1. Manna issue 64 - Do Not Fear in Times of Adversity, in Quietness and Confidence Shall Be Your Strength 在患難的日子無懼，得力在乎平靜與安穩
Philemon Wu—Tokyo, Japan 日本東京 Philemon Wu
Elder Philemon Wu first shared this testimony
at the second meeting of the tenth World Delegates Conference in Taiwan from March 22 to 31, 2011,
which was held only eleven days after the megathrust earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan.
Thanks to God’s grace and protection, all the members and churches in Japan remained safe.
2011 年 3 月 22 日至 31 日，台灣舉行了第十屆世界代表大會的第二次會議，
Philemon Wu 腓利門長老首先分享了這個見證，
這是在日本發生巨型地震，和隨之而來的海嘯，僅 11 天後舉行的。
感謝神的恩典和保護，日本所有的信徒和教會都平安無事。
IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY CONSIDER 患難的日子好好思考
I believe that
everyone has witnessed the gravity of the recent disasters in Japan
through the television and media.
I also believe that
anyone who has an ounce of compassion
will be saddened and moved to tears by what we have seen and heard.
But what distresses us even more is our inability to save the souls of the victims.
我相信，通過電視和媒體，
大家都親眼看到日本最近災難的嚴重性。
我也相信，
任何有一絲同情心的人，
會為我們的所見所聞，而感到傷心且感動落淚。
但更讓人煩憂的是，我們無法挽救受害者的靈魂。
The wise one says, “In the day of adversity consider”
(Eccl 7:14).
Yet, what are we to consider?
Consider how to flee from the disaster?
After this earthquake, many foreigners immediately hurried to leave Japan,
causing the airfares to rise by 5–20%.
智者說：“14遭患難的日子你當思想”
（傳 7：14）。
然而，我們要思考什麼事呢？
考慮如何逃離災難？
這次地震後，許多外國人立即匆匆離開日本，
導致機票價格上漲 5-20%。
With a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale,
the earthquake also damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The Japanese government’s experts risked their lives to rescue
and evacuate the residents within a thirty-kilometer radius of the affected plant.
芮氏地震等級 9.0，
地震還損壞了福島核子發電廠。
日本政府的專家冒著生命危險去營救，
疏散受影響電廠方圓三十公里範圍內的居民。
The Tokyo region, where I live,
is about 250–300 kilometers away from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Due to energy shortage, the Tokyo transportation system had to suspend its services.
Surrounding areas also experienced a rotational power outage.
Although their lives were inconvenienced,
Tokyo residents were lucky compared to victims
who suffered from cold and hunger or those who were separated from their family members.
For this reason, we can only thank the Lord continuously from our heart.
我居住的東京地區，
距離福島核電廠約 250-300 公里。
由於電力不足，東京交通系統不得不暫停服務。
周邊地區也要承受輪流停電。
雖然他們的生活很不方便，
與受害者相比，東京居民是幸運的
他們會遭受寒冷和飢餓，或是經歷家人失散的痛苦。
為此，我們只能從心裡不斷地感謝主。
There’s a saying that states,
“If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong”.
This tells us that we cannot escape from disaster.
Indeed, God has created both prosperity and adversity,
“so that man can find out nothing that will come after him”
(Eccl 7:14).
有句話說，
“事倩如果還能更糟的話，它一定會更糟。”。
這話告訴我們，人無法逃脫災難的。
確實是這樣，神創造了繁榮和苦難，
“14為的是叫人查不出身後有甚麼事。”
（傳道書 7：14）。
IN QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE SHALL BE YOUR STRENGTH 得力在乎平靜與安穩
Disasters truly reveal the weaknesses in our faith.
After the great earthquake, some members became timid
and called the resident preacher in tears, asking him what to do.
Some others even advised the preacher to return home to his family members abroad
and told him that they would pay for his airfare.
The preacher, however, told them that
he could not leave the sheep behind and flee for his own life.
Thank God for giving us such a good shepherd.
災難會真實揭露了我們信仰的弱點。
大地震之後，有一些信徒變得膽小，
並且哭著打電話給駐牧傳道，問他該怎麼辦。
還有一些人甚至建議傳道回國，與他自已國外的家人團聚，
並且告訴他他們會幫他付機票費用。
然而，傳道告訴他們
他不能留下羊群於自已背後，並且自顧自的逃命去。
感謝神賜給了我們這麼好的牧羊人。
When we encounter adversity,
we must meditate on the word of God and messages received through worship services such as,
“Do not faint in the day of adversity”
(Prov 24:10),
and
“In quietness and confidence shall be your strength if you rely on the Lord”
(Isa 30:15).
當我們遇到逆境時，
我們必須思想，聚會時所領受的神的道理和信息，例如，
“10你在患難之日若膽怯，”
（箴言 24：10），
和
“15 你們得救在乎歸回安息，若你依靠主”
（賽 30：15）。
Jesus also tells us, 耶穌告訴我們，
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
(Jn 16:33)
“33我將這些事告訴你們，是要叫你們在我裡面有平安。
在世上，你們有苦難；
但你們可以放心，我已經勝了世界。”
（約 16：33）
Although we will inevitably meet with tribulation in this world,
we should not adopt a pessimistic attitude or just sigh for relief.
