ＭＷＣ世界大会参加の旅（2）永久牧師との出会い - 日本キリスト兄弟（けいてい）団　 岡崎新太郎

“A Trip to the Participation of MWC Assembly Gathered” (2)“Encounter with Pastor Yongqiu from Hong Kong”      Japan BIC Shintaro Okazaki

ハリスバーグのラディソン・ホテルに着きました。GCカウンスル（総会）の一日目はすでに終わっており、到着のサインをする受付も終わっていました。ともかくも自分が泊まる部屋にゆこうとフロントで案内をしてもらい、割り当てられた部屋に行きました。これで、しばらく明日の朝までのんびりできるなと部屋のドアーを開けた途端、中から元気な大きな声が聞こえてきました。相部屋だったのです。一人で疲れを癒されるなと目論んでいたことが、水の泡。そうだな、ここは世界の兄弟姉妹との交わりの場なのだと、改めて確認させられました。ワー、眠りにつくまで英語でやり取りかと、一瞬がっかりもしました。

I arrived at the hotel in Harrisburg. The first day of the General Council Meeting has already finished and the reception desk for procedures of arrival was over, too. Anyway, I asked the information about my room which was assigned to me. And then I went to my room. I heard as soon as I opened the door of the room when I could not take it easy alone, I was astonished, but was coming a naught. Well, I was made to confirm some other time when here was a place of the world fellowship with brothers and sisters.
Wow, I was disappointed with the English language exchange for an instant until I fell asleep.

大きな声の持ち主は香港メノナイト教会のチャイ・ヨーンチュウ牧師です。早速、名刺交換でお互いの自己紹介。ヨーンチュウは永求と書く。日本語では永久で覚えてください。蔡永求。チャイAQでも覚えやすい。ファースト・ネイムでジェラマイヤー（エレミヤ）と呼んでくださってもよいです。彼をよく知っている参加者は「ジェラマイヤー」と呼んでいることが後からわかりました。私は「永久さん」と呼ぶことになりました。一休さんからの連想で一番心にしっくり来た感がします。私の自己紹介「新太郎」は「シンタイラン」昔、中国語講座に参加した名残でこれだけは覚えていました。自己紹介のあとは、次々にホテルの説明・明日の予定の説明、ホテル周辺の説明など親切に教えていただきました。

The owner of the loud voice was a pastor Yongqiu of Hong Kong Mennonite church. We did each other’s self-introduction by business card exchange at once. He explained his first name “Yongqui” written by Chinese character like this “Eikyu or demanding forever”. He said to me “Please remember my name ‘Eikyu or permanent’ “. His name is Cai Yongqui in Chinese. Easy remember to me like “Cai AQ”. And he said to me, “Call me Jeremiah, too”. The participants of this assembly who knew him well understood what they called him “Jeremiah” later.
I decided to call him “Eikyu or eternity”. I felt forthcoming in a heart to me by an association from Ikkyu San nicely most.
※Ikkyu San was an eccentric, iconoclastic, Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and poet of the 15th century.
I introduced my Japanese first name “Shintaro” with “Shintailan” in Chinese. I had participated in a lecture of Chinese several decades ago and still remembered pronunciation of Chinese language of my name that I leaned then.
After self-introduction with each other, he told me the explanation of the tomorrow’s schedule and around the hotel kindly.

受付を済ましていないので、自費でホテルのレストランで夕食。メニューを見たけれども、さっぱり何のことかわからないので、お店の女性に聞きました。それもよくわかりません。
結局、グラタンのようなものをいただきましが、実においしかった。日本円でこれくらいになるなと予期せぬ出費でしたが満足しました。夜８時頃、でもまだ外は明るいのです。

I decided to eat dinner at own expense in what did not finish acceptance of MWC at the restaurant of the hotel. I saw the menu of the restaurant, but did not know what they wrote at all. Therefore I asked a saleswoman, but did not understand even it. I ordered something like gratin and ate after all. It was very delicious. It was unexpected expenditure, but was satisfied with Japanese Yen when it did not become this much. It was already 8:00 in the evening, but the outside was still bright.

