I will never forget those days when we studied the Bible together, sang together, prayed together, and ate meals together. We were the Youth Fellowship of the Yuen Long Ling-Liang Church. Most of us were drawn into the fellowship one by one, by the love of our pastor and his wife. We all sensed their genuine caring and total acceptance of us. That was over forty years ago. Recently, I shared with you a story about my pastor, Wai See Choy, and his wife. At that time, I was a young Christian, and I was stricken with tuberculosis. Not fearful that my illness was contagious, they took great care of me, feeding me good food. I was not the only one they took care of this way. There were many others. I also shared with you several times that Pastor Choy is not of great stature and the Yuen Long Ling Liang Church started humbly as a small church. Pastor Choy and his wife did not have enough financial support when they first started the church. It was difficult pioneering work, because the local people were very superstitious. Therefore Pastor and Mrs. Choy started a farm to raise pigeons in order to make money to support the gospel ministry and to build up the Body of Christ. One by one, the villagers were snatched from pagan religious worship and brought into this Christ-centered community.  We had a vision. We shared the love of God. The church keeps on growing and is still growing today. Some may wonder why one small church could grow and become capable of planting four other churches. But I never had any doubt in my mind. I believe God was there from the very beginning. People heard God’s calling there. Love was there, as was sacrifice, and obedience. A community was created. Their shared faith was more precious than gold. They shared tears and laughter, good times and bad times. Yes, they oftentimes also enjoyed fried pigeons together. Believe it or not, the fried pigeons from Mrs. Choy’s kitchen tasted especially good!

我永遠不會忘記那些日子. 我們一起查考聖經, 一起唱歌, 一起祈禱, 一起吃飯. 我們是元朗靈糧堂的青年團契. 團契中大多數的成員都是一個又一個被我們的牧師和師母的愛吸引來教會的. 我們都感覺到他們對我們是真正的關懷, 也是全心全意地接納我們. 這是四十多年以前的事了. 最近, 我曾經與大家分享過我的牧師蔡惠師和他的妻子的故事. 當時, 我是一個年輕初信主的基督徒, 患上了肺結核病. 他們不因為肺結核是傳染病而害怕, 照顧我無微不至, 給我很多好吃的東西. 我不是唯一的一個, 他們還照顧許多其他的人. 我也與你們分享過幾次, 蔡牧師看起來只不過是一個平平凡凡的人, 而且元朗靈糧堂開始的時候是一個卑微的小教會. 剛開始的時候, 牧師和師母沒有足夠的財力支持; 這是一件艱鉅的開荒的工作, 因為當地的居民是非常迷信的. 於是, 他們開了一個養鴿子的農場, 來賺錢支持福音事工和建立基督的身體. 村民們一個又一個地從迷信的宗教中被搶救出來, 歸入這個以基督為中心的群體. 我們有一個異象. 我們分享神的愛. 這個教會不斷地增長, 到今天仍在增長. 有些人可能不明白, 為什麽一個小小的教會居然能夠成長, 並且能夠開拓其他四間堂會. 但在我的腦海裡是一直毫無疑問的. 我相信神從開始就在那裡. 在那裡, 有人聽到了神的呼召. 在那裡, 有愛, 也有犧牲和順服. 如此, 一個屬靈的身體就誕生了. 他們共同的信念比黃金更珍貴.  他們共同經歷流淚和歡笑的時光, 共同度過美好良晨和艱苦歲月. 是的, 他們也時常一起吃燒乳鴿! 信不信由你, 從蔡師母廚房出來的燒乳鴿味道是特別好的呢!