Kyphosis is a condition where the spine is deformed, commonly called “hunchback”. In story books we often hear how some people are quite mean to “hunchbacks . But Tian (Providence) has a way of changing one’s life from deformity to significance.

脊柱后凸症是ー种脊柱变形而产生的情况，俗称驼背。在故事书里，我们常看到驼背的人受到十分刻薄的对待。但是，老天总是有方法把ー个人残缺的人生改变成为精彩的人生。

I met Sherrie many years ago as part of our mission to small towns in China. Her family was very poor. Her mother was an extremely capable farmer who had eloped with her blind husband-to-be. The blind man had been helping around in their home, and she took a fancy and compassion for him. Against all advice, she ran away with him. She decided also, that as a blind person, he would particularly be excited to have lots of children, and so, in spite of the fact there was clearly a government ban on more than one child, she decided to have 4 children! To have 4 children at that time in China (and even now) was totally unheard of, and she suffered greatly for that.

我在很多年前返回中国支援乡村的时候遇到了雪丽。她的家很穷，她妈妈是一位非常能干的农民，她爸爸是瞎眼的，当 初在她妈妈家中打エ。妈妈对他又爰又怜，于是不顾一切与他 私奔。她认为瞎眼的丈夫会希望有很多孩子，所以，即使政府只允许生一个孩子，她也决定要为他生四个孩子! 养育四个孩 子在当时的中国（甚至现在）几乎是一件闻所未闻的事情，她也为此受了很多苦。

In fact, she said that when her second child was born, the nursing staff warned her that the child could be put to death, unless she immediately took the child and ran away, which she did. Whether it is true that they would have done so or not, we will never know, but she remembers it that way. With her subsequent children being born out of the law, the local officials decided to teach her a lesson. Her whole home was ransacked (cao jia), all of her belongings were dumped on the roadside, and her home barricaded. The neighbors threw rocks at the family, and she claimed that it was one of those rocks that broke Sherrie’s back.

事实上，她说在她的第二个孩子出生时，护士就警告过她这个孩子可能会被处死，除非她马上带著孩子逃跑，于是她就照做了。我们永远也不知道他们是不是真的会处死那个孩子， 但是至少这是她的想法。在她随后的孩子非法出生后，当地官员决定给她点儿颜色看看。她被抄家了，所有财产都被扔在路旁，房子也被封了。邻居朝她和家人丢石头，而她相信雪丽的背就是这么被石头打坏了。

We will never know the exact details, but from a medical viewpoint Sherrie’s kyphosis seemed be a congenital defect. Our medical team were very concerned and, out of compassion, raised enough funds for an operation. However on examining the X-rays, our US Orthopedics experts counseled against it, because he felt there were not adequate resources and local expertise for such a very difficult operation at the time.

我们不可能知道当时的具体情况，但是从医学角度来说， 雪丽的驼背像是先天不足所致。出于怜悯，我们的医疗队筹到足够的款项来为雪丽做手术。但是在做完X光检查后，我们的整形外科专家却反对做这个手术，因为他认为当时我们并没有足够的医疗资源和本地的专家来 做ー个这么复杂的手术。

During her travails, the mother actually went to Beijing, and staged a one person sit-in at the Department of Justice. For months, she sat there with her children, but to no avail, and in spite of repeated appeals, she had to return home. At home, there was a small space for all the family to live together, behind a curtain. In the narrow so called “living area”，there was only a stove and a small bench-like table for meals. The mother went off to the farm during daytime, and came back in the afternoon carrying her vegetables. This she did for years to support her husband, and 4 children to grow up and attend school.

在这些事情发生的时候，她的妈妈其实到过北京，并且到司法部进行一人抗议。她跟孩子在那里呆了几个月，但毫无结果。 虽然反复上诉，最后却仍被遣送回家。在家中，整家人只有在帘 子后面一个很小的生活空间。在 那个狭窄的生活区域，他们只有 ー个炉子和一个板凳ー样的桌子，用来吃饭。母亲白天去干农活，傍晚オ带著蔬菜回来。她就是这样养活了丈夫和四个孩子， 并且供书教学。

Every 6 months, our team came to town, and we always visited with the family. They were a lovely family, and it was wonderful to be with them. Felicia (the second child) and Linda (the third) especially loved to talk with us. They practiced their English on us, and after we left, they practiced on each other. Their English became excellent, and after high school, Linda went on to teachers’ college in another province, Henan, returning to teach English at her home school! Felicia went on to study nursing in Kunming, returning to her hometown also to serve! Willis, the youngest one, always very timid, grew up quickly at vocational school, mastering computer skills, and is a fine mature young man now.

每隔六个月，我们医疗队来到镇上的时候，都会去拜访他 们一家。他们这一家非常温馨，每次跟他们在ー起的时刻都很 美好。家里的费利西亚（老二）和琳达（老三）特别喜欢跟我 们聊天。她们跟我们练习英语ロ语，等我们走了以后，她们就 互相练习。她们英语越来越好，琳达在高中毕业之后进了河南的师范院校，最后回到家乡的学校担任英语老师!费利西亚去昆明学习护理专业，最后也回到家乡服务。年纪最小的威利斯非常内向，他在职业学校里进步神速，很快就掌握了电脑的技能，现在已经是一个成熟的年轻人了。

After high school, Sherrie (the oldest) studied horticulture in Kunming. Later she worked in computer sales, to help support her family. In Kunming, she was encouraged by mission friends. Her faith deepened, and her attitude towards life became an inspiration to others. She developed a website that attracted more than 1,000 members, to raise money to help support poor village people. Periodically, she brought gifts to villagers in the mountains, especially during periods of local disasters, such as the great drought in Yunnan. Often, she and her friends delivered bottles of clean water to the thirsty mountain folk.

高中毕业后，雪丽（老大）在昆明学习园艺，后来从事销售电脑的工作来帮补家計。在昆明，她得到ー些宣教士朋友的 鼓励。她的信心加深了，对生活的态度也逐渐影响著周围的朋 友。她开发了一个帮助穷苦村庄人民筹款的网站，吸引了超过 1,000名会员。每隔一段时间，她都会把礼物带给山里的村民， 特别是发生了如云南大旱等重大灾难的时候。她和朋友又常常 把瓶装水带给山里需要乾淨水的村民。

During this web based venture, Sherrie met a prominent local orthopedic surgeon, who decided to operate on her. He was very impressed that she was the mastermind behind the web­based charity, and decided to charge an extremely low fee. Her blog friends kept up the public blog for her, with a daily “blow by blow account of her operation, which created a sensation in Kunming, and enhanced the good name of the doctor. Her operation was quite successful, and today her back looks nearly normal.

就在雪丽做那个网站项目的时候，她遇到了当地ー个杰出 的整形外科医生，这个医生决定为她做手术。当他知道雪丽是这个网站慈善组织的主创人时，他深受感动，所以决定只收取非常低的手术费用。博客上的朋友帮她更新她的博客，每天都 更新她手术的进展，这ー系列博文在昆明造成了很大的轰动， 也为这位医生带来了好名声。她的手术十分成功，并且她的背现在已经与正常人无异了。

Comment: Providential meetings, encouragements and inspiration have all been part of this story of kyphosis. Today, when you see Sherrie, you would not even realize that she had kyphosis. Her kyphosis has been corrected externally and internally, and she regularly loves to give praises and thanks to her Creator.

一点感想:天意安排的会面、激励与鼓舞都是这个驼背故事的一部分。如果你今天见到雪丽，你甚至不会认为她曾经是 驼背。她的驼背内外都已经矫正了，她也经常赞美以及感谢她 的创造者。