Written by Gloria
It was a chilly winter in the midwest city. Drizzling raindrops mixed with thick fog made the city feel miserable.
At a blink of an eye, it has been 5 years since I departed. It’s half a decade of missing and thinking about these students and friends. My heart rippled with joy when I returned to the land and students I missed. I recalled all their familiar faces and the time we spent together.
After a few phone calls, a gathering with a few students was set. Other students were busy at their job and couldn’t make time. Our precious dinner of five was arranged. When I first met them at the School of the Blind, they were only 7 or 8 years old. Now they are young people full of dreams in their early 20s. Some have families and their own children. Some were preparing for their weddings and some were still looking for a job utilizing their skills.
Most of them grew up in poor farm villages. It is incredible their parents were willing to send them to the School of the Blind. In those days, 90% of visually impaired children didn’t have any chance to go to school. Many students at the School of the Blind benefited from the sponsorship program of Rainbow Missions. Some were sponsored from first grade through high school graduation; others received it until they graduated from universities. Most importantly, they receive love and care from Rainbow Missions they will never forget.
We all agreed to dine at a restaurant with local delicacies — the spicy hotpot. After greetings and a few life updates, we immediately started talking about their experiences and fun activities with Rainbow Missions service teams sent to their school during Christmas time each year. They didn’t forget the true story and meaning of Christmas that we had shared with them. They still remember singing together “True Meaning of Love”, the lyrics of which come from 1 Corinthian 13. When I think of them singing the words of God from the Bible, my tears flowed. They laughed loudly when they recalled the Rainbow teachers’ great efforts at the zoo when they tried to describe the shapes and movements of the animals with their broken Mandarin. They had no idea what these teachers were saying but they kept on nodding their heads pretending they understood while in their hearts they “fell off their horses” laughing loudly inside.
One of the students still remembered the time the Rainbow teachers took 40 blind students to a supermarket for a shopping experience. To many of them, it was the first time they went to a supermarket because most parents in the village kept them safe at home. Rainbow Missions gave each student 5 yuan to experience buying whatever they liked at the market. Each Rainbow teacher accompanied 3 students and used the power of 9 oxen to explain in Mandarin what was available on each shelf and their prices. Most students love candy. After spending 2 yuan for the candies he loved, one student asked what the 5-year-old son of the teacher liked. He spent his remaining 3 yuan to buy candy for her son. He said, “I have you coming from afar to spend time with me, but your son does not have such time with you. I should thank him, too.” A few yuan of candies led to a few lines of tears streaming from the Rainbow teacher.
I also remember another student who spent his 5 yuan for all kinds of candy. He said the candy was for sharing with those classmates who hadn’t had the chance to come to the supermarket. When Rainbow teachers heard about students who remembered fellow classmates, they were touched. The events of blind students visiting the zoo and the supermarket were widely published in the local newspaper.
One Christmas when the Rainbow service team was at the school, the true story of Christmas — the birth of Christ — was written on a big chalk board that nobody could miss. But the most exciting moment for the students was the time they received Christmas gifts from Santa Claus (dressed by one of the Rainbow teachers). Each student, teacher and staff received a gift. At the dinner, they said the Santa Claus in the first year spoke good Mandarin, but the one at the following year spoke English only. He only said “Ho Ho Ho! Ho Ho Ho!”. We were so excited! Tears from laughter and joy spilled from our eyes.
Another high point was the big Christmas meal purchased by Rainbow Missions. Each person was given a Kentucky Fried chicken thigh, a burger and a slice of birthday cake. The cake was to remind the students about the birthday of Christ. For most students, it was their first-time eating Kentucky Fried chicken. They ate it with their local famous spicy sauce. For many of them, it was also the first time they ate birthday cake. Nobody celebrated the birthday of a blind child in their villages. If it did occur, perhaps all they would receive was a hard-boiled egg. There was no western birthday cake in the villages. Some students asked, “Why isn’t there more than one Christmas each year?” Since then, the students have looked forward to Christmas with Rainbow Missions; it was the best time of the year for them.
Time sped by like bullets. The dinner was full of joy, laughter and tears. I realized the bill was taken care of by the students only when I asked for it. They said they have jobs and income now. They wanted to buy dinners for all the Rainbow teachers. Since I was the only Rainbow teacher there at that time, they wanted me to represent all the Rainbow teachers to receive thanks from them. When other Rainbow teachers visit them in the future, they will thank each of them personally. Oh wow! They have really grown up and have a heart of thanksgiving. It is not about the dinner. It is the love and true friendship that connect us together deeply.
I am grateful God allowed me to take part in Rainbow Missions and the lives of these students and walk with them for a period of time. All the bits and pieces are still clear in my mind. I bless them and pray, “Time flies like a rocket. You all have your own families and work now that you can contribute to the community. I thank God for you. May you always have a blue sky in your lives and feel loved in thankfulness. May you experience the abundant harvests when you give. May blessings be with you always!”
