Manna issue 69 - A Mother’s Lesson in Faith The quiet power of faith. 作為母親的典範，信仰安靜的力量
The children of Sing Jing Tang—Elgin, Scotland, UK
英國蘇格蘭澳魯景教會 Sing Jing Tang 子女見証
FACING TRIALS 面對試煉
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we
testify.
奉主耶穌基督聖名作見証。
“It’s cancer”… the words that strike
fear in countless families. Now, it was
our family’s turn to battle with cancer
in a loved one. Our mother had been
experiencing discomfort in her intestinal
area for a while. She underwent a
colon examination in Scotland and was
told there were no problems. Still, she
felt something was not right. So when
she and our father had their annual
stay in Hong Kong in January 2012, we
persuaded her to seek another doctor’s
opinion.
"你得到癌症了"...這句話引起了無數家庭的恐懼。
如今輪到了我們家，為了深愛的家人，要和癌症戰鬥。
母親一直以來，在腸子那裡覺得很不舒服。
她在蘇格蘭作結腸檢查，得到的答案是沒有生病。
仍而她還是覺得不太對勁。
所以，當她和爸爸在2012年一月，一年一度回到香港的時候，
我們勸她去看一看另一個醫生。
A gastroenterology specialist arranged
an endoscopy to investigate her entire
intestinal tract. Our mother originally
opted to test only the upper intestine
but was persuaded to undergo a
complete examination. A threecentimeter
mass was found in her
colon. Luckily, our mother had agreed
to the full examination, the specialist
said, otherwise they would have missed
the tumor.
腸胃專科醫生就她安排了內視鏡檢查，要檢查她的整個腸道。
媽媽一開始傾向只檢查腸子上半部，
但被勸說要作一次全部的檢查。
結果在她的結腸內，找到了三公分的腫塊。
幸運地，醫生說：我媽媽同意作完整的檢查，
不然的話，他們可以就忽略了這個腫瘤。
The next step was to determine if the
tumor was malignant or benign. One
week later, the results came in. Our
parents encouraged us to pray silently
and to accept the results, no matter
what they were. The specialist reported
that the tumor was malignant and
they would have to check if there were
more cancerous cells. In the taxi home,
no one spoke as we tried to come to
terms with what the future might
hold for her and our whole family. We
called our brother, anxiously waiting
back in Scotland. Saying aloud that it
was cancer finally made it real to us,
and we all broke down in tears. Our
father went into his room and closed
the door. Yet our mother just went
into the kitchen and started preparing
dinner as usual. When we checked on
our father, we found him sitting on the
bed, sobbing silently. That was only the
second time we had ever seen him cry.
Our mother put her arms around him,
telling him (and us) to be strong, for
there was still hope.
接著就是要決定這個腫瘤是惡性的，還是良性的。
一星期之後，結果出來了。
我們爸媽鼓勵我們一起默禱，並且無論腫瘤的好壞，都能接受這個結果。
醫生讀了報告就說，這是惡性腫瘤，他要再檢查看看有沒有其他的癌病的細胞。
在回家坐計程車的路上，沒有人說一句話，
因為我們已厭倦了討論以後媽媽到底會面對什麼樣的情況，以及以後我們的家庭會變成什麼樣子。
我們打電話給兄弟，他們已經在蘇格蘭焦燥地等待很久了。
我大聲說出來，媽媽得了癌症，這件事對我們而言，終於成真了，
我們大家都崩潰了，悲傷的流下眼淚。
我們的父親走回他的房間，關上了門。
而媽媽只是回到廚房，就像平常一樣開始準備晚餐。
當我們去看看父親的時候，看見他坐在床上，靜靜地哭著。
那一次是我們從以前到現在，第二次看見他哭出來。
媽媽用雙臂抱著他，告訴他和我們，要堅強起來，
因為我們仍然還有希望。
By the quiet power of her faith, our
mother was the comforter instead
of the one who needed comfort.
She was the one facing cancer, and
yet she was the one with the most
hope and serenity. We always knew
our mother’s faith in God was strong
and steadfast, but now seeing it in
action was touching, remarkable, and
inspiring. She set a wonderful example
for us as a parent and as a Christian.
Her faith in God was so steadfast that
she did not cry once over her illness.
