Walking in the Footsteps of Father and Mother

There are some things in life you can never truly understand until you experience them for yourself. The same was true for me when it came to comprehending the deep love and sacrifice of Heavenly Father and Mother. Although I grew up learning about God’s love and believed I understood it, I had never truly felt it firsthand. It was only after walking a fraction of that path myself through an overseas mission that I began to perceive the immense sacrifice God made for the salvation of His children. I could not help but offer prayers of genuine, heartfelt gratitude.

To be honest, while I knew that overseas missions were an opportunity to receive countless blessings, it was not an easy decision to make. Long-term missions, in particular, felt especially out of reach. I could not bring myself to lay down my responsibilities in Korea and start completely from scratch in a brand-new environment. Amid those hesitations, I went on a two-week short-term mission trip to Tacloban, Philippines. Every single experience left an indelible mark on my heart—from the sheer joy of being with the local members and the daily excitement of bearing fruit, to preaching to help establish a new pre-branch church in another region.

The moment I returned to Korea, I resolved to commit to a long-term mission. I could not shake the images of the people I had seen with my own eyes—those eagerly waiting to hear the news of life—and the regions so deeply in need of support. Realizing that the completion of the heavenly gospel might be delayed while I hesitated over my own personal worries, I knew I could not delay any longer. I firmly believed that finding our lost heavenly family members and bringing joy to Mother was the mission God had entrusted to me. With this conviction, I headed back to Tacloban in November of that year.

For the first two months, I devoted most of my time to preaching in areas where the gospel had not yet reached. As I traveled through remote mountain villages dotted with humble shacks and paths overgrown with brush, my heart swelled with emotion, imagining Father and Mother walking countless mountain trails and country roads in search of Their children. In the midst of it all, I gradually adapted to the hot, humid climate, experienced the local food and culture, and built close bonds with the local brothers and sisters. After returning home each day, I dedicated myself to studying—learning expressions useful for preaching the truth and practicing phrases that would allow me to engage in deeper conversations with the members.

Yet, even as I spent these grateful days fully immersing myself in the gospel work, a heavy weight pressed down on my heart: I had not borne any true, lasting fruit. There were many souls who would initially listen out of curiosity and receive baptism, only to suddenly cut off contact or stop coming to Zion altogether. I felt an urgent, desperate need to find faithful workers who could truly discern the truth and join in the gospel work in the Philippines.

I asked myself what Father and Mother would have done in my position. The answer was clear: They would not lose heart over a lack of immediate results; They would simply keep preaching, trusting that God gives to those who ask. From then on, I prayed every day for good fruit, and whenever I had even a spare moment, I immediately went out to preach. I did not want to miss a single opportunity God placed in my path. When short-term mission teams came from Korea, I joined them to support branch churches and pre-branch churches in other regions, and during the Preaching Festival, I preached the gospel without a moment's rest. God answered those efforts by allowing many souls to receive the blessing of new life.

Yet I could not stop there. I needed to guide the new members so they could truly realize God Elohim and settle their hearts in Zion. That process was far from easy. Even after I repeatedly explained the blessings of heaven prophesied in the Bible, many souls still turned away, swayed by the opinions of others or caught up in their own personal affairs. Watching them walk away broke my heart and left me weeping in frustration. Yet I knew my sorrow could never compare with the aching hearts of Father and Mother as They wait for Their heavenly children. When a new day came, I found the strength to stand again, pressing forward to seek out our lost brothers and sisters and nurturing the new members with spiritual food.

Through this journey, God led Sister Cyril into His embrace. Right after her baptism, she began coming to Zion consistently, deepening her faith day by day. Whenever she had a spare moment, she would head straight to Zion to study the Bible, pulling out her notebook and focusing intently on every verse. On the preparation day for the Sabbath, she joyfully joined in cleaning the temple. Once she realized the value of preaching, she even invited a friend to Zion, leading her to the truth, and participated in preaching gatherings. Watching her faith grow month by month, I could truly feel the heart of Father, whose joy overflows at the salvation of a single soul.

So many other new members grew beautifully under God’s abundant blessings. There were sisters who lived far from Zion yet continued their Bible studies online two or three times a week because of their deep longing for the word. There were also brothers who, despite being exhausted after work, joyfully came to Zion to study the truth, alongside sisters who constantly expressed their gratitude, saying, “Thanks to Father and Mother.” Every single member was precious beyond words. Through them, I came to understand why Mother treasures each soul so dearly. I offer my deepest gratitude to God for using me as an instrument to find our lost heavenly family members, and for allowing me to experience the overwhelming joy of leading even a soul to salvation.

My year in Tacloban was filled with lessons I would never have learned if I had remained only in Korea. Following Father’s example, I traveled from place to place to preach the word, and with Mother’s heart, I cared for the local members despite our vast differences in language and culture. It was only through this that I began to glimpse the immense sacrifices Father and Mother made to bring me to where I am today. One night, a power outage left me sleeping without air conditioning in temperatures exceeding 30°C (86°F). Though it was a physical hardship, my heart was filled with remorse as I thought of how God, who is without sin, came to this earth and endured such suffering for us sinners. If a mere mortal like me needs time to adjust to a simple change of environment on this earth, how unimaginably uncomfortable and suffocating it must have been for Father and Mother to leave Their glorious heavenly throne to come to this world, which is but a tiny drop in a bucket. How deeply they must grieve when people fail to understand the new covenant They so lovingly grant us.

Now that I have come to understand even a small measure of God Elohim’s hearts, my only desire is to bring joy and comfort to God Elohim. I, as a prophet of the gospel, am determined to faithfully fulfill each small mission God entrusts to me, and ultimately complete the great mission of preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. To help bring this vision to fulfillment more quickly, I will continue to rely on God and take the lead in finding our lost heavenly family.