Heavenly Father and Mother’s undying love and great sacrifice are contained in the Passover of the new covenant. Even while Heavenly Father was walking the path of the gospel full of suffering and pain, His only joy was to find His lost children. Realizing that, we went for a short-term mission to Passi City every Sunday to please Father and Mother. Our goal was to find our lost brothers and sisters with the heart of Father and Mother, and establish Zion so that we would fulfill the gospel mission given by God.
Passi is the fourth-largest city in the Province of Iloilo located in southeastern Panay. Most people there are devoted to Catholicism; they strongly hold to their own traditions and beliefs taught by men. Although we preached hard to them, they did not easily accept the truth. On the first Sunday, we unfortunately went back to Iloilo without any good result.
The next Sunday, the result was the same. Despite that, we continually sowed God’s words on the hearts of people without giving up. We encouraged each other, saying there must be a certain will of God behind the situation, and we never lost our determination to establish Zion. We realized we wouldn’t be able to do anything without God’s help, and so we earnestly prayed to God who is the sole source of love and all wisdom.
Time passed by so quickly. On the ninth Sunday, we went to Passi again and earnestly preached about our Saviors in this age and the truth of the Passover. As the Bible says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecc 3:1), we firmly believed that there must be a certain time for the seed of the gospel to sprout and the gospel kingdom to be established there. Just as Joshua and all the Israelites in the Old Testament marched together around the city of Jericho seven times and shouted in unison so that the wall collapsed, we went to Passi nine times, believing that we would surely have the result of the gospel. We boldly blew the gospel trumpet in one accord, hoping the peoples’ mind would open.
At last, the seed that was sown grew in the heart of one soul, and she received a new life. Meanwhile, another person showed her interest in God’s words. She is Sister Cristy whom we preached to on the day right before we left there. The following Sunday, the sister studied the word of God with her friend. They were amazed that God came to the earth with the truth of life for mankind mourning in the agony of death and they gave thanks to God for allowing them to know the secret of the kingdom of heaven. After they realized the truth, they made every effort to come to the Iloilo Zion to receive the blessing of salvation even though it took more than an hour for them to travel by bus. In spite of difficulties and hardships because of the rainy season, they continually kept the Sabbath together and gave thanks to God whenever they arrived at Zion.
Sister Cristy always said, “Thanks to God the Father and God the Mother,” even before she was reborn as a child of God Elohim. She was always full of thanksgiving whenever she learned the prophecies of the Bible. When she knew that we were planning to establish the Passi Zion, she volunteered to help us find a good location. Now she’s trying to lead her family to the truth. I really pray that the sister will continue to obey God’s words and grow to become a faithful gospel worker.
Seeing precious souls being born again, I came to realize how much Heavenly Mother is sacrificing to give life to every soul. The word “Thank you” is never enough to express our gratitude to Mother for Her great love.
Through the short-term mission trips, I realized God is delighted in His children who are always full of thanksgiving in all circumstances whether it is favorable or unfavorable. I thank Father and Mother for teaching me to be patient enough.
While walking in the path of faith, we may face many hardships and difficulties in finding our lost brothers and sisters. However, we will not forget that heaven is waiting for us. Keeping in mind the words of Heavenly Mother that our suffering for the gospel work is a good suffering, we will keep in step with prophecies.