伊利亚（Elia）

信心的祈祷

伊利亚遇到了一个大麻烦。他毕业于坦桑尼亚的高中，也已经被隶属「基督复临安息日教会」的阿鲁沙大学录取，那个大麻烦就是，他没有足够的钱交学费。

阿鲁沙大学并不是伊利亚的第一志愿。在他志愿表上的五所大学里，复临大学仅排第三。后来他给他的朋友，也是他的高中的同学，约瑟打电话，问他计划去哪里读书。

“我们去阿鲁沙大学吧！” 约瑟说，“我们要是能一起去那上学就太好了。”

伊利亚同意了。他们便一起去申请就读阿鲁沙大学，也同时被教育专业录取，攻读学士学位。

伊利亚和约瑟祝贺自己也感谢上帝。只是他们都没有足够的钱来付学费。他们就向政府申请了教育补助款。

在他离家的前一周，伊利亚在永博复临教堂（Yombo）参加了福音周，牧师请大家在纸上写下他们的代祷事项。 出乎伊利亚意料的是，他发现自己写的不是代祷的事项，而是献上感恩的祷告。

“谢谢您上帝，让我被阿鲁沙大学录取并帮助我获得补助款来支付我的学费。”他写道。

那时他的补助款还没有批下来，，他却已经写下感谢的话，因为他相信上帝会答应的。

一个周五，伊利亚和约瑟去公交站订了从坦桑尼亚的首都三兰港到位于乌萨河镇的大学共计375英里（600公里）长的车票，。 他们付了车费之后，约瑟说出了内心的疑惑，他想知道他们的未来将会如何。

“我们已经订了去阿鲁沙大学的车票，可是，咱们对那人生地不熟的」他说，“咱们怎么在没有经济援助的情况下生活呢？”

“你相信上帝吗？”伊利亚问。

“当然，我相信上帝，但是……”约瑟说。 伊利亚又问了他一次。

“你信的上帝和我信的上帝不一样吗？”

“当然一样的上帝了。”约瑟说。

“你看，上帝允许我们订了汽车票，那他就一定会帮助我们渡过难关的。”伊利亚说。

当天稍晚的时候，伊利亚和约瑟都收到了他们的教育补助款已经审核通过的消息。约瑟惊喜之余打电话给伊利亚。

“你真有信心啊！”他说。

安息日的时候，伊利亚在教堂分享了这个见证。对他来说，这就是活生生的见证。牧师为他祝福祷告，教友们也祈求上帝保佑他在阿鲁沙大学的日子。

现在，伊利亚大学就快要毕业了，他也结识了许多因遵守安息日，被其他大学开除，转学来到阿鲁沙大学的学生。他意识到，如果他当初选择其他大学，他肯定也不能遵守安息圣日。

“我怀着获得更好的教育的希望开始了我的大学之旅。我没有为我的决定后悔过。”他说。

来源：本文译自《圣工消息》（社会青年季刊）2023年第二季

Prayer of Faith

Elia had a big problem. He had graduated from high school in Tanzania. He had been accepted into the University of Arusha, which belongs to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But he didn’t have enough money for tuition.

The University of Arusha had not been Elia’s first choice. He had put the Adventist university in third place on his list of five universities at which he would like to study. But then he had called his friend Joseph, a classmate from high school, to ask where he planned to study.

“Let’s go to the University of Arusha,” Joseph said. “It would be nice to be together.”

Elia thought that it would be nice to be together with Joseph. They both applied to the University of Arusha, and they both were accepted to study for a bachelor’s degree in education.

Elia and Joseph congratulated themselves and thanked God. But both lacked the money to cover their tuition at the university. They applied for state financial aid.

The week before his departure, Elia attended a week of prayer at the Yombo Seventh-day Adventist Church. The pastor asked people to write down their prayer requests on pieces of paper. To Elia’s surprise, he found himself not writing down a prayer request but a prayer of gratitude.

“Thank You, God, for allowing me to enroll in the University of Arusha and for helping me receive financial aid to cover my tuition,” he wrote.

He had not received any financial aid, but he wrote, believing that God would grant it.

On Friday, Elia and Joseph went to the bus station to book tickets for the 375-mile (600-kilometer) trip from Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam, to the university in the town of Usa River. After paying for the bus tickets, Joseph wondered out loud about their future.

“We have booked the tickets to Arusha but, as you know, we are strangers there,” he said. “How are we going to survive with no financial aid?’’

“Do you believe in God?” Elia asked.

“Yes, but …” Joseph said. Elia asked him again.

“Is not the God you believe in the same that I also believe in?” he said.

“Yes,” Joseph said.

“Because God allowed us to book the bus tickets, He will help us survive,” Elia said.

Later that day, Elia and Joseph received word that their financial aid had been approved. Joseph called Elia to express astonishment.

“The faith that you showed is overwhelming,” he said.

On Sabbath, Elia went to church and shared the good news. To him, it was a real miracle. The pastor prayed for him, and the church members wished God’s blessings on his stay at the University at Arusha.

Today, Elia is finishing his studies at the university. He has befriended many students who moved to the university after being dismissed from their universities over their observance of the Sabbath. He realizes that he would not have been able to keep the Sabbath if he had gone to another university.

“I started my university journey with high hopes of getting a better education, and I have not regretted my decision,” he says.

Please find the original at: https://am.adventistmission.org/mqa23q1-10