法兰克（Frank）

上帝装备受呼召的人

法兰克是一个在南太平洋国家万那杜长大且被宠坏的男孩。

他是父亲第二次婚姻的独生子，他享有父母所有的宠爱，就像《圣经》中的男孩约瑟受到父亲雅各的宠爱一样。而且，就像约瑟的故事，父亲第一段婚姻的同父异母的兄弟因忌妒让他们兄弟之间出现了很多的问题。

法兰克在家里并不快乐，但他在当地奥雷复临学院的学习却很快乐。他结识了许多朋友，也喜欢在安息日去教堂。

然而，高中的时候，他病倒了，住进了医院。他的父母怕他会死去，就决定，在他出院后把他留在家里。法兰克的学业也就这样终止了，没能完成高中的学习。

他和其他村里的男孩一样，成为了一个普通的乡村男孩，而且他缺乏工作技能。父亲去世后，他同父异母的兄弟继承了财产，而法兰克却一无所有。他成了一个迷失的乡村男孩，他失去了生活的目标和意义。

法兰克在奥雷复临学院时最喜欢的一件事就是上木工课。他在这门课里学会了作家具。他想起这事之后，就开始在村子里以做小傢具和小房子谋生。

几年过去了，法兰克有了自己的家。

他放下了做傢具的活技，转而依靠他的母亲和岳父母来养家糊口。

他和他的妻子经常争吵，他妻子叫他来承担家庭的一切开支。

他似乎没有任何出路。

一天晚上，在绝望中，法兰克双膝跪地，向上帝求救。

“请给我一个证明自己的机会，”他祈祷说。

不久之后，同父异母的哥哥肯为法兰克提供了一份在椰子和可可农场做木工的工作。法兰克为此感谢上帝。他很快就用他的技术修补了农场的建筑。

后来，一家罐头厂聘请他担任维修工。他的技术引起了上司的注意。当罐头厂破产时，主管开始了自己的事业，并聘请法兰克与他一起制造家具和建造商业建筑。

法兰克成功了，却忘记了上帝。他忘记了为找工作所做的绝望祈祷。

直到一个晚上的到来。

法兰克睡着了，他梦见他的祖母向他传达了一个神圣的信息。他的祖母承诺他将成为一名杰出的商人并拥有自己的公司。但是，她说，要做到这一点，他必须忠于上帝。

这个梦触动了法兰克，他决定将自己的心献给上帝。他开始每个安息日去教堂。

几年之内，他的梦想成真了。法兰克成为了一间有团队的成功建筑和细木工公司的老板。

他没有忘记自己渴望忠于上帝，回到家乡后，他与所有同父异母的哥哥们和好，并与家人和解。他发现他的兄弟们用当地的建筑材料建造了一座小型复临教堂。“马拉纳塔复临平信徒服务与企业事工”（Maranatha ASI）捐赠了材料来建造一个更大的教堂，但结构仍未完工。法兰克伸出援手，设计并建造了一个更大的教堂。

法兰克觉得为上帝建造一所房子的感觉很好。他渴望做得更多。因此，他展开了一项事工，将万那杜83 个岛屿上没盖好的教堂全都修整完成。如今，他通过自己的生意资助了许多教会项目，并且是桑托岛波拉波拉村教会的首席长老。

法兰克说他在生活中找到了目标和意义。

 “我非常感谢上帝让我从一个不合格的乡村男孩变成了合格的商业木匠。”他说。

来源：本文译自《圣工消息》（社会青年季刊）2022年第四季

God Qualifies the Called

Frank was raised a spoiled boy in the South Pacific country of Vanuatu.

The only son from his father’s second marriage, he was favored by his parents, just like the boy Joseph was favored by his father, Jacob, in the Bible. And, like the story of Joseph, sibling jealousy led to problems with older half-brothers from his father’s first marriage.

Unhappy at home, Frank found joy studying at the local Aore Adventist Academy. He made many friends and enjoyed attending church on Sabbath.

However, while in high school, he fell ill and was hospitalized. His parents, worried that he might die, decided to keep him at home when he left the hospital. That was the end of Frank’s education. He never finished high school.

Frank joined other village boys in becoming an ordinary village boy. He lacked skills to get a job. When Father died, his older half-brothers inherited the property, leaving Frank with nothing. Frank became a lost village boy with no purpose or meaning in life.

One thing that Frank had enjoyed at Aore Adventist Academy was carpentry class. He had learned how to make furniture. Remembering the carpentry class, he began to make a living by constructing small pieces of furniture and small houses in his village.

The years passed, and Frank got married and had children.

He gave up making furniture, relying instead on his mother and in-laws to support his family.

He and his wife argued constantly, with his wife telling him to find work to support their children.

There seemed to be no way out.

In desperation one night, Frank fell on his knees and pleaded with God for help.

“Please give me a chance to prove myself,” he prayed.

A short time later, an older half-brother, Ken, offered Frank a carpentry job on a coconut and cocoa farm. Frank, thanking God for the job, quickly put his skills to use by repairing farm buildings.

Later, a cannery hired him as a maintenance worker. His skills caught his supervisor’s attention. When the cannery went bankrupt, the supervisor started his own business and hired Frank to work with him in making furniture and constructing commercial buildings.

Frank became successful, and he forgot about God. He forgot about his desperate prayer for work.

Until one night.

As Frank slept, he dreamed that he saw his grandmother delivering a divine message. His grandmother promised that he would become a prominent businessman and own his own company. But, she said, for that to happen he had to be faithful to God.

The dream astonished Frank, and he decided to give his heart to God. He began to go to church every Sabbath.

Within a few years, his dream came true. Frank became the owner of a successful construction and joinery company with a team of employees.

Remembering his desire to be faithful to God, he returned to his home village to reconcile with all his older half-brothers and to make peace with the rest of his family. He found that his half-brothers had constructed a small Adventist church using local building materials. Maranatha ASI had donated materials to build a larger one-day church, but the structure remained unfinished. Frank stepped in to help, designing and building a bigger church.

Frank felt good about building a house for God. He longed to do more. So, he started a ministry to repair and complete unfinished churches across Vanuatu’s 83 islands. Today, he helps fund many church projects through his business and is the head elder in the Bora Bora village church on the island of Santo.

Frank says he has found purpose and meaning in life.

“I am so grateful to God for lifting me from being an unqualified village boy to a qualified commercial carpenter,” he said.

Please find the original article at: https://am.adventistmission.org/mqa22q4-24