“Growing up, I was never alone,” says Nokukhanya Shabalala '16. With 17 brothers and sisters, Nokukhanya never lacked a playmate. 然而，食物有时很难得到.
“有这么多兄弟姐妹，你学会了吃得快!她笑着说. Noks (her preferred name) is brimming with tales about growing up in a large 南非n family. Some of her stories are delightful; it’s easy to imagine Noks playing soccer with her brothers and taking on the role of “teacher” with her sisters. But other stories aren’t so easy to recall; Noks’ mother, Sylvia, died when Noks was only seven.
一个共同的主线贯穿着Noks的故事. “上帝对我一生都很忠诚，”她说.
对诺克斯来说，八年级是“第一”的一年. Although it was clear to her family that she was born with travel in her veins — she took her first solo bus trip when she was in grammar school — Noks was unaware of the world beyond 南非.
“I didn’t know there was an ‘overseas’ until my friends introduced me to the music of the Spice Girls,她笑着说.
格蕾丝是如此诱人. In ancestor worship, you have to perform rituals to keep the ancestors happy. But grace meant I didn’t have to do anything to keep God happy with me.
Later that year, Noks’ father enrolled her in Siyathemba Secondary School, Dierkisdorp, 南非. “My father did not realize it was a Christian school started by Lutheran missionaries,” she explains. “All he knew was that the girls who went there received the best education.事实上, Noks的家人崇拜祖先, the belief that spirits interact with and impact the daily lives of the living.
“祖先崇拜会带来很多恐惧，”诺克斯解释道. “你总是在努力安抚祖先. When something goes wrong, it means the ancestors are displeased. 有时, 当事情非常困难的时候, a witch doctor would act as an intermediary between us and the ancestors. He would throw animal bones on the floor and if they pointed at you, you were the problem.”
While in her first year of school, Noks was introduced to the concept of grace. “格蕾丝是如此诱人，”她惊呼道. “In ancestor worship, you have to perform rituals to keep the ancestors happy,” she explains. “But grace meant I didn’t have to do anything to keep God happy with me.诺克斯松了一口气, but it would take years before the fear of losing the protection of her ancestors would subside.
Noks Shabalala smiles with a little girl she met while serving on a Seminary mission team to Guatemala. 图片由Noks Shabalala提供.
“I will never forget the day I finally told my family that I was a Christian,她说。 solemnly. Surrounded by aunts and siblings — some of whom she had helped raise — her father invoked the spirits of her ancestors to remove their blessing and protection from her.
“I remember crying and praying, ‘Jesus, You had better be real. 因为如果你不在，我就失去了一切,'” Noks says. 但上帝不会抛弃诺克斯. Over the coming years, Noks experienced God’s unwavering faithfulness and grace.
In 2004, 诺克斯高中毕业后加入了辛巴信托, the Lutheran fundraising organization that supports Siyathemba Secondary School. She was asked to relocate to Germany and serve Themba Trust as Kommunication Botschafterin (Communication Ambassadress). This was just the beginning of Noks’ world travels and theological study.
In 2010, Noks was selected to pilot the Deaconess Studies program at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pretoria, 南非. 她发现自己很适合神学院的生活. 在牧师的鼓励下, 教授和导师, Noks enrolled in the Pre-Deaconess Studies program 在欧文的康考迪亚大学. She completed her studies in only three years before boarding yet another plane — this time, 前往中国. She led vacation Bible schools and taught English and German to Chinese middle school students.
I remember crying and praying, ‘Jesus, You had better be real. 因为如果你不在，我就失去了一切.'
Today, Noks is knee-deep in her theological studies at 康科迪亚神学院, St. Louis, where she is working towards her Master of Arts, Spiritual Care major. Noks’ commitment to her theological training is matched by her hands-on approach to ministry. 她利用业余时间与关怀事工合作, an organization that tends to the practical and spiritual needs of the refugee community in St. 路易斯的霍迪亚蒙特社区. Noks believes serving this community is preparing her for the next chapter of her life. 完成她在神学院的课程后, she hopes to return to Africa to care for and minster to former child soldiers.
Since leaving her home at age 14 to study at Siyathemba Secondary School, Noks has shared the Gospel around the world in multiple languages (she is fluent in 11). “当你沉浸在一种文化中时, you have no choice but to learn the language if you want to communicate,她说。. 这在很多方面都是正确的. “My education at 康科迪亚神学院 is equipping me to serve those who have lost everything,她说。. “I am learning how to share the Gospel in ways that others can hear. 我正在学习用受苦者的语言说话.”
Noks’ journey spans four continents, takes place in multiple countries and crosses three oceans. 作为一个孩子，诺克斯从不孤单. 今天也是如此. It is clear that God’s Spirit has been her companion and guide every step of the way.
Noks’ journey has been a long one — and it is only just beginning.
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of the 康科迪亚神学院 杂志.