丽塔·莉萨·佩尔顿 73岁Riitta-Liisa Peltonen, 73 

当63岁的埃斯科来到芬兰西南部的皮克复临教会时，他正生着病。

“我不需要食物，” 他一边挑选蔬菜、肉类和面包，一边告诉食品室主管丽塔莉萨， “这是给我朋友们的。”

丽塔莉萨温和地看着眼前这个臃肿的男人。他身上穿着的脏衣服散发着汗臭味，因多年酗酒，他有着严重的肝脏问题，但他的眼神透露着友好。

“你是基督徒吗？”丽塔莉萨问道。

埃斯科眼神躲闪着。

“嗯，” 他说，“嗯，我有自己的信仰。”

丽塔莉萨明白他跟很多芬兰人一样，都是无神论者。 芬兰是一个很世俗化的国家，全国人口有550万，但其中复临信徒只有4800人。

此后，埃斯科每周都会来这个位于皮克的教会，（皮克的人口为7500人），给他的两位朋友取食物，他们是一对夫妇，名叫帕西和克丽丝塔。后来丽塔莉萨了解到，帕西和克丽丝塔在附近的港口城市图尔库开了一家建筑公司，但在经济衰退时，公司候陷入了困境。为借酒消愁，他们常喝得酩酊大醉。

这对夫妻第一次收到埃斯科带来的食物时，他们又惊又喜。

“你从哪儿弄来的食物？”克丽丝塔问道。

“你可以自己来看看。”他说。

但这对夫妇并没有去。

之后，埃斯科心爱的狗狗，也是他唯一的同伴，不幸去世了。这位年迈的老人非常失落，无法承受独自在家的孤独。于是，他就去了帕西和克丽丝塔家过夜。

令克丽丝塔吃惊的是，埃斯科居然在晚饭前祷告了。

“无神论者怎么会在祷告呢？”她问。

她以前从没见过埃斯科在饭前祷告。

克丽丝塔对埃斯科的举动很好奇，于是她决定自己去教堂看看。她也邀请了丈夫陪她一起去。 为了壮胆，他们还喝了不少酒。于是，这对夫妇在教会排队领取食物的时候，已经醉得几乎站不直了。

第二周，第三周，这对夫妇都来了。过了一段时间，克丽丝塔对她在排队领取食物时，从教友们那里听到的赞美诗和属灵的信息越来越感兴趣。她开始来教会参加安息日的敬拜。

埃斯科注意到了她的兴趣，笑了笑。

“现在我的任务算完成了。”他悄悄地对她说。

不久后，也就是2017的下半年，埃斯科去世了。

与此同时，克丽丝塔戒了酒，还受洗了。帕西目睹了她的改变，也把自己的心献给了主耶稣。

“我找到了自己的信仰。”他说。

他准备在2018年安息日会的夏令营受洗。

这对夫妇开始在教会里活跃起来，并且积极参加祷告会。帕西在教会为来食物储藏室的人做过饭。所有人都看到了他的巨大改变。有天傍晚，大家发现他做饭时脸上洋溢着喜悦。

第二天早上，克丽丝塔发现帕西倒在家里的厨房，那年他51岁。

帕西的葬礼在安息日教堂举行，给来参加的众多亲戚留下了很深的印象。

如今40岁的克丽丝塔在教会依然很活跃, 而且她的母亲也开始参加安息日聚会。

食物储藏室开放五年以来，一共有10人接受了洗礼。

每次有人受洗，丽塔莉萨都很感谢上帝，但是最令她吃惊的也许还是埃斯科的改变。

“作为一个无神论者，他引导自己的朋友归向了基督，”她说，“当他的朋友开始来教堂做礼拜的时候，他非常开心。他带领他们过上了更好的生活。”

Atheist Shares Christ

Esko was 63 and ill when he showed up at Piikkiö Seventh-day Adventist Church in southwestern Finland.

“I don’t need the food,” he told food pantry director Riitta-Liisa Peltonen as he picked out vegetables, meat, and bread. “It’s for my friends.”

Riitta-Liisa looked tenderly at the obese man. The odor of sweat and unwashed clothes clung to him. He suffered severe liver problems after years of hard drinking. His eyes were kind.

“Are you a Christian?” Riitta-Liisa asked.

Esko shifted his eyes away.

“Mmm,” he said. “Mmm, I have my own religion.”

Riitta-Liisa understood that he was an atheist like many people in Finland, a highly secularized country with a population of 5.5 million and only 4,800 Adventists.

Esko returned week after week to the church in Piikkiö, population 7,500, to collect groceries for his friends, a married couple named Pasi and Krista. Riitta-Liisa learned that Pasi had owned a roofing company in the nearby port city of Turku, but the business had fallen on hard times during an economic recession. To cope, Pasi and Krista drank heavily.

The couple expressed surprise the first time that Esko arrived with groceries.

“Where did you get the food?” Krista asked.

“Come and see,” he said.

The couple didn’t.

Then Esko’s sole companion, a beloved dog, died. The elderly man was so discouraged that he could not bear to remain alone in the house. He went to Pasi and Krista’s house to spend the night.

To Krista’s surprise, he prayed before the evening meal.

“How is it that an atheist is praying?” she asked.

She had never seen that before.

Curious about Esko’s actions, she decided to check out the church for herself. She invited her husband to accompany her. But to fortify their courage, she and Pasi drank heavily. They could barely stand on their feet as they waited in line to get food at the church.

The couple returned the next week, and then the next. After a while, Krista grew interested in the Christian songs and the spiritual messages shared by church members as people collected food. She began to attend Sabbath worship services.

Esko noticed her interest and smiled.

“Now my mission is accomplished,” he told her quietly.

A short time later, in late 2017, he died.

Meanwhile, Krista quit drinking and was baptized. Pasi saw the change in her and also gave his heart to Jesus.

“I have found the faith,” he said.

He made arrangements to be baptized at an Adventist summer camp in 2018.

The married couple became active at the church and participated in prayer meetings. Pasi cooked in the church kitchen for people who came to the food pantry. The enormous change in him was evident to all. One evening, his face shone with joy as he cooked.

The next morning, Krista, found him dead in their home kitchen. He was 51.

The funeral was held in the Adventist church, and the service left a big impression on his extended family, who attended.

Krista, 40, is active in the church today, and her own mother has started to attend Sabbath worship services.

In all, 10 people have been baptized in the five years since the food pantry opened.

Riitta-Liisa thanks God for every baptism, but perhaps she is most amazed about Esko.

“He was an atheist who led his friends to Christ,” she said. “He was so happy when his friends began to attend church. He had led someone to a better life.”