牧者心聲

兒童科與宣教科在今年復活節期間合辦了親子訪宣，共有七個家庭（13 個由 K3 至 F1 的孩子和 13 個家長）一起到泰國曼谷，探訪宣道差會李瑞麟宣教士一家。親子訪宣有兩個目的：訪宣方面，讓整家人一起認識宣教工場的需要，體驗宣教士的生活，支持宣教士當地的事工發展；親子方面，透過家庭的互動分享，真誠溝通，建立積極正向的家庭關係。

變新 1：新體驗  這七個家庭大都到過泰國旅行，但去泰國服事，還是第一次。帶著孩子去訪宣，一點也不容易，父母以身作則，和孩子投入不同的活動——跟孩子一起學泰文；到又熱又濕的街市用泰文買餸；在又熱又細的廚房裡煮飯；入村跟村民一起玩攤位遊戲、派單張……一家人一起汗流浹背體驗宣教士的辛勞。過程中孩子們不再是被服事，而是學習自己的事自己做，家長們沒有工人姐姐幫忙，必須親力親為幫孩子洗澡、照顧他們作息。有一個孩子在街市看到檔販售賣完整的豬頭，就好奇問宣教士叔叔，原來豬頭是當地人祭祀神明求福氣的祭品。孩子們的好奇，也鼓勵了我們多認識泰國工場的需要。

變新 2：新發現  晚上舉行的分享會以親子互動為主，一家人學習彼此聆聽、回應，又透過不同家庭的分享，互相鼓勵。當家長分享對孩子的「新」發現時，一位比我們遲一天才到達的媽媽說，她發現囡囡雖然遲了一天才加入，但卻非常主動積極地去跟不同孩子建立關係，我問孩子：「媽媽這樣欣賞你，有甚麼感覺？」孩子笑著說「很滿足」，因為自己所做的，被看見被欣賞。香港的生活節奏緊逼，父母「看見」孩子的，總是離不開功課、默書、測考、分數，很少「看見」孩子的成長和突破，相比成績，孩子更需要我們看見他們的成長。

變新 3：新關係  親子訪宣其中一個重要目的，是讓孩子與宣教士的孩子成為朋友。在工場，宣教士的孩子所接觸的，多是當地人的孩子，很少「同聲同氣」的朋友，我們鼓勵訪宣隊的孩子主動跟宣教士的孩子說話、玩耍，而他們也從活動中建立了很好的關係。宣教士 7 月回港述職時，他們的大女兒跟我們的孩子一起參加夏令活動週，又被邀請到我們的家庭留宿，不亦樂乎。雖然他們長大後未必能維持這關係，但至少也留下了童年時的美好回憶，以「陪玩」的角度，支持宣教士的家庭。

  The Children’s Ministry and Mission Department jointly organised a parent-child mission exposure trip during Easter this year. Seven families in total (13 children from K3 to F1 and 13 parents) traveled together to Bangkok, Thailand, to visit missionary Sui-lun Lee and his family. The parent-child mission exposure trip had two purposes. In terms of mission exposure, it allowed whole families to learn together about the needs of the mission field, experience the life of missionaries and support the development of their local ministry. In terms of parent-child relationships, it sought to build positive and healthy family relationships through family interaction and sharing, as well as sincere communication.

  Renewal 1: A New Experience: Most of these seven families had traveled to Thailand before, but this was their first time going there to serve. Taking children on a mission exposure trip was by no means easy. The parents led by example and joined their children in a variety of activities—learning Thai together; going to a hot and humid market to buy groceries in Thai; cooking in a hot and cramped kitchen; visiting villages to play stall games with the villagers and distribute leaflets… As families, drenched in sweat, they experienced together the hardships faced by missionaries. During the trip, the children were no longer being served. Instead, they learned to take care of their own responsibilities. Without domestic helpers to assist them, the parents had to personally bathe their children and take care of their daily routines. At the market, one child saw a stall selling a whole pig’s head and curiously asked the missionary uncle about it. They then learned that pig heads are used by local people as offerings to deities when praying for blessings. The children’s curiosity also encouraged us to learn more about the needs of the mission field in Thailand.

  Renewal 2: A New Discovery: The sharing sessions held in the evenings focused mainly on interaction between parents and children. Families learned to listen and respond to one another, while also encouraging one another through the sharing of different families. When the parents shared the “new” things they had discovered about their children, one mother, who had arrived a day later than the rest of us, said that she had discovered how proactive and enthusiastic her daughter was in reaching out and building relationships with the other children, even though she had joined the group a day late. I asked the child, “How do you feel when your mother appreciates you in this way?” Smiling, she replied, “Very satisfied,” because what she had done had been noticed and appreciated. Life in Hong Kong moves at a relentless pace. What parents “notice” about their children is so often limited to homework, dictations, tests and examinations, and grades. We seldom “notice” their growth and breakthroughs. More than their academic results, our children need us to notice their growth.

  Renewal 3: A New Relationship: One important purpose of the parent-child mission exposure trip was to enable our children to become friends with the missionaries’ children. On the mission field, the children whom missionaries’ children come into contact with are mostly local children, and they seldom have friends who share their own language and cultural background. We encouraged the children on our mission exposure team to take the initiative to talk and play with the missionaries’ children, and through these activities they developed very good relationships. When the missionaries returned to Hong Kong for furlough in July, their eldest daughter joined our children for a week of summer activities and was even invited to stay overnight with one of our families. They had a wonderful time together. Although they may not be able to maintain these relationships as they grow older, at least they have created beautiful childhood memories. In this way, by “playing alongside” them, we can also support missionary families.