歌莉亞
這中部城市的冬天寒意逼人，濃濃的迷霧加上雨點，令這個霧都更顯淒迷。
轉眼闊別了這城市五載多，想念這些同學和朋友亦有半個十年有多了，能重臨這片久遺了的土地，心情忐忑，躇磨著過去熟悉的臉孔，也懷緬著昔日在一起的時光。
不消幾通電話已約好了數位同學出來一聚，其他同學都因為工作不能出席。我們的晚飯五人組，就在難得的機會中安排好了！想著當初第一次在盲校與他們見面時，他們才七、八歲，現在已是二十多歲躊躇滿志的青年，有已結婚生了孩子的，有準備結婚的，也有待業的。
他們年幼時大多在農村長大，家境清貧，父母願意把他們送到盲校上學，已是很難得的了，因為在當時，百分之九十的視障小孩都沒有機會上學。盲校很多學生都是彩虹工程助學計劃中的受益人，一些學生從一年級起已接受資助，有些接受資助至畢業離校，有些甚至接受資助直至大學畢業，更重要的是，他們感受到了彩虹工程對每一個學生的個人關懷，他們沒有忘記這份彩虹的愛。
大家都同意晚飯選擇了當地的名菜 – 麻棘火煱。席間除了問候近況，很快便聊到當年彩虹服務隊在盲校與他們一起的經歷和趣聞。他們沒有忘記我們告訴他們聖誕的真正原因和意義，也沒有忘記我們教他們全校一起唱林前十三『愛的真諦』，當我想著他們一起唱著聖經上神的話語時，我的眼淚也掉下來了。他們更興奮地談著當年彩虹老師用不鹹不淡而他們聽不大明白的普通話，來聽彩虹老師們在動物園裡很努力和很細心描述動物的形態，他們只有使勁的點頭，扮著似懂非懂的表情，心裡卻笑得人仰馬翻。
晚飯席間一位同學談到當年有一次，彩虹老師帶著40多位盲學生往超級市場體驗，很多學生都是第一次去超市，彩虹給他們每人五元人民幣購買零食，每一位彩虹老師帶著兩三位同學，用了九牛二虎之力的普通話來給學生詳細解釋貨品和價錢，學生們最喜愛的都是糖果。有一位同學用了兩元買了自己喜愛的糖果後，就問那位帶他的彩虹老師她的五歲兒子喜歡什麼，他用餘下的三塊錢買了，就交給了那位彩虹老師，請她帶回去美國給她的兒子，說：『我已有妳從遠方來陪伴我，但你的兒子卻沒有妳陪伴，我也應該感謝他。』幾塊錢的糖果，換來這彩虹老師兩行熱淚。
我還記得，當年有一位同學用了他的那五塊錢買了很多不同種類的糖果，說是帶回去給這一次沒有機會來超市的同學們吃的，彩虹的老師看見學生這麼懂事，念念不忘其他同學，也深受感動。當年的動物園之旅和超市體驗，都在當地的報章大篇幅的報導了。
有一年聖誕節，彩虹服務隊在盲校的時候，校方在當眼處的公佈板上寫上了聖誕節的真正故事，就是紀念神的兒子救主耶穌的降生。但學生在聖誕節時最興奮的，就是收到彩虹聖誕老人派給他們的聖誕禮物，全校每一位同學、老師和員工都有一份。席間同學說起當年，第一年的彩虹聖誕老人會說很好的普通話，第二年的彩虹聖誕老人只會說英語，他只懂說『Ho Ho Ho!!! Ho Ho Ho!!!』，席間的同學談得興高彩烈，歡笑、開心和大笑的淚水也滲了出來。他們的另一個聖誕節高潮就是吃彩虹服務隊為全校每一位同學購買的聖誕大餐，那是一塊肯德基雞腿和漢堡包及生日蛋糕，蛋糕是要讓學生們記得耶穌的生日。很多學生都是第一次吃肯德基，吃的時候還要加上當地有名的麻棘醬一起吃，亦有很多學生是第一次吃生日蛋糕，因為他們很多在農村時根本沒有人為他們慶祝生日，若有的，也可能只有雞蛋一個，是沒有生日蛋糕吃的。有些學生說，為什麼一年不可以有多於一個聖誕節呢？從此，學生們每一年都是很期待彩虹服務隊在聖誕節的來臨，那是他們一年中最開心的日子。
轉眼間，晚飯就在這個愉快的歡笑聲中度過了，結賬的時候，我才恍然大悟的發現，這幾位學生早已付了賬，他們說，今天他們有工作，有收入，原本是應該請每一位彩虹老師吃飯的，但因為今天只有我一個和他們吃飯，他們就請我做彩虹所有老師的代表吃這一頓飯，將來其他彩虹老師去的時候，他們再多謝這些老師。嘩啥！他們真的長大了，還有一顆感恩的心！不是那一頓飯，而是那一份情，把我們深深的扣在一起。 我很感恩當年神讓我成為彩虹的一份子，也成為學生們生命中的一部份，陪伴他們走過一段日子，其中的點點滴滴，歷歷在目。我默默的祝福他們：『歲月如梭，你們都有自己的家庭和工作，回饋社會。我為你們感謝天父，但願你們都有一片藍色的天空，能在感恩中嘗到愛，能夠在付出中經歷更多的收獲。祝福你們！』