爱心疫苗

哔，哔。

手机上每天都会收到很多紧急通告等信息。这些信息主要是报告新冠病毒的最新消息和呼吁所有人不要出门。

在疫情大爆发期间，我居住的韩国地区赢得了疫情安全区的称号。但是后来有一位编号为31的病例参加了一个非正统教派的聚会后，把病毒带回了我所在的地区，而那次聚会是南韩最严重的群聚案例之一，导致我住的地方变成了全国感染率最高的区域，每天有高达数百个新增案例。不到一个月的时间就有6千多人被感染。媒体每天不断地报导着我们区域的感染事件，导致全国都把我们看成了是导致病毒传播的元凶。

世界似乎在一瞬间停滞了下来。超市、露天市集、餐厅都空无一人。没有人做生意，马路上也几乎没有车辆行驶。无形的病毒很快地把眼前的世界颠覆了。

我的教会也受到了影响。过去几十年里我一直都能毫无阻碍地分享耶稣的爱，可现在无论是聚会或是宣教活动都被迫暂停。我很担心：上帝的教会是否会因此而关门？难道我们要因此让福音的工作停止吗？我不能想像这是上帝的旨意。我身边的世界进入了停滞不前的状态，但我却一直在向上帝祷告。

 “父啊，我相信疫情的发生有祢的旨意，请问我能为祢做什么？”我不断地如此祷告。

忽然灵光一闪，我想起之前参加区会办的健康讲座时，我们曾经学过如何制作消毒洗手液。

 “现在大家肯定都很需要洗手液，”我心里想。

在区会健康部门的帮助下，我们教会制作了大约一千瓶洗手液，并且拿到户外场所去分派，全程都戴着口罩和手套。拿到洗手液的人都非常感恩，好像拿到了宝贝一样。虽然我们没有主动宣传自己教会的名字，但是当有人询问“你们是谁”或“你们是哪一个组织”时，我们都会回答：“我们是基督复临安息日会的教友。”

我们成功地把危机转化成机会，上帝的爱也暖化了那因疫情变得冰冷的心。

后来上帝又给了我另一个想法。在疫情期间几乎所有的口罩都卖完了。店面有相当多的人为了买口罩而大排长龙，但口罩非常有限，不是谁都能买到的。

我心里便想：“我该如何帮助这些人呢？”

我想了一会，忽然想起年轻时曾学过怎么用缝纫机，便在家里开始制作布口罩。当教友们知道我在做的事情，也都加入进来。看着这些人一起参与服侍，我心里受到了很大的鼓励和力量。最让我感到欣慰的，就是看见那些曾因疫情打退堂鼓的教友们，通过这种布道工作，热心再次为耶稣燃烧起来。

我们的上帝是一位能逆转局势的上帝，祂可以化危机为奇迹。通过洗手液和口罩，我们拉进了原本因社交距离出现的隔阂。现在我的教会成为了一个散播爱之疫苗的地方，这也是在危机中最好的疫苗。我们已经派出了大约三千瓶洗手液和上百个布口罩。

我希望借着我们的努力和上帝的带领，这世界不会被新冠病毒充满，而是让“认识耶和华的知识要充满遍地，好像水充满洋海一般。”（赛11：9）

来源：本文译自《圣工消息》（社会青年季刊）2021年第四季

Vaccine of Love

Beep, beep.

Several times a day, emergency text alerts pop up on my cell phone. The messages contain information about coronavirus and warnings against leaving the house.

The South Korean region where I live earned the distinction of being a COVID-free zone amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But then Patient No. 31 brought the virus to my region by attending the gathering of an offshoot Christian group. The event turned into a super-spreader. My town rapidly became the most infected in the country, with hundreds of new confirmed cases every day. The number of confirmed cases topped 6,000 less than a month after the event. As the national media pumped out daily reports about my region, people across South Korea looked down on us as the main culprit for spreading coronavirus across the country.

Everything seemed to stop in an instant. There were no people in supermarkets, outdoor markets, and restaurants. No one bought or sold. Few cars drove on the streets. The invisible virus quickly turned the visible world upside down.

My church also was affected. I freely have shared my love for Jesus for decades, but my worship and missionary activities came to a standstill. I wondered whether God’s church should be forced to close its doors. Should we quietly give up our calling to spread the gospel and wait for the situation to improve? I couldn’t. While the world was closing, I was praying.

 “My Father, I know that the global crisis is Your opportunity. What opportunity will You give me?” I prayed again and again.

A bright light flashed in the pitch-black darkness. I remembered learning how to make hand sanitizer with the church conference’s health ministries department.

 “One of the things that people need now is hand sanitizer,” I thought.

With the help of the health ministries department, members of my church made about 1,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and distributed them at outdoor markets. We put on masks and gloves to give away the hand sanitizer. People responded as if hand sanitizer were one of the most valuable gifts in the world. They showed heartfelt gratitude. We did not disclose the name of our church, but many people asked, “Where do you come from?” or “Which organization to you represent?” Then we replied that we were with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

 A crisis turned into an opportunity. God’s love as revealed through our sharing melted hearts frozen by COVID-19.

Then God gave me another idea. South Korea experienced nationwide panic when masks sold out. Long lines of people waited to purchase scarce masks at shops.

 “How can I help these struggling people?” I wondered.

As I thought about it, I remembered learning to use a sewing machine when I was young. I started to make cloth masks at home. As I slowly made mask after mask, other church members heard about the initiative and volunteered to help. Their involvement gave me courage and strength. Most of all, I rejoiced to see church members who had withdrawn from outreach work because of COVID-19 regaining their vitality for Christ.

Our God is a God of reversal, and He turns crises into opportunities. People separated by social distancing drew close through hand sanitizers and masks. My church has become a place to share the vaccine of love, the best vaccine in a crisis. We have distributed 3,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and hundreds of masks.

Through this sharing effort initiated and powered by God, I pray earnestly that the earth will be filled not with COVID-19 but with “the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).

Please fine the original article at: https://am.adventistmission.org/mqa21q4-24