　夕食を済まして部屋に帰ると永久先生から「日本のお前の友人が部屋に来た。」と告げられました。石戸兄です。成田空港から一日遅れると連絡していたので、心配をしてくださっていたのです。私の部屋で成田での出来事を説明。何時間ぶりの日本語。これからあと、アメリカ滞在中、石戸兄にはいろいろとお世話をかけることになり、また石戸兄が実に国際人であることを感心しつつ見てゆくことになります。

When I finished dinner and came back to the room, it was told, “Your friend of Japan came to the room” by Pastor AQ Sensei. Soon after, Brother Ishido came over to my room. He is also from BIC Japan like me. I informed it that I was late all day long on account of the airplane from Narita Airport, but he worried about my arrival. I explained the accident or happening in Narita Airport to him. It was Japanese language for the first time in several hours for me. During my staying the United States after that, I think it is various for Brother Ishido with taking care from now on. In addition, I will see it while admiring that Brother Ishido in a citizen of the international society really.

　石戸兄は自分の部屋に帰り、永久先生とお話。どうも、後から奥様が香港から来られるようで、そのビザのことでいろいろとトラブルを処理しなければならない様子。さすが香港は英語の国、英語で難しい処理をするのだと当たり前のことを納得。日本からアメリカへの入国のスムーズさは、国際的にはまれなことなのだとも納得。そして各国の代表の多くが奥様と同伴であることも追々わかってきました。
　Brother Ishido went back to his room. I talked with Pastor AQ Sensei again. According to his story, his wife seems to come later for some reason. However, as for her, filing seemed to be prolonged for her visa acquisition in various ways. As in expected, I feel that Hong Kong understood that it processes a difficult problem in English country, English with a matter of course. And I understood that most of representatives from each country came with their wives in time.

　香港のメノナイト教会はこの永久先生の関連教会だけだとやがてわかりました。メノナイト教会と香港で言ってもほとんどの人が知らない。その中でメノナイトの教会が存在していることは恵みであり、感謝であるという答えでした。何はともあれ、永久不変に日本の国は存続するであろうと、いろいろと政治について論評するけれども、どこか信じ切っている自分と、何十年か先はどのような国になるか未知数な国に住む人、そしてその国の教会の思いとの違いを感じました。

I was getting understood Mennonite church of Hong Kong is only for Pastor AQ Sensei’s related church by and by. Mennonite church is not known the most of people in Hong Kong. He said that the existence of Mennonite church of Hong Kong is God’s grace and thankful in the Hong Kong society. Before everything I think state of Japan will be existed permanently. We have a lot of problems for political and economically.
And we discuss and comment about them. I do not know getting to become what kind of our country many decades later. But I believe that our country Japan includes of me doesn’t change. A lot of people came to MWC assembly from many different countries, and I felt thought and the difference of the persons who lived in unknown countries and unknown churches.

二日のちの東アジアの代表だけで会食をした時、同性婚問題で揺れる北米のメノナイト教会に対して、保守的な立場から同性婚を認めるべきではないと一番強く主張されたのは永久先生でした。ただし、苦しむ人々のそばに立つことは当然であり、そのようにしている、との言も付け加えてです。

After two days later, when I participated the meeting of only the representatives of East Asia countries, we talked about the LGBT issues for Mennonite churches in North America. It was Pastor AQ Sensei that most strongly insisted that you should not accept same-sex marriage from the conservative situation for Mennonite churches shaking by the issue of same-sex marriage in the United States and Canada.
But it is natural to stand near suffering people, and I do like that, he said to us too.

　その晩の永久先生とのやり取りはまだ続きました。一冊のパンフレットを私に見せ、「私は父と家族と一緒に中国本土からきた難民だった。子どものころ援助の食料をいただいた記憶があった。後からそれがMCC（メノナイト中央委員会）の支援物資であったことがわかった。不思議なことに、今、私はメノナイト教会の牧師として同じように、困難の中にある人々のためのMCCの働きに参加している。そのことがここに書かれている。」とご自身のお話をされました。

We continued to talk with each other, in the evening. As he showed me one booklet of his story and said to me that we family are refugees with my father and his family from the mainland China. I remembered getting food from the assistance agency during my childhood in Hong Kong. I understood that assistance food from the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) later. Strangely, I am joining the MCC assistance activities for the suffering people as a pastor of Mennonite church now.

「GOOD　NIGHT」と永久先生に告げ、生れてはじめて本当に寝る前にこの言葉を使い、長い一日、ハリスバーグの最初の一日が終わりました。
I said to Pastor AQ Sensei, “Good Night”, and I used this word before sleeping at first time in my life. It was a long a long day and the first day of Harrisburg is over.

日本キリスト兄弟（けいてい）団　　岡崎新太郎
〔Written by Shintaro Okazaki of Japan BIC chair〕
〔Translate by Takanori Sasaki of JMF committee member〕