The Long Road Home.  漫长的回家之路

这是2022年8月7日在OTBC联合敬拜主日中受洗前的见证：

My name is Kayla Wu, originally from China 我叫Kayla 吴，来自中国，and this is my 7th and a half year in New Zealand and now I called it home. 今年是我在新西兰的第七年半，现在我把它叫做家。It is called a home of a physical place from Auckland and now I am residing in Christchurch. 从奥克兰到现在，我住在基督城，这就是所谓的家，一个有形的地方。While my journey to God finally arriving here in this church and call it home is being a long long journey, around 17 years. 当我最终来到这个教会并称它为家的时候，我的旅程是一个漫长的旅程，这个过程我大约走了17年。

I was born in Shandong Province, where Confucius originated, 我出生在山东，那里是孔子的家乡，but my grandma from my mother’s side is a faithful Christian. 但我外婆是一个虔诚的基督徒。When I was a toddler, 当我还在蹒跚学步的时候，I listened to the Christian songs crawling under the chairs in my grandma’s home church, 我就在她聚会的团契，在椅子下面爬着听着赞美歌，a fragment of precious memory, still there now.那是一段珍贵的记忆片段，现在还在。

My first encounter with God happened in the first year of my Uni in Nanjing City. 我第一次与神相遇是我在南京上大学的第一年。My oral English teacher was a faithful Christian American guy, 我的英语口语老师是一个虔诚的美国基督徒，always well-dressed with a charming and warm smile on his face. 他总是认真穿着，脸上带着一副迷人的温暖的笑容。He brought me and other girls to his home after the class. 下课后，他把我和其他女孩带到他家。We sang the worship songs, eating light food, 我们唱着敬拜的歌曲，吃点儿零食，and he told us about Jesus and some bible stories. 他给我们讲耶稣和一些圣经的故事。Sometimes his wife, a smart and intelligent Vietnamese lady, sat just beside me, 有时他的妻子，一位聪明伶俐的越南女士，就坐在我身边，telling me that “No one is perfect before Jesus, only Jesus is 100% perfect.” 告诉我说："在耶稣面前没有人是完美的，只有耶稣是100%的完美"。I always keep that in mind, and I love her smile, so soft and gentle. 我一直把这句话记在心里，我喜欢她的笑容，那么地柔软而温和。

But for some reasons, I didn’t get baptised in China. 但由于某些原因，我没有在中国接受洗礼。

Then My life went on until I made a decision to go to explore overseas countries, here I came, New Zealand, in 2015. 之后我就继续过我的日子，直到我决定出国，在2015年我来到了新西兰。

Since I came here for pursuing my postgraduate studies in business and administration in marketing, 因为我来这里是为了攻读商业和行政管理（市场营销方向）的研究生课程，I had the urge to find a church where I could grow stronger in my Christianity. 我有一种冲动，想找一个能让我的基督教信仰里成长的教会。I had a few friends who invited me to different churches, maybe over a dozen, 我有几个朋友邀请我去了不同教会，可能有12个左右，that they were attending, but I never felt a connection with the congregation or the church in Auckland. 但没有哪一个奥克兰的聚会或教会吸引我留下来。

In Oct of 2019, my Christian friend, Danella, reached me out through student’s life (it’s a campus social club) at the library of University of Canterbury. 2019年10月，一个基督徒朋友Danella在坎特伯雷大学的图书馆（这是一个校园社交俱乐部，在图书馆里）发现我。She approached me and asked, “Have you heard about Jesus?” 她走近我，问："你听说过耶稣吗？" I said “Yes.” 我说 "听过"。So our connection became stronger and friendship started right from there. 于是我们的联系变得更加紧密，从那时起我们成了朋友。She gave me a rock with painted verse from the Bible on it. 她给了我一块石头，上面写着《圣经》中的一句经文。

“When you pass through deep waters. I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you.” -- Isaiah 43:2

赛43:2，你从水中经过，我必与你同在；你趟过江河，水必不漫过你；你从火中行过，必不被烧，火焰也不着在你身上。

This was exactly what I needed by that moment as being a student, a business owner of a clinic and a wife who was not happy with the husband.  这正是我作为一个学生、一家诊所老板和一个对丈夫不满意的妻子，在那一刻所需要的。

But my life was still filled with all different kinds of obstacles and challenges: 但我的生活仍然充满了各种不同的障碍和挑战：divorcing, changing the path of career, court cases，business relocation，covid, burnt foot and staff issues from my business; 离婚、改行、法律纠纷、诊所换址、感染新冠，脚被烫伤，员工问题；it seems Everything is falling apart around me: 似乎一切事情都在我身边分崩离析：countless number of nights of insomnia; 无数个失眠的夜晚，I was filled with a deep sense of despair and fear, living under a dark cloud我内心充满了深深的绝望和恐惧感，生活在一片乌云之下。—thereafter, depression, anxiety, prescriptions from my GP, 5 different counsellors and psychiatrists. 此后是抑郁症、焦虑症、家庭医生开药、看五个不同的心理咨询师和精神病医生……I came up like:

