人生不設限·永遠改變我生命的南非之旅

經(jīng)過了一段長途飛行，我們抵達南非，接待的人如約在機場等我們。不知為什么，我一直認為約翰·品格應該有點年紀，或許不是我父母那個年齡，但總該有三十幾歲吧。

When we arrived in South Africa after a long flight, our host was waiting for us at the airport as promised, but for some reason I'd pictured John Pingo to be an older man, maybe not as old as my parents but at least in his thirties.

但是那年他才19歲，比當時的我還年輕一歲!

He was nineteen years old! That was a year younger than I was at the time.

“哦，這次來南非或許真的不是什么好主意……”在機場見到約翰時，我心里這么想。

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, I thought when we met at the airport.

幸好，后來證明約翰是個非常成熟且能干的小伙子，他讓我看見更多貧困和有需要的人，那是我以前未曾見過的。約翰告訴我，看到我的影片時，他深受感動，但我發(fā)現(xiàn)他的故事更教人動容，他的奉獻和信心讓我折服。

Fortunately, John proved to be a very mature and capable bloke, who opened my eyes to more poverty and need than I'd ever witnessed. He told me how he had been inspired by my life story when he saw my video, but I came to realize that his story was every bit as compelling, and his dedication to his faith humbled me.

約翰成長于南非南部奧蘭治自由邦的某個農(nóng)場，以前混過一陣子，不過后來成為一個充滿熱忱的基督徒，現(xiàn)在經(jīng)營了一家小型貨運公司。他感謝上帝改變了他的生命，并為他的人生帶來祝福。

He grew up on a livestock farm in the Republic of the Orange Free State in southern South Africa. He'd run with a bad crowd earlier in life, but he'd become an avid Christian and was now the owner of a small trucking company. He was grateful to God for helping him change his life and for blessing him.

約翰決心邀請我到他的國家演講，主題是信心與激勵。為此，他把車賣掉，以籌錢舉辦這次巡回教會、學校、孤兒院和監(jiān)獄的演講之旅。然后，他借來他阿姨的藍色休旅車，載著我往返開普敦、普雷多利亞、約翰內(nèi)斯堡等各個演講地點。

John was so determined to have me speak words of faith and inspiration around his country that he'd sold his own car to raise enough money for our tour of churches, schools, orphanages, and prisons. Then he'd borrowed his aunt's blue van to haul me to speaking engagements in Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and all points in between.

這次演講之旅的行程真是瘋狂，我們每天只能睡四到五個小時。然而，這次旅行所認識的人、去過的地方、經(jīng)歷的事情，永遠改變了我的人生。到南非演講讓我明白，我這輩子想要做的，就是到世界各地去分享充滿鼓勵與信心的信息。

It was a crazy schedule, and we often went with just four or five hours of sleep each day. But this trip introduced me to people, places, and things that changed my life forever. It helped me realize what I wanted to do with the rest of my life: to share my message of encouragement and faith around the globe.

亞倫和我認為，我們在澳大利亞長大，又在加州住過一小段時間，也算見識過壞人，不過這次的南非行才真的讓我們大開眼界，覺得以前的見聞真是小兒科。抵達南非后，我們開車離開機場，在經(jīng)過約翰內(nèi)斯堡時，亞倫和我就有了深切的體會。在某個十字路口，亞倫望向窗外，看見一個嚇死人的告示牌：打劫區(qū)。

Aaron and I thought we'd seen a bit growing up in Australia and living for a short time in California. But on this trip we realized we were babes in these woods. That realization really sank in when we left the airport and were driving through Johannesburg. Aaron looked out his window at an intersection and saw a sign that terrified him: "Smash and Grab Area."

亞倫看著我們的司機，問道：“約翰，那個牌子是什么意思?”

Aaron looked at our driver. "John, what does that sign mean?"

“哦，它的意思是，在這一區(qū)，有人會打破你的車窗，搶走你的東西，然后逃跑。”約翰回答。

"Oh, that means this is an area where they will smash your car windows, grab your things out of the car, and run off," said John.

我們鎖上車門，開始密切注意四周狀況?？匆娔歉浇淖〖叶急桓呗柕乃鄩?，墻上還有銳利的尖刺時，我們就更擔心了。頭幾天認識的人之中，就有好幾個提到被襲擊、被搶劫的經(jīng)驗。不過，后來我們發(fā)現(xiàn)南非并沒有比其他某些貧窮、犯罪率高的地方更危險。

We locked the doors and began scanning all around us. We noted that many people lived in homes surrounded by high concrete walls with barbed-wire fencing at the top. Several people we met in the first couple days told of being mugged or robbed, but eventually we found that South Africa was no more dangerous than many other regions where poverty and crime are concerns.

事實上，亞倫和我都愛上南非，愛上那里的人。盡管這個國家問題很多，我們卻發(fā)現(xiàn)南非人總是充滿希望與喜樂。我們從未見過那么深切的貧困和絕望，卻也沒看過那么莫名的喜樂和堅定的信心。

In fact, Aaron and I both fell in love with South Africa and its people. Despite all this nation's problems, we found South Africans to be wonderful, filled with hope and joy despite their circum-stances. We'd never seen such depths of poverty and despair, nor such inexplicable joy and unyielding faith, as we found there.

