從那時開始，我們反過來學會尋求神。
這就是為什麼，過去我們會需要，
一直到現還是需要，一間有神同在的教會。
在學習依靠神的過程中，
聖靈真的給我們力量。

As humans, Pei Pei and I still
fight. But these quarrels are nothing
compared to our previous arguments.
Now, we always manage to find a
solution. We may get angry for a few
minutes, but we quickly reconcile.
Even if we do not want to make up,
we know we have to, otherwise we
would be playing into Satan’s hand.

身為人，Pei Pei 和我仍會爭吵。
但是這些爭吵和之前的爭吵比起來，微不足道。
現在，我們總是想要找到解決方案。
我們或許會生氣幾分鐘，但我們很快和好。
即使我們不願意去和好，
我們知道自已一定要和好，
不然的話，我們就會落入撒旦手中，任其玩弄。

Satan tries to sow seeds of
discontent in every family and every
relationship, especially those of
God’s children. He tries to breed
disappointment, jealousy, and mistrust
in us. We cannot give him a place to
work in our hearts. In a married life
based on biblical truth, we must learn
to sacrifice and be humble.

撒旦試著在每個家庭和每一段相互關係之中，
撒下不滿的種子，特別是針對那些是屬神子女的人。
他想要在我們之中，培育出失望，忌妒，不信任。
我們不能給他留地步，讓他在我們內心作工。
在根據聖經真理的婚姻生活中，
我們一定要學會犧牲和謙卑。

Most importantly, we thank God
that we have learned to rely on
God in our marriage. We are always
reminded of this:

最重要的是，我感謝神，有學習到在自已的婚姻上來依靠祂。
我們總是用這句來提醒自已：

“But from the beginning of the
creation, God ‘made them male and
female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall
leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall
become one flesh’; so then they are
no longer two, but one flesh.”
(Mk 10:6–8)

6但從起初創造的時候，神造人是造男造女。
7因此，人要離開父母，與妻子連合，二人成為一體。
8既然如此，夫妻不再是兩個人，乃是一體的了。
(可 10：6-8)

Bro. Erick and Sis. Pei Pei during their wedding.