If she could be so positive, how could
we be anything less? She stated that
nobody wants this illness, but it falls
to us now to face it with faith. Where
was her faith if she murmured against
God asking, “Why me?” If she were to
doubt now, in what has she believed all
these years? She wanted us to accept
that whatever the future held for her,
it must be according to God’s will. Was
she scared? She said she couldn’t and
shouldn’t be afraid if she trusted God
and had her family behind her.
因著她有信心，所帶來安靜的力量，
媽媽成為安慰別人的人，而不是成為需要接受別人安慰的人。
她才是真正要面對癌症的人，然而她卻是最有盼望，表現最沉靜的人。
我們一直都知道，媽媽對神的信心又堅強又堅固，
但如今親眼看見這樣的行為，就讓人很感動，很特殊，讓人很受啟發。
她為我們設立了成為一個父母親和基督徒，最美好的例子。
她對神的信心是這麼的堅固，我們在她生病的時候，連一次也沒有看過她哭。
若是她能夠這麼的正面積極，那麼我們怎麼可以比她更加軟弱呢？
她說到，沒有人想要得到這種病，
但如今輪到我們要用信心來面對這樣的事。
若是向神碎碎唸說，為什麼是我？那麼她有什麼信心呢？
若她現在對神有所質疑，那麼這些年來，她相信的神到底又是誰呢？
她要我們去接受這件事，無論未來她會遇到什麼事，一切一定都是神的旨意。
她會不會害怕呢？
她說，若她對神有信心，並且有她的家人在後面支撐著她，
她不能害怕，也不應該害怕。
STRENGTH THROUGH GOD’S
SPIRIT AND WORD
從神的聖靈和話語而來的力量
“God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble.” (Ps
46:1)
1神是我們的避難所，是我們的力量，是我們在患難中隨時的幫助。
(詩 46：1)
As the news of my mother’s
illness spread, we received much
encouragement from the prayers,
concern, and good wishes of our
brethren around the world. A preacher
suggested we hold family services to
strengthen us. We would sing a hymn,
read and share a chapter of Psalms,
and then pray. When we reached the
famous Psalm 23, the beautiful words
were particularly poignant and relevant
to us:
當我母親生病的消息傳出去之後，
來自世界各地弟兄姐妹的代禱，關懷及祝她康復的願望，
讓我們得到很大的安慰。
傳道建議我們舉行家庭聚會，來加添我們力量。
我們就唱讚美詩，讀聖經，分享詩篇的經節，然後一起禱告。
當我們讀到很有名的詩篇23篇，
其中美好的話語，特別讓我們有深刻的感受，正適合當下的我們：
…though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil; for You are with me; Your rod
and Your staff, they comfort me.
(Ps 23:4)
4我雖然行過死蔭的幽谷，也不怕遭害，因為你與我同在；你的杖，你的竿，都安慰我。
(詩 23：4)
Our mother was experiencing this
walk herself and by extension, our
whole family was too. Yet God’s words
told us to keep walking without fear, for
our loving, almighty Lord was with us
every step of the way. Through God’s
word and our long prayers, it seemed
that we were actually doing something
constructive to deal with our ordeal.
我們的母親自已正在體驗這段旅程，
擴展開來，全家人也會一樣走在這條路上。
然而神的話告訴我們，要一直走下去不用害怕，
因為我們慈愛全能的主，在我們走在路上的每一步，都與我們同在。
經由神的話語和長時間向神禱告，
看起來就是我們真的有在作一些有建設性的事情，來面對我們所要面對的考驗。
It was also comforting to know that
many people were walking along with
us. In our parents’ home church in Elgin,
the members prayed for our mother and
some members even fasted. Each day,
our parents would join Elgin Church’s
morning service by reading the same
chapter from the Bible and praying for
the same duration. Brethren and family
may have been separated by distance
and time but they were together in
spirit and united in the same cause.
而且也令人很安慰的是，我們知道了有許多人正和我們一起同行。
父母的母會英國澳魯景教會，有一些信徒為了媽媽禱告，甚至有一些信徒禁食禱告。
每一天，父母會參加澳魯景教會的晨間聚會，
在同樣的時間裡，一起讀經，一起禱告。
弟兄姐妹和家人或許因為距離和時間的關系，各分東西，
但是在靈裡卻團結在一起，可以為了相同的理由同心合意。
Our mother had to undergo further
tests and scans to see if there were
more tumors in her body. Each time
she underwent a procedure, she would
ask God for courage and the will to
endure. Each time we dreaded what
the results would show. We wavered
between thinking the worst and trying
to be optimistic. Throughout all this,
our mother was her usual calm self,
maintaining her habit of morning Bible
reading and prayers.
