Gina Borre
My hometown is Sara with a population of about 50,000, a small town located in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. The people in my hometown primarily speak a language called Hiligaynon. While younger people, who graduated from school relatively recently, can understand about 70 percent of Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, older people are unable to communicate in that language. The words used in the Bible are even more difficult for them to understand. That’s why I’m truly grateful that my family and relatives continue to keep their faith in Elohim God in a place where it’s not easy to preach the truth in either Filipino or English and where Zion has yet to be established.
To help my family members, who can’t afford to travel to Zion, stand firm in their faith, some members of the Iloilo Zion visit my family once a month and keep the Sabbath together. Every year on the Passover, my family rents a van and drives for about three hours to go to Zion.
The story of how my family received Elohim God goes back 25 years. After marrying a Korean man, I moved from the Philippines to Korea. I spent many lonely days with no one to talk to. There were countless times when I cried, missing my mother back home. Nearly three years after arriving in Korea, I met some members form the Church of God. I was so happy just to hear them say, “How are you?” The fact that I had someone to talk to in English gave me great comfort.
At first, I didn’t fully understand what they were saying, and I just listened to them. But when I saw a Bible verse about the second coming of Christ, I was completely shocked. I had never heard it before, although I had grown up in a Christian family and even served as a teacher for children in my church.
At that time, I was emotionally exhausted, and I was seeking God more earnestly than ever. So what I heard from the members of the Church of God was the water of life itself that refreshed and revived my soul. The fact that God came all the way to this earth for me gave great comfort to me. That day, I confirmed through the Bible that Jesus came to this earth as a man a second time just as He did 2,000 years ago, and that He is the Savior in this age. Then I received the blessing of being born again into a new life in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
From that day forth, I studied the Bible with the members of Zion whenever I had time. Unlike other churches, the Church of God taught the truth solely through the Bible, so I could trust the Church. While I was listening to the words of God, I felt peace in my heart that had become weary from the burdens of this life. As the members explained the truth in English, I listened to them carefully, and when I didn’t understand something, I carefully read the relevant verses from the English Bible. If something was still unclear to me, I would write down my questions in English and get the answers.
Though it took me a long time, I gradually came to understand every single prophecy clearly. My heart soon became filled with faith in Father Ahnsahnghong, who came according to all the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments. As I continued to carefully study the prophecies about God the Mother one by one, I was able to accept Heavenly Mother, who came to save us in this age, as the source of life in my heart. Looking back, I came to realize that it was also God’s will for me to come to Korea; God led me here to be saved. God sent me some members from Zion, through whom I was able to receive the true God. I was truly thankful to God.
As I was sure that Father Ahnsahnghong is the Christ who came a second time to restore the Passover—the truth of life, I thought of my beloved family first. Ever since I came to Korea, I had been praying for the safety of my family back home, especially as I kept hearing news about disasters happening all around the world. Since I came to understand the Passover with the promise of God’s protection, how could I keep silent? I wanted to share the truth with my family as quickly as possible, but there was hardly anything I could do. At that time, there was no Truth Book translated into either my native language or Filipino. On top of that, international calls were so expensive that it was not easy to share God’s word over the phone.
However, I couldn’t just sit idly by. Father came all the way to this earth to save us. No matter how much effort I put in to lead my family to salvation, it could not compare to the sacrifice of Father.
After much thought, I found a way—a cassette tape. I earnestly prayed to God for the salvation of my family and carefully recorded my voice message on the cassette tape, saying that we must believe in Christ, who came a second time as the Savior in the Age of the Holy Spirit, and keep the Passover to be saved. Then I sent it to my family by mail. When my parents received it, they were overjoyed to hear their daughter’s voice after such a long time. Later, they were deeply moved by the truth that’s so clear. At that time, I had just begun my walk of faith and it was not easy for me explain the truth perfectly, but God opened the hearts of my family members.
A pastoral staff member from the Manila Zion, which is more than 500 km away, willingly came all the way to my hometown to baptize my family. From that time until now, more than 50 people in my hometown, including my family members and relatives, have been reborn as God’s children. It’s a tremendous gift from God.
Fortunately, my mother had the opportunity to come to Korea and study God’s word. She visited Korea three times and stayed each time for a period ranging from three months to a year, during which she studied the Bible and attended worship services. Through the prophecy of David’s throne, she had firm faith in Christ who came a second time, and through the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, she was able to distinguish the truth from falsehood. My other relatives, too, gradually grow in faith, though slowly.
They could only learn the truth through monthly worship services held in Filipino and English just once a month, and through the Filipino booklets I had sent them. Even in these unfavorable circumstances, my family members have been able to keep their faith for over 20 years. It’s all thanks to the grace of God. Recently, some Filipino videos have been uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the Church of God. The videos are also of great help to my family. Although internet access is still limited in my hometown, my heart overflows with gratitude whenever I hear from my mother and nieces that they were so happy to watch the videos when they could get online.
I, too, study God’s word diligently so that I can continue to lead my family with unwavering passion and firm faith. A few years ago, the education program for all members was also translated into Filipino, and I’ve been able to study God's teachings more deeply than when I studied them in English.
I’ve also learned an important lesson in preaching the gospel—it’s about the importance of personality required of those who prepare for the kingdom of heaven. Following the teachings of Heavenly Mother, I tried to change my personality from being impatient and self-centered to being like God, and I also made efforts to do good deeds not only in Zion but also at my workplace. I always greeted my coworkers with a bright smile and a kind heart, speaking kind and positive words to them. Of course, I performed my duties diligently.
In the meantime, five of my coworkers from the company where I had worked for about four years came to Zion. Although I couldn’t share a profound knowledge of the Bible with them, I clearly taught them about the Sabbath. To my colleagues who were curious about what I did every Saturday, I explained that the seventh-day Sabbath is the Biblical day of worship. Then I invited them to come to Zion to learn more about the Bible and receive blessings. They visited Zion and studied the truth about the second coming of Christ, who restored the truths of the new covenant, including the Sabbath, and they were reborn as God’s children. Now we keep the Sabbath together and receive God’s blessings.
Life is always hard and full of never-ending problems, but I am happy all the time just to be in Zion where our Heavenly Parents dwell. Just as children feel the safest in their mother’s arms, I find true comfort in the embrace of our Heavenly Parents as all my anxieties fade away. Being with my brothers and sisters, who believe in the same God and strive together to receive blessings, fills me with joy and makes me feel like I am in heaven. The days when I struggled with loneliness and homesickness now feel like a distant dream.
The greater happiness I experience in Zion, the stronger my only heart’s desire grows. My greatest wish is that the Church of God will be established in my hometown. In order for my family and relatives to strengthen their faith and finish the race of the gospel, it is absolutely necessary to establish Zion nearby. So, together with my family and relatives, I am praying earnestly to God for the establishment of Zion. I believe that God will surely answer this prayer as well, just as He has always answered our prayers.
There are still many other relatives of mine who have yet to hear the truth. So I plan to visit my hometown soon to share God’s word with them and with my neighbors there. Despite the communication difficulty, our heavenly family members did not give up on me; they kept trying to share the truth with me and took care of me with love. Like them, I too will deliver the message of salvation with the loving heart of Mother.
I earnestly hope that my family, both physical and spiritual, can grow stronger in faith in Zion, which God will prepare for them sooner or later. Looking forward to the day when I will enjoy eternal happiness with them in heaven, I will preach the gospel with all my heart and sincerity.