弟兄姐妹们平安！
感谢主，我们CEC在波特兰地区经历了五十年的风风雨雨之后，金灯台依然屹立！也感谢主两年之后我们再次回到了家。我现在简要介绍一下我自己和我的家庭，我叫郑国文，下面坐的这位是我太太王一平。我们有两个女儿，她们是在CEC长大的。两年前他们都到南加州上大学了，我们也跟着搬到了加州。
今天对CEC是个里程碑，对于我们又何尝不是呢？28年前，我们从中国大陆来美国留学，之前我在中国度过了整整二十八年。在美国的这二十八年里，东西岸各待了十四年。在西岸的十四年中，有波特兰的十二个春秋。
我在福州土生土长，那是我仅有的比波村待的时间长的地方。晓真弟兄的母亲在世时曾在我们中间聚会，记得我曾经努力跟她讲福州话，有一回她说我讲的已经不是福州话了。我意识到家乡已经成了异乡，而他乡不经意间已然成为故乡。我们的女儿们都说她们的家乡是波特兰，因为她们在这长大。对于我们，波特兰的故乡感觉是因为在座的弟兄姐妹们，我们在一起团契，在一起出游，在一起事奉。用冯巩的一句话，我想死你们了！
这种思念，是因为你们所表达出来的爱。这种爱，有的是在困难中的帮助，有的是在情绪低落时的倾听，有的是在服事中的支持和包容，有的是在职场上的协助。感谢主，感谢你们！
这种爱给我们家的感觉，这种爱让人思念，弥足珍贵。因为，正如使徒约翰曾经多次强调的，这是诚心的爱，love in the truth。换言之，这种爱基于真理，因而历久弥新。记得在教会不多的事奉中，不时有弟兄姐妹们的回馈。有鼓励，也有意见，这是诚心之爱的例子。我这么说，因为这样的意见对我有益处，凭爱心说的诚实话让人能长进，而不会带来纷争。
感谢主，带着你们的爱，在加州我们又找到了一群和大家一样有真爱的人，我们能很快融入新家有你们的功劳。在过去的两年里，我们的新家已经接待了你们中间达两位数的弟兄姐妹了。说是接待，有点往我自己脸上贴金，因为你们中的许多人，反客为主招待了我们。举个最近的例子，中秋节时，我们加州教会的小组在我们家聚会，我们也邀请了文一、敏瑛去我们家。敏瑛千里迢迢地从波村给我们带去了美食，一盘盐水鸭，而这份盐水鸭是无缘参加聚会的小萍姐亲手做的。你说，除了有爱心的亲人、家人，谁会这么做呢？感谢主，当CEC的弟兄姐妹们彼此相爱时，世人就认出我们是耶酥基督的门徒了。在这里，我们也欢迎更多的弟兄姐妹们有空去湾区看看我们。
Sharing from brother Zheng, Guowen
Dear brothers and sisters, peace to you all!
Thank the Lord, after fifty years of ups and downs in the Portland area, our church still stands strong! Also, thanks be to God, two years later, we have returned home again. Allow me to briefly introduce myself and my family. My name is Zheng Guowen, and sitting beside me is my wife, Wang Yiping. We have two daughters who grew up in CEC. Two years ago, they both went to college in Southern California, and we moved to California with them.
Today is a milestone for CEC, and for us, it is significant as well. Twenty-eight years ago, we came to the United States from mainland China for study. Before that, I spent a full twenty-eight years in China. In these twenty-eight years in the U.S., I stayed on both the East and West coasts for fourteen years each. In the fourteen years on the West Coast, I experienced twelve years in Portland.
I was born and raised in Fuzhou, which is the only place I've spent more time than in Portland. Brother Xiaozhen's mother used to gather with us when she was alive. I remember trying to speak Fuzhou dialect with her, and she once said that what I spoke was no longer Fuzhou dialect. I realized that my hometown had become a foreign land, and the unfamiliar place had unintentionally become a home. Our daughters say that their hometown is Portland because they grew up here. For us, the sense of home in Portland comes from the fellowship, the outings, and the service we share with you, our brothers and sisters. In the words of Feng Gong, I miss you all!
This longing is due to the love you express. This love manifests in help during difficult times, listening during emotional lows, support and tolerance in service, and assistance in the workplace. Thank the Lord, thank you all!
This kind of love gives our family a special feeling, a feeling of longing, and it is precious. As the Apostle John emphasized many times, it is sincere love, love in the truth. In other words, this love is based on truth and thus endures. I remember during choir practice, brothers next to me would remind me to sing softly if I wasn't doing well. This is an example of sincere love. I say this because such love is beneficial to me; honest words spoken with love lead to growth without causing conflict.
Thank the Lord, with your love, we have found a group of people in California who are just as loving as you all. We were quickly able to integrate into our new home with your help. In the past two years, our new home has hosted double-digit numbers of brothers and sisters among you. To say we hosted is a bit of self-flattery because many of you took the initiative to host us. A recent example is during the Mid-Autumn Festival when my small group from our California church gathered at our home, and we invited Brother Wen Yi and Sister Minying to join us. Minying traveled from Portland to bring us delicious food, a plate of saltwater duck, and this saltwater duck was made by Sister Xiaoping, who couldn't attend the gathering. Who else would do such a thing except for loving relatives and family? Thank the Lord, when brothers and sisters of CEC love each other, the world recognizes us as disciples of Jesus Christ. Here, we also welcome more brothers and sisters to visit us in the Bay Area when you have time.
Thank you, brothers and sisters!"
Comments