媽媽要進行進一步的檢查和掃描，
看看是不是在她的身體有更多的腫瘤。
每一次她進行檢查的時候，就求神給她勇氣，
有意志力可以承受這樣的過程。
每次我們害怕看到檢查的結果時。
就會有些搖擺，想到是不是結果會很糟，並且試著保持樂觀一點。
雖然要經歷這一切的事情，媽媽還是和平常一樣非常的平靜，
維持她的習慣，早上起來讀經和禱告。
Thank God, we were told that the
cancer had not spread to other parts
of her body. The tumor in her colon,
however, had to be removed and the
surrounding tissues had to be checked.
We were told that, as with all surgeries,
there were risks with recovery and
infection.
感謝神，我們得到的結論是，這個癌症並沒有擴散。
然而一定要移除結腸內的腫瘤，並且要檢查其周圍的器官組織。
而且我們被告知，一切的手術，都有康復上及受到感染的風險。
We knew there were long public
hospital waiting lists and that if we
opted for private care, the potential
costs could be astronomical. There was
much to consider and organize. Where
could we start? As we faced each new
hurdle, we could only keep praying and
hoping for God’s mercy and guidance.
我們知道，若要到公立醫院，有一堆人在排隊等候，
但若我們選擇到私立醫院去，以後醫院可能的花費將會是天文數字。
有許多事情需要好好考慮，並且好好安排。
但我們要從那裡開始呢？
每當我們要面對新障礙的時候，
就只能一直禱告，祈求神的慈愛和憐憫。
GOD’S GUIDANCE AND GRACE 神的引領和恩典
Trust in the Lord with all your
heart, and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct
your paths.
(Prov 3:5–6)
5你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，
6在你一切所行的事上都要認定他，他必指引你的路。
(箴 3：5-6)
At every stage, we found that our
loving Lord did not fail us. Surely, it
must have been God’s arrangement
that the old primary school teacher on
our parents’ home island, Ap Chau,
had a son who was an oncologist in
Hong Kong. After a consultation with
him in the morning, he arranged for
our mother to be registered at a wellknown
hospital through his contacts
that same afternoon.
不論走到那一個階段，我們發現慈愛神的主，並不會讓我們失望。
很確定的是，這一定是神的安排，
在雙親家鄉的小島上 (鴨洲)，以前國小的老師，
他有一個兒子在香港是腫瘤專家。
在早上去找他看病之後，那天下午，他就透過自已的關係，
安排我們的母親可以到一間有名的醫院去掛號。
The following week, the hospital’s
colorectal surgery team examined our
mother. She was then approved for
surgery and placed on the waiting
list. Furthermore, they said that only
keyhole surgery was needed, which
was much less invasive. We had heard
that local patients in our mother’s
situation could wait up to two years for
surgery. Yet we were told to expect a
surgery date within the next four to six
weeks!
接下一周，醫院的直腸手術團隊就開始檢查母親。
然後她就得到許可，可以接受手術，被列在接受手術的名單上。
接著，只需要透過微創手術，這樣就不需要使用侵入很大的手術方式。
我們有聽過，有些像我媽媽情況的一些當地的病人，
會需要等待到兩年，才能接受手術。
然而我們卻被告知手術日期，可以在接下來四到六周的時候，就能進行手術。
Everything proceeded well, beyond
our expectations. In our weakness,
slight doubts started creeping in
when we did not receive a confirmed
operation date. Once again, when we
started to become anxious, our mother
remained quietly patient and faithful
that God would arrange.
每一件事都進行的很順利，超過我們的期待。
在我們軟弱的時候，就開始有一些些的懷疑進入內心，
因為我們一直沒有得到手術日期的確認。
再一次，當我們開始變得憂慮的時候，
母親仍然十分有耐心，很有信心的相信，神會安排。
God’s grace is indeed great and more
than we deserve. It turned out our
mother went into hospital on the day
that one of us began a two-week Easter
break from school. We could make the
long daily trips between home and
the hospital with our father, keep him
company, and help our mother before
and after surgery. God’s wonderful
arrangement enabled us to do this
without the added stress of juggling
work commitments and requesting
leave.
