克丽丝汀（Christine）

不情愿的护理师

克丽丝汀的家境十分穷困，他们就把她送到乌干达的一所寄宿学校，由神父们扶养她长大。其中一位神父待她像父亲一样，他非常关注她的成长，即便在她离开寄宿学校，从护理学校毕业之后，仍然给过她很多帮助。克丽丝汀需要一份护理师的工作机会，神父建议她不要在城市工作。神父说：“你有可能会被城市喧嚣生活的诱惑所吸引。”

克丽丝汀向来都接受神父给她的意见。可是她对于是不是要继续待在乡村而踌躇不定，她知道住在城市里生活会有更多便利。

在她找工作的时候，她看到”复临教会”诊疗所的护理师招聘广告，她竟然迟疑了，因为她知道这间诊疗所属于复临教会。此外，她还看到这间诊疗所就在农村，她实在不想离开都市，所以她便把这个招聘广告抛在了脑后。

神父打了通电话给她。

 “你准备一下！”神父说：“我已经派车去接你，要带你到新的工作场所。”

 “我要在哪里工作呢？” 她问。

 “快点来，赶紧准备好！” 神父说，“不然这份工作机会很快就没了。”

克丽丝汀还以为神父一定是为她找到了一份了不起的工作，要不然他也不会这么看重这件事。在途中，当她看到车子往复临教会诊疗的方向开时，她惊讶不已。她根本就不想在农村工作，但她现在别无选择。

她很勉强地接受这份工作，并搬到当地的住所。克丽丝汀在她的新工作中经历了一连串的冲击。首先，住在农村对她来说就像坐牢一样。其次，她讶异的发现这里的人们竟然是在星期六聚会。 她无法想象上帝会临格在这个不起眼的农村，她还发现，她离属于自己教派的教会非常遥远，星期天根本无法参加聚会。

 “除了孤单地坐在这里，我还能做些什么呢？” 她这么想着。

复临信徒们接连不断地到克丽丝汀家中拜访，和她一起祷告。每个星期六，他们都会和她一起唱诗赞美、祷告、读经，克丽丝汀的心被他们的善意所打动。她很享受和复临信徒一起唱诗的时光。渐渐地她接受了复临教会与众不同的敬拜方式。但同时她也担心神父知道这件事情后会怎么看待她。教友继续地拜访她，可她却一直忽视他们鼓励她加入复临教会的呼召。三年之后，他们也不再询问她的意愿。

在那之后，克丽丝汀总会回想起他们的邀请，以及她在查经时所学到的真道，她居然说服她的妹妹加入复临教会。

 “他们教导真理，”她跟妹妹说。

克丽丝汀虽然已不再却她的教会聚会，可她还是不愿意加入复临教会，因为她不习惯在星期六敬拜。

一个星期六的早晨，有一位复临信徒邀请她参加帐篷大会，这在她听来有如天籁之音！

 “就是今天了！” 克丽丝汀想。

她偷偷地带上换洗的衣服，在过去三年里她看过无数次浸礼，她知道该怎么做。

当牧师在台前呼召众人受洗时，她走了过去，所有认识她的人都很惊讶！因为她并没有告诉任何人她要受洗的决定。

当克丽丝汀从浸礼池中出来时，内心充满了喜乐。

现在，克丽丝汀很感谢上帝带领她到诊疗所。这间诊所的全名是“复临教会恩奇万加诊疗所”。“我并不愿意到恩奇万加来，但上帝以良善和恩慈待我。”她说，“我在恩奇万加的经历是我生命的转折点。”

来源：本文译自《圣工消息》（社会青年季刊）2023年第二季

Reluctant Nurse

Christine’s family was so poor that they sent her away to a boarding school to be raised by priests in Uganda. One priest became like a father to her. He took a special interest in her well-being, and he offered her guidance after she moved out of the boarding school and later graduated from nursing school. Christine needed a nursing job, and the priest advised her not to stay in the city to work. “You might be attracted by the lures of the city life,” he said.

Christine had always trusted the priest. But she wasn’t sure that she wanted to live in the countryside. She thought life would be much more comfortable in the city.

As she looked for work, she saw an advertisement for nurses at a Seventh-day Adventist medical center. She was hesitant to apply for a job because she knew that the medical center belonged to the Adventist Church. In addition, she saw that the medical center was in the countryside, and she didn’t want to leave the city. She put the job opportunity out of her mind.

Then the priest called her.

 “Get ready,” he said. “I am sending a car to take you to your new place of work.”

“Where will I work?” she asked.

 “Hurry up and get ready,” the priest said. “The job opening will close soon.”

Christine thought that the priest must have found an extraordinary work opportunity because he was making such a big deal about it. After being picked up, she was surprised when the car turned into the compound of the Adventist medical center. She did not want to work in the countryside, but she didn’t see any other choice.

She reluctantly accepted a nursing job at the medical center, and she moved into local housing. Christine experienced a series of shocks at her new job. First, living in the countryside felt like prison to her. Second, she was astonished to see people worshiping on Saturday. She couldn’t imagine that God was present in such a community. It turned out that the closest church belonging to her denomination was too far away to worship at on Sundays.

 “What can I do other than sit here in isolation?” she thought.

A steady flow of Adventists came to Christine’s place to visit and pray with her. Every Sabbath, they sang, prayed, and studied the Bible with her. Christine’s heart was touched by their kindness. She enjoyed singing with them. Her heart slowly opened to the Adventists’ unfamiliar worship style, but she worried what the priest would say if he knew. Church members continued to visit her, and she persistently ignored their calls to join the Adventist Church. After three years, they stopped asking.

During that time, Christine reflected on their appeals and what she had learned during Bible studies. She even convinced her own sister to join the Adventist Church.

 “They teach the truth,” she told her sister.

Christine stopped going to her church, but she still wasn’t willing to join the Adventist Church because she couldn’t bring herself to worship on Saturdays.

One Saturday morning, a church member invited her to go to camp meeting. The invitation was like music to her ears.

 “This is my day!” Christine thought.

She secretly took a change of clothing with her. She had seen many baptisms over the past three years, and she knew what to do.

When the pastor made an altar call, she walked to the front for baptism. Everyone who knew her was surprised. She had not told anyone about her desire.

Christine came out of the waters of baptism filled with joy.

Today, Christine credits God for bringing her to the medical center, whose full name is the Nchwanga Seventh-day Adventist Dispensary. “I reluctantly went to Nchwanga, but God has been kind and gracious to me in this place,” she says. “My experience at Nchwanga is the turning point in my life.”

Please find the original article at: https://am.adventistmission.org/mqa23q1-04