Park Yeon-woo
“When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh again after he had repented, Jonah chose the right path without hesitation.”
(Walking with God, Chapter 21 The Easy Path and the Right Path)
On a late night, I was reading a sermon book to find God’s will in a foreign land, and the above passage resonated deeply with me. I was stirred deeply enough to take the steps I had feared due to circumstances in front of me.
Last year, when I went on my first mission strip to Zimbabwe, I was greatly shocked. I used to think that I had been faithfully living a life of faith in Korea, but when I saw the members there shining with the hope of heaven despite many difficult circumstances, I realized what kind of faith pleases God. Cherishing a desire to become a prophet with that kind of faith, I returned to Korea.
A few months later, I flew back to Zimbabwe for a three-month mission trip. My destination was a region called Bindura, about 88 km from Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. Compared to Harare, Bindura had limited access to transportation, water, and electricity, but the people there showed great interest in the Bible. Even students knew a lot about the Bible. When we said we came to share the word of God, most of them would bring out their own Bibles to study with us. They were amazed to learn the truth about the New Covenant Passover and about God the Mother, which they had never heard before.
“Is this really in the Bible? I want to be baptized and attend that church, too.”
We, members of the mission team, could not stop preaching the gospel, even for a moment, as we saw how readily people received the words of life—as if they had been waiting for them. We never stopped preaching the truth; we shared it with passengers on the bus and with our lodge manager and his family as well. In just one month, we found 64 lost members of our heavenly family.
But then something unexpected happened. The member who was supposed to stay in Bindura with me for three months had to return to Korea earlier due to unforeseen circumstances. The other team members also had to go back after their mon-month mission trip as planned. The moments when I overcame hardships together with my mission team members flashed through my mind, and I felt overwhelmed by the thought of having to endure everything all alone. My worries also overtook me; I was not sure if I could communicate with the local members and overcome cultural differences. After discussing with the pastoral staff and the members, I decided to move to a nearby area where there were some other Korean members.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about the Zion members in Bindura. It didn’t seem easy for the branch church leader couple to take care of over 60 new members. To clear my troubled mind, I opened a sermon book. The story of Jonah, who initially fled from God’s command out of fear but later repented and led 120,000 people in Nineveh to repentance, felt like it was speaking something to me. I opened the Bible and carefully read through the book of Jonah. When I turned each page, my mind was filled with many thoughts: “It must be God’s will for me to stay in Bindura and help the new members strengthen their faith,” and, “Am I not thinking only of my own comfort while turning a blind eye to the struggles of the local members?” I couldn’t hold back tears of regret before God and the members.
I became certain that if I returned to Bindura, God would help me overcome everything, no matter how impossible it seemed from a human perspective, just as He blessed Jonah greatly when he repented. I spent the night offering a prayer of repentance to God, and when I woke up the next morning, I asked for understanding about my situation and returned to Bindura.
Just as Jonah proclaimed God’s will in Nineveh with a renewed determination, I, too, took each and every step with earnestness, believing that this might be my last opportunity to preach the gospel in Bindura. With a goal to help even one of new members grow into good fruit, I visited the members together with the local deacon couple, wherever they were. We climbed steep hills, crossed rivers, and walked long distances to study the Bible with them. Those moments are still vivid in my memory. The more I understood the value of each soul, the more I tried to be united with the members beside me. Though communication wasn’t always smooth, we strove to understand one another. When we felt weary, we encouraged each other; we were happier than ever.
One day, the deacon suggested that we visit a jungle area. It took about 30 minutes by bus and another 30 minutes by foot to get there. The jungle area was so remote that there was no internet connection. As we were told that one of our members lived there, we set out to visit the member without hesitation. At first, we were simply sharing the truth with that member, but before we knew it, many neighbors had gathered to listen to our preaching. Though they were somewhat cut off from the rest of the world, they had a pure faith in God, free from greed or self-praise.
Four of them received Elohim God, and they continued to come to Zion regularly to study the truth, despite the long distance. There are many other jungle areas in Zimbabwe. Preaching the message of salvation to people in these—this is the goal and desire of the members in Zimbabwe. I pray earnestly that their desire will soon be fulfilled.
My worry and hesitation seemed meaningless. In Bindura, there were more blessings prepared by Father and Mother than difficulties I had been afraid of. Only five or six members gathered together for worship in a small Zion building before. However, by the time I returned to Korea, the worship place was so full of members that there were no seats left. About twenty of the new members attended worship services, and some of them hoped to meet Heavenly Mother in Korea. Seeing the brothers and sisters like precious jewels, I deeply felt that the prophecy—“This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations—was being fulfilled right here.
I also learned a great deal about the passion for the gospel and the spirit of sacrifice when I saw the local members study God’s word under candlelight in places without electricity or water, wake up early in the morning and walk a long distance to get water for their brothers and sisters. While saying that I wanted to become a prophet, I wasn’t actually on the frontlines of the gospel but just took a step back as a bystander. However, when I saw how wholeheartedly the members devoted themselves to God’s work, I made a firm determination to devote myself to God’s work as a prophet with burning faith, wherever I would go.
Like Jonah, who boldly proclaimed God’s will after he repented, I promise myself that I will never retreat from the frontlines of the gospel again. God does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Until the day God’s will is fulfilled, I will move forward boldly, looking forward to God’s promises instead of focusing on my circumstances.