“Who on the earth can give me a lifting hand?” 我不禁想问："这世界上到底有谁能扶我一把？"

In June this year, thanks to Danella again, she directed me to Pastor Jane, 今年6月，再次感谢Danella，她把我带到Jane牧师这里，who is a guide of my personal relationship with God since then. 从那时起，Jane引导我与神建立个人关系。I started to realise that some problems happening like a repeated circle in my family from one generation to another. 我开始意识到，有些问题就像在我的家族中一代又一代的重复循环地发生。And I realised that Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins and therefore I need to forgive others.  我意识到，耶稣在十字架上受死是为了宽恕我们的罪，所以我需要宽恕别人。 So l forgave my parents and my ex-husband who are also sinners, and same to some of my staff. 所以我原谅了我的父母和前夫，他们也是罪人，对我的一些员工也原谅了。

Just two weeks after my confession, my life turned to another direction. 就在我悔改后的两个星期，我的生活出现了转机。I am coming out of the situation by the grace of God: 我靠着神的恩典走出了困境：like the stress relieved from the business, anxiety wiped out since then, 我在生意上的压力得到了缓解，焦虑感自此一扫而空，quitting all the medication and discharged by the counsellor, 我停止服用所有的药物，心理咨询师说我不再需要咨询了，and even good news that my Dad is interested to follow Jesus because of our conversation on the phone about Jesus, 甚至还有一个好消息，我爸爸因为我们在电话中谈到耶稣而有兴趣跟随耶稣，our family is becoming more and more peaceful. 我们的家庭正变得越来越和睦。GOD is taking me out of the curses and bringing me into the blessings of Jesus Christ.上帝正在把我从诅咒中带出来，把我带到耶稣基督的祝福中。Thank God!感谢上帝!

On 26th July, the vet of my kitten (Sushi) found a surgery of amputation needs to be done the next day 7月26日，兽医告诉我，我的小猫（Sushi）第二天需要做截肢手术，because Sushi didn’t recover well from the first surgery of his broken leg. 因为Sushi在第一次断腿手术后没有恢复好。He’s only 5-month-old. 他只有5个月大。I couldn’t breathe in the vet’s place so went out for a drive. 我在兽医院那里无法呼吸，所以就出去开车了。After 2 hours’ driving fast and alone and I went back home, 经过2个小时独自快速开车兜风，我回到家里，kneed down onto the floor and called my Pastor Jane, 跪在地上，给Jane牧师打电话，telling her everything about the long long list of my sins, 告诉她我的一长串罪孽，cried out for God and prayed with Jane. 我哭着和Jane牧师一起祷告呼求神。Sushi came with 3 legs, he wiped away my tears, 这时候Sushi拐着三条腿走过来，他擦去了我的眼泪，yes, he wasn’t just touching my face, he wiped over my face just like my mum and dad did this to me when I was young and crying. 是的，他不只是触碰我的脸颊，他是用爪子拂过我的脸，就像我的妈妈和爸爸在我小时候哭的时候这样对我。

I kept praying and repented all my sins to God until 3.30am. 我一直在祷告，向神认罪到凌晨3点30分。The next day, Sushi could walk with 4 legs, not 3 legs in just 24 hours. 第二天，Sushi在短短24小时内就能用4条腿走路，而不是3条腿。And vet checked him and said he was going to be fine.兽医又检查了一遍，说他会好起来的。It is a miracle. Praise the Lord!这是个奇迹。赞美主!

I now thank God for everything that goes well in my life. 我现在为我生活中的一切顺利而感谢神。He is a responsible，caring, loving and living Father. 神是一位负责任的、眷顾我的、慈爱的,活着的阿爸父，I am now a child of God. 我现在是神的孩子了。I am on the journey towards spiritual maturity to become more humble, gentle, low and Christlike.  我正在走向属灵生命成熟的道路上，就是更加恭顺、温柔，谦卑和像基督。 I am so thankful to God and trust him to let him guide me, nurture me, 我向神感恩，我信靠神，愿祂引导我，培植我，and use me when I am stepping further in my spiritual journey.  随着我的属灵旅程的进深逐渐使用我。

I have found my home, eventually in Jesus.

Thanks to all my friends coming for me on this special day!

最终，我已经在耶稣那里找到了我的家。

在这个特殊的日子里，感谢所有为我而来的朋友!

见证人：Kayla 吴 姊妹