孤兒院的狀況讓人揪心，卻也很激勵人。我們?nèi)サ钠渲幸患夜聝涸簩ｉT收容被遺棄在垃圾桶或公園長椅上的小孩，大部分的孩子都生著病或營養(yǎng)不良。因為那些孤兒讓我們深受震動，第二天，我們又帶著比薩、飲料、玩具、足球和其他禮物去了一次，結果那些東西讓小朋友們高興得要命。

The orphanages were both heart-wrenching and inspiring. We visited one orphanage dedicated to rescuing abandoned children who had been left in trash cans and on park benches. Most of them were sick and suffering from malnutrition. They affected us so much that we returned the next day with pizza, soft drinks, toys, soccer balls, and other simple gifts. The children were ecstatic about them.

此外，我們還看到感染了噬肉菌，身上有開放性傷口的孩子，看到罹患艾滋病而垂死的孩童和成人，也看到每天四處找食物和干凈飲用水的家庭。近距離地看到這些狀況，聞到疾病與死亡的氣息在極度痛苦的人身旁縈繞著，體會到我能做的就是為他們禱告，以安慰他們，這些都是讓我深受啟發(fā)的經(jīng)驗。

But we also saw children with open wounds from fl esh-eating bacteria, children and adults dying of AIDS, and families living day to day in search of food and clean water to drink. To see that up close, to smell the sickness and death hovering over human beings in agony, and to know that all I could do was pray over them to comfort them, was such an eye-opening experience.

我之前從未見過那樣的貧困與苦難，比起我所承受的，那些狀況糟多了。相較之下，我的人生真是養(yǎng)尊處優(yōu)。于是，我陷入了兩種彼此沖突的感覺中，其一是深刻的同情，讓我想要采取行動、盡我所能去救助每一個人;另一種感覺則是憤怒，對于世上居然有如此苦難覺得非常生氣，而且這樣的狀況似乎改變不了。

I had never seen such poverty and suffering. It was so much worse than anything I've ever endured, and it made my life seem pampered by comparison. I was overwhelmed with conflicting feelings: compassion that made me want to leap into action and save everyone I could, and anger at the existence of such suffering and its seeming unchangeability.

爸爸經(jīng)常提到他在塞爾維亞的童年，晚餐只有一塊面包、一點點水和糖。他的父親——我的祖父——是位理發(fā)師，在一家國有的理發(fā)店工作，但是當他拒絕加入政黨時，就被趕了出來。政黨經(jīng)常對他施壓，所以他也很難經(jīng)營自己的店。祖父因為信仰的關系，不能攜帶武器，所以全家人一年必須搬一兩次家，免得祖父被征召入伍。后來他罹患肺結核，沒辦法再當理發(fā)師，祖母為了撫養(yǎng)六個孩子，便去當裁縫師，在南非近距離觀察到貧窮與饑餓之后，父親家族的苦難奮斗對我來說有了全新的意義。

Our father often spoke of his childhood in Serbia, having only a piece of bread and a little water and sugar for dinner at night. His father, my grandfather, had been a barber by trade. He had worked in a government salon, but when he refused to join the Communist Party, he was forced out. It was difficult for him to operate his own shop because of constant pressure from the Communists. The family had to move once or twice a year so that my grandfather, whose faith prohibited him from bearing arms, could avoid being drafted into the military. When he contracted tuberculosis and could no longer work at his trade, my grandmother had to support their six children with work as a seamstress.

現(xiàn)在，我親眼見過垂死母親眼中的痛苦，聽到她們的孩子因為饑餓所發(fā)出的哀鳴。我們?nèi)ヌ皆L貧民窟，看到那里的許多家庭棲身于比儲藏室大不了多少的狹小錫板屋里，用報紙隔間，沒有自來水。

My father's stories of his family's struggles carried new meaning for me after I witnessed poverty and hunger up close in South Africa; now I'd seen anguish in the eyes of dying mothers and heard their children screaming because of their aching, empty stomachs. We visited slums where families lived in tiny tin sheds no bigger than storage rooms, with newspapers for insulation and no running water.

我還去一座監(jiān)獄演講，來聽講的囚犯擠滿了小教堂和外頭的庭院。我們得知許多囚犯正在等待審判，其中不少人欠了錢就被逮捕，因為他們欠錢的對象是有能力讓他們吃牢飯的人。我們就碰到一個囚犯，他因為欠人200美元，而被判刑10年。那一天是由囚犯們獻唱詩歌，他們的歌聲帶著讓人驚嘆的喜樂，飛揚在這孤絕之地。

I spoke at a prison where the inmates filled the chapel and a courtyard outside it. We learned that many of the prisoners were still awaiting trial and that the only crime of many was to owe money to someone with the power to have them arrested. We met one prisoner who'd been sentenced to serve ten years because he owed $200. That day the prisoners sang for us, and their voices soared with amazing joy in such a desolate place.