◎International Ministry / Elaine Olding 翻譯/ 陳欣汝
Today is a special day as we dedicate Bethany. She's our little miracle, a gift from God. Dylan and I have been married for 13 years! For many years I didn't think I would be a mother. I wanted to be, I believed God had created me to be a mother but my circumstances were telling me it wasn't possible. 2 bible verses have always been special to me and God has used them to build my faith.
今天這個特別的日子，我們將Bethany獻給神，小Bethany是神創造的奇蹟，是上帝的禮物，Dylan和我結婚13年，許多年過去我想我大概沒有機會當媽媽，我一直渴望當媽媽，也相信上帝創造我是讓我成為母親，但現實一直在提醒我這有多不可能。有兩段經文對我來說特別有意義，神用祂的話語建立我的信心。
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths
「你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，在你一切所行的事上都要認定他，他必指引你的路」箴言3:5-6
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
「又要以耶和華為樂，他就將你心裡所求的賜給你。」詩篇37:4
It's been a journey of faith with God and little did I know that we would come all the way to Taiwan for it to happen. Here we found out that we couldn't have children, but we were able to get treatment, something that would not have been possible for us in South Africa.God had a plan; he was working even though I couldn't see it. He knew what needed to happen in our lives before this baby arrived.
There were many days where I cried out to God, sometimes I doubted his word, other times his word strengthened my faith and helped me keep believing.
這是一段與神同行的信心之旅。我不會想到有天我們會千里迢迢來到台灣，然後也在這裡了解到我們雖然不會有小孩，但我們可以接受治療。這一切在南非都是不可能的。上帝有祂的計劃，在我還看不見的時候，上帝已經在作工，祂知道Bethany來到以前，我們的生命需要經過哪些歷程。無數的日子裡我向神放聲大哭，有時我懷疑祂的話，然而有時祂的話語使我有盼望，讓我繼續相信祂。
Her 2nd name is Hope, because when I look at her she reminds me that things can change. What seems impossible can become possible when we surrender to God and his plan for us.
我們給Bethany取了一個中間名，叫作Hope。看著Bethany，像是提醒我，事情的情況是可以改變的。當我們順服上帝對我們的計畫時，所有不可能都將變成可能。
It's amazing how even this belief has been tested! Our first 3 months with her were very difficult, she screamed for hours!! Our neighbors even said, "Wow your baby cries a lot!" Another neighbor rang our door bell and asked if everything was ok! There were days where we thought we couldn't carry on, but her name again was a reminder that with God things can change. We held onto Gods word, continued to thank him for his gift to us even though it wasn't easy! It was like we had to first believe this before we could share this with other people. Things are much better now and we thank God for that! He has been with us in the past and so we know we can trust him to be with us in the future.
真的很不可思議，我們的信念受到許多考驗，Bethany生下來的前三個月，我們吃足了苦頭，Bethany可以連續大哭好幾個小時！我們鄰居常說：「你們小孩真會哭！」也有鄰居按電鈴問說你們沒事吧？很多時候我們覺得快要撐不下去了，但她的名字Hope提醒著我們，在神裡面事情的情況是可以改變的。我們緊抓著神的話語，向祂獻上感謝，我們深知道這一切都不容易。這好像是我們自己得先相信才能向別人分享這樣的領受。我們感謝上帝使情況變得越來越好。我們知道過去神與我們同在，所以相信祂未來也將與我們同行。