神的恩典的確非常的大，而且更超過我們配得的。
就在那時候，母親住進醫院的那一天，
我們其中之一剛好是學校二周復活節節期的開始。
我們可以和父親每天坐很久的車子從家裡到醫院去，
陪著爸爸，並且在手術前後都能幫忙媽媽。
神奇妙的安排，讓我們能這麼作，
卻不用擔心請假的事情，還有工作上雜亂的壓力。
Thank God, after a successful
operation and a week’s recuperation,
our mother was discharged. We
decided to have lunch in the hospital
canteen before taking a taxi home.
Whenever we got up to leave, she
would tell us to wait a little longer.
Later, she told us that she had a feeling
she should not leave. Then, on our
way out, she suddenly collapsed and
fainted in the hospital lobby. Thankfully
we were supporting her at the time, so
she did not fall and hurt herself. Our
mother had to be readmitted, but, by
God’s arrangement, she had collapsed
in the same hospital, so her records
were on file for doctors to follow. If
she had fainted in the taxi, we would
not have been able to get her help
straightaway. If she had collapsed at
home, she would have been admitted
into a different district hospital, which
would not have her medical history.
感謝神，手術成功，在一周的恢復休息之後，媽媽就出院了。
我們在離開搭計程車回家之前，就決定在醫院的食堂一起用餐。
當我們起身要離開的時候，她就告訴我們，她感到到她不應該離開。
然後在我們走出去的時候，她就突然就倒下來，在醫院大廳昏倒了。
很感謝神，我們正在那裡可以適時的支撐著她，
因此她不會因為倒下來，而讓自已受到傷害。
所以母親需要重新再入院，但因為有神的安排，她在同一間醫院倒下，
所以她的病歷有歸檔可以讓醫生來追蹤。
若她在計程車裡面昏倒，我們就不能立刻給她幫助。
若她在家裡面昏倒，她就一定會被送到不同地區的醫院，而那家醫院就不會有她的醫療記錄。
Our mother had to stay overnight
in the general ward. Although it
was sad to see her undergo more
discomfort, it was yet another part
of God’s providential arrangement.
After various tests, the doctors said
our mother’s collapse was due to
her anti-hypertension medication.
Consequently, her medication was
adjusted and reduced. Our mother
had been worried about her levels of
medication, and now, through God’s
blessing, her worries were resolved.
媽媽就在一般病房過夜。
雖然很難過要看她變得很不舒服，但這確是神另一段的準備和安排。
作完各種測試之後，醫生說，
媽媽會昏倒是因為她的抗高血壓藥物。
接著，她的份量就被重新調整過，減少濟量。
母親一直擔心自已藥物的濟量，現在，
因著神的祝福，解決了她的擔心。
The final hurdle was whether our
mother needed chemotherapy. We
were told that the tumor had been
caught early. It was growing on
the surface of the colon wall and
had not penetrated beneath, so no
chemotherapy was required. She was
now clear of cancer, although she
would need regular check-ups in the
future. We praise and thank God.
而最後一道關卡，就是母親是不是需要接受化學治療。
我們得知，因為腫瘤在發生初期就被發現。
所以是只有長在結腸的腸壁表面上，
還沒有蔓延到其他的組織，所以並不需要作化學治療。
現在她身上的癌細胞已經清除完全了，
雖然以後她要來作定期的檢查。
我們只能讚美神的幫助，感謝神的恩典。
After years of training her faith,
our mother had succeeded. When
tested, she prevailed and was not
found wanting. We thank God for
the blessing He bestowed upon our
mother and for her example of faith
in adversity. Our family experienced
God’s power and grace and learned to
entrust. We also thank everyone who
sustained us through their prayers and
words of encouragement. May all glory
be given to our almighty Lord Jesus,
who holds not only life and death in His
hands, but also mercy and grace.
經過幾年信心上的訓練，母親已經成功訓練完成。
當經歷試驗的時候，她勝過了試驗，並沒有不足的地方。
我們感謝神，祂所賜給母親的恩典，因為她給了我們在患難中，很棒的信仰典範。
因而我們全家可以體驗到神的能力和恩典，學會交託神。
我們也感謝每一個人，透過他們不斷的代禱，語言上的安慰，來支持我們一路走來。
原一切榮耀歸於我們全能的主耶穌，
祂不只在手中掌管者生命和死已，而且也有豐富的慈愛和恩典。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
Manna 嗎哪 56 (1)