Instead, let us take courage to face reality,
for Jesus has already overcome the world and will give us His peace,
which surpasses all human understanding.
雖然我們世上難免會遇到苦難，
我們不應該採悲觀的態度，或鬆一口氣。
相反的，讓我們鼓起勇氣面對現實，
因為耶穌已經戰勝了世界，並賜給我們祂的平安，
這超越了所有人類的理解。
TESTIMONIES SURROUNDING THE EARTHQUAKE 地震相關的見證
·Early this year, a sister from the Japanese province of Nagano,
who is also a dialysis patient, went to Taiwan for a surgery.
She had planned to return to Japan on March 11, 2011 (the day of the earthquake),
after her operation.
However, since some Taiwanese members invited her to attend the Taipei Regional Fellowship on March 13, 2011,
she postponed her return.
Thank the Lord for His providence!
On the day of the earthquake,
Tokyo’s Narita InternationalAirport was closed
—tens of thousands of travelers were stranded and unable to travel.
If this sister had returned on March 11,
she would not have been able to return to her hometown,
which is about 150 kilometers away from Tokyo.
Worse still, she would not have been able to receive dialysis.
·今年年初，有一位來自日本長野縣的姐妹，
她也是洗腎的病人，去台灣做手術。
她已經計劃於 2011 年 3 月 11 日（地震發生當天）返回日本，
在她手術之後。
然而，由於一些台灣信徒邀請她參加 2011 年 3 月 13 日的台北地區團契，
她延後幾天回家。
感謝主的預備！
地震那天，
東京成田國際機場關閉，
—數以萬計的旅客滯留，無法出行。
如果這位姐妹 3 月 11 日回來，
她將無法回到自己的家鄉，
距離東京約150公里遠。
更糟糕的是，她無法得到血液透析的醫療。
·A sister from Sumida church needed to have her cataracts removed.
Initially, the surgery was scheduled for 3 pm on the day of the earthquake.
Unexpectedly, the doctor rescheduled the surgery to around 2 pm or earlier.
After the procedure, as the nurse was wheeling her to the ward, the earthquake set in.
Later on, the doctor came to the ward specifically to congratulate her on her good fortune.
If the earthquake had happened during the surgery,
the consequences would have been unthinkable.
·墨田教會一位姊妹需要摘除白內障。
最初，手術安排在地震當天下午 3 點。
沒想到，醫生把手術改到了下午2點左右，甚至更早。
手術結束後，當護士把她推到病房時，地震開始了。
後來，醫生特地來到病房，恭賀她好運。
如果手術期間，發生地震，
後果將是不可想像的。
·The day before the earthquake hit,
my whole family of four went on an outing to Fukushima province
to see the cherry blossoms and the waterfalls.
We left at 9 am and returned home at 6 pm on the same day.
Thank the Lord; I truly know who holds tomorrow.
·地震發生的前一天，
我們一家四口去福島省郊遊
去看櫻花開花和瀑布景色。
我們早上 9 點出發，當天下午 6 點回到家。
感謝主；我真的知道誰擁有明天。
·On the day of the earthquake,
I took the coastal freeway to the hospital for an allergy shot.
Soon after exiting the freeway, the earthquake hit and the freeway was closed due to damages.
Mere ten minutes decided over life and death.
God truly controls both life and death,
“so that man can find out nothing that will come after him”.
·地震那天，
我沿著濱海高速公路去醫院打過敏針。
離開高速公路後不久，地震來襲，高速公路因損壞而關閉。
僅僅十分鐘就決定人的生死。
神真是掌管人的生死，
“14為的是叫人查不出身後有甚麼事”。
I thank the loving true God that
He has allowed us to experience His great and indescribable love through this great earthquake.
At the same time, the disaster serves as a sober reminder to me:
我感謝慈愛的真神，
通過這次的大地震，祂讓我們體驗到祂偉大而難以形容的愛。
同時，這場災難也給了我一個清醒的警示：
- This calamity has revealed the weakness of our members’ faith,
which reminds us to put more effort into the pastoral work.
- 這場災難揭露了我們信仰信仰的軟弱，
亦提醒我們要在牧養工作上付出更多的努力。
- Around 30,000 people died either as victims or rescuers,
and this somber thought urges us to hasten the work of evangelism.
- 大約有 30,000 人，不是作為受害者死去，就或身為救難人員死去，
這種憂鬱的想法促使我們加快傳福音的工作。
Lastly, I would like to sincerely request all brethren to continue to pray for Japan.
We ask God to remove His wrath and have mercy on us, for, unlike the doomed city of Sodom,
there are more than ten righteous in this place.
最後，懇請各位同靈繼續為日本代禱。
我們求神息怒，並且憐憫我們，不要像注定毀滅的所多瑪城一樣，
因為這個地方有超過十個義人。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
歡迎主內同靈來信加入翻譯
