A Second Chance

I still vividly remember the day I set my foot on the land of India for the first time with my parents when I was in the middle school. I was excited to fly in the plane for the first time in my life, but Tiruchirappalli, located in the center of Tamil Nadu State, was a new world to me. The suffocating heat was something new, too. Being still young, I was thinking, ‘Can’t we just go back to Korea?’ My feet hurt on the stone floor, and countless times, I was startled by lizards that popped out of nowhere. Since it was a small town where it takes not even one hour to travel from one end to the other, there were hardly any fast food restaurants.

The Zion family members greatly helped me adapt to the lifestyle there. I received much help from them because I didn’t speak English fluently to say nothing of Tamil. Actually, the local people learn to express their feelings honestly from their childhood. So, I felt energized whenever the brothers and sisters expressed their love and zeal for the gospel. Whenever we went to a distant region by bus, we talked to one another and shared food that we had brought. Whenever I reminisce about those days, a smile spreads on my face.

Although I didn’t know about the gospel deeply, I was amazed and excited to see the number of brothers and sisters growing every day in the small house church, and Zions being established quickly in the surrounding cities. I wanted to contribute to the gospel work even a little bit, but then it was time to go back to Korea. I was sad to say bye to the brothers and sisters whom I had become close to, and felt regretful that I had wasted my time there like an immature child. I made a resolution to come back as a prophet and repay God and the brothers and sisters for the love I had received, if I could be given a second chance to come back to India. Engraving this hope in my mind, I got in the plane with my parents and went back to Korea.

The second chance to go to India came sooner than I had imagined. I went back to Korea, became a young adult, and entered the path of a fellow gospel worker, and God sent me to Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. I had been there a couple of times when I lived in Tiruchirappalli. Now, I was going there as a gospel prophet, not as a little child standing behind his parents. I was excited and worried as well although it was something that I’d been dreaming of for a long time; I worried that I wouldn’t set a good example to the members.

Nevertheless, the reason I still wanted to go to India was clear; actually, only after I returned to Korea did I realize that every day I spent in India was the grace of God, and that God poured blessings on me abundantly there. Although I was concerned, I made a determination to do my best this time so that I wouldn’t have any regrets later.

When I arrived in Chennai Airport, I was surprised by the cool weather. It was unimaginable weather, compared with the heat I experienced in the past. It was like a pleasant gift from God. In Zion, the brothers and sisters welcomed me, with beautiful smiles and passion. Some brothers and sisters remembered the time I met them in Chennai, and were happy to see me in a long time. It was joyful and touching as if all the family members who hadn’t seen one another for a long time gathered on the National Holiday and had a chat; all the tension that had followed me from Korea melted away, and I gave thanks to God for allowing me to meet my heavenly family full of love.

I got a new realization while focusing on the gospel work in India. Here, every house has an altar or items for serving their gods. Every morning, people greet their gods by offering flowers on the altar. Most important events are held in the temple in each region, and many people dedicate their whole lives to their gods, believing that nothing can be done without help from the gods. Practice of worshiping their gods is ingrained in their lives.

So, it’s very touching that when they meet the true God, their lives turn into blessed lives of worshiping God. The brothers and sisters who receive the truth and come to Zion give thanks to God in every moment, depend on God even for a small matter, and try hard to live sincerely according to God’s will. They remind me of the saints of the early Church written in the Bible, whenever I see them preaching hard and sharing good things with one another despite their difficult conditions.

While working together with these gracious brothers and sisters, I feel that the gospel has a tremendous influence on individuals and even change their lifestyles. Some brothers and sisters travel from far to keep God’s law, and many of the brothers and sisters preach the gospel without giving up although people reject the truth because of the difference of religion and culture. In order to help branch churches, some fellow gospel workers travel as little as forty minutes and as much as seven hours from the Chennai Church. I gain strength whenever I hear the news that heavenly family members have been found as the members preached in unity, depending on God.

In particular, when the student members talk about the grace of Heavenly Father and Mother, not only do I realize that God and the truth of life are precious treasure that cannot be exchanged with anything, but I also repent of myself that I sometimes forgot the value of the truth as I learned it from childhood. Then I felt I was lacking as a prophet, and I still feel sorry to God that I am not good enough to share love with the brothers and sisters. These days, I am learning from Zion members the right attitude of serving God, brotherly love, and zeal for the gospel.

Now I understand a little why God called me to India twice. When I came back to India, there were quite many difficulties that I’d not expected. Depending on the experience from before, I often thought, “I’m sure I’m accustomed to my life in India by now,” but in reality, everything was new and unfamiliar. Not to mention the differences of culture and living conditions, but the language was also a problem. In the State of Tamil Nadu, the Tamil language, not Hindi, is spoken exclusively. I was confident that I wouldn’t have any problem remembering Tamil that I learned when I was young, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d thought. And as I got used to Tamil, I felt distressed to hear the biting comments from those who deny the truth and block the gospel work.

What about when Heavenly Father came to this earth a second time? Two thousand years ago, Father endured the suffering on the cross in order to preach the gospel of the Kingdom and open the way to salvation for His children who had lost the truth of the New Covenant. I can never imagine how painful His journey at His first coming must have been. Nevertheless, He came back to this earth where all the painful and distressful memories still remain vividly. As I came to the same place again, I was able to fathom just a small fraction of His infinite love. I also realized how thankful I must be for the gospel environment that has been given to me.

I will carry out my mission, engraving Father’s sacrifice and love on my heart. Serving God sincerely and following His examples, I will walk the gospel path diligently in India with the mindset to love my brothers and sisters like myself, so that the second chance that I eagerly longed for will not turn into a regret.