Faith & Life

Air

I work in a job that requires a lot of physical movement. These days, because of COVID-19 prevention measures, I wear a mask while working, and even the slightest movement makes me feel suffocated and irritable. But when I move to a different spot for a moment, take off the mask, and take a deep breath, there is no greater joy than filling my lungs with fresh air. Then I thought, “If I had to live in an environment where the air was even more restricted than it is now, how stifling and difficult would it be?” With that change in perspective, my irritation turned into gratitude. Today as well, I thank God for giving me the simple happiness of…

Kim Min-seong from Suwon, Korea

Foreigners and Strangers on Earth

It has been several years since I came to the Philippines. By God’s grace and through the love of my Zion family, I’ve adapted so well that I sometimes forget I am a foreigner, and for that, I am truly thankful. Still, there are moments when I feel disheartened, especially when I’m unable to fully express what’s in my heart to the local members. When speaking with those who struggle with English, I try to mix in simple local phrases, use a bright smile, and express love and care through cheerful gestures. There were times when, despite looking up words in dictionaries or studying with translation apps, wondering how I could comfort a member after work, or how I could…

Jeong Eun-seo from Las Pinas City, Philippines

Saying, “Good Job,” Makes the Whole Family Happy

“Honey / Yes? / Did you see the chick that was in the backyard? / Yes, I did. / Where is it? / I ate it for this weak and old body. / Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! I’m proud of you!” This is a part of an old Korean song called “Good job! Good job!” When viewed objectively, what the husband did was not a good job at all. They could’ve raised the chick and sold it when it grew up. However, he ate it without even asking his wife for her opinion. Even if the wife had become mad in that situation, he would not have had anything to say. Nevertheless, the wife complimented her husband, saying that he did…

Love Like a Hedgehog

One winter day, a group of hedgehogs huddled together to stay warm. But as they drew near, their sharp quills pricked one another, causing pain. After a few painful attempts, they discovered the perfect distance—close enough to share warmth, yet far enough to avoid hurting each other. This story, known as the Hedgehog’s Dilemma, offers a wise lesson for family life. The closer we are, the easier it is to hurt each other without meaning to. But when we love with respect and care, our homes grow more peaceful. This month, try the hedgehog’s way of loving—keeping just enough space for warmth to grow; close, yet always respectful. Within that space, your family will feel gently connected and warmly held.…

For the Everlasting Crown

When we are in God, we are happy and joyful with the grace of salvation and the promise of the kingdom of heaven. However, there are many things we need to be patient with and endure as God’s children. Before getting married, it wasn’t easy to go to church, leaving all the colorful neon signs of the city behind after getting off work on the weekdays. However, whenever I shook off the temptation and studied God’s word at the church, or focused on the spiritual work with the young adults of the same age group, I gave thanks to God for giving me self-control and moving my steps toward Zion. After marriage, there were more things that require self-control than…

Kang Gyeong-mi from Changwon, Korea

Mom’s Baby Book

In the days of my puberty, a war of nerves with Mom was my daily routine. As usual, I was scolded by Mom and banged the door, entering the room. I murmured that I would never talk with her anymore and sat in front of my desk. I opened a book to study. Strangely, I became fastidious whenever I tried to study. So I decided to study after cleaning up, and started to arrange books on the bookshelf. Then, I found an old book that I had never seen before. Baby Book was written on the front cover. It was Mom’s baby book. I became curious about the stories of my babyhood. On the other hand, I got nervous at…

Kim Hyeon-ji from Uijeongbu, South Korea

Little Things Add Up to Spiritual Blessings

Being faithful to God even in little things is the best way to store up spiritual blessings. In Matthew 25, we can find a good example of how to store up spiritual blessings. “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants . . . To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more . . . But the man who had received…

Ubuntu

An anthropologist visited the Bantu tribe in Africa. After gathering some children, he proposed a fun game. He put a basket full of their favorite fruits near a tree and told them that whoever got there first would win all the sweet fruits. When he shouted, “Start!” he was dumbfounded. Instead of competing with one another, the children ran hand in hand. They arrived at the tree and enjoyed the fruits all together. When the anthropologist asked, “Why did you run like that? The first place runner could have taken all the fruits.” The children responded, “Ubuntu!” adding, “How can one of us be happy if everyone else is sad?” In the language of the Bantu tribe, ubuntu means, “I…

Eye

Starting a few years ago, my left eye looked blurry as if there was a fog. The same symptom started on my right eye also. I wore glasses, thinking it might be presbyopia, but I still felt frustrated. I went to the eye hospital because my wife urged me to go, but the doctor told me to go a bigger hospital to find out the exact cause and only gave me an eye drop prescription. Afterwards, because of the busy restaurant which we were running, I couldn’t spare any time. But later when I couldn’t even distinguish an object, I felt the seriousness of the situation and went to a big hospital. The doctor said he doubted that it was…

Choi Yong-gyu from Seoul, South Korea

Time to Realize the Heart of Mother

Before participating in the mission trip to Cartagena in Colombia, I didn’t have the mind to care for other souls. I didn’t know the value of one soul and only preached the gospel with a sense of duty. I didn’t feel anything even though I didn’t have any fruit; even though I had an appointment with someone who was interested in the truth, I easily forgot about the person if it was difficult to meet up, and didn’t look for the person. I was really a foolish child. When I got to know that there was recruitment for preaching to a new region in Zion, I earnestly wanted to participate because I thought it would become a chance for me…

Huacho, Peru

Parental Love

I always thought my son was a little kid, but he is already a lot taller than I am now. It’s still vivid when he was a lovely little kid whom I could embrace, but now I can be embraced by him. I’m happy that he’s grown, but sad at the same time because I know I am not everything to him anymore. When he was a kid, he would burst out into tears whenever I wasn’t right next to him, and he said that he could never live without me. However, as he grew up, he started sharing his interests with his friends, and looked for me less and less. I thought about how much he thought about me…

Jo Eun-jin from Changwon, South Korea

God Daily Bears Our Burdens

Whenever I faced difficult moments though rarely, I fell into a sense of shame and felt burdened—‘Why am I the only one tired and suffering?’ But there was the One more burdened than I was. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah.” Ps 68:19 God knows how lonely and exhausting it is for us to pass through the desert of faith. That’s why God daily bears our burdens. It’s all thanks to Heavenly Father and Mother who bear our load and lead us to salvation, so that we can have a little more rest and strength to move forward to heaven.

Daejeon, South Korea, Kim Mi-jeong

The Blessing of Forgetting

The car keys you have been searching for are in your hand; the cell phone you lost rings in the drawer; the remote control you lost is found in the fridge. You have probably had one of these experiences due to forgetfulness. But what if you remember everything that happened during your life? Such a person exists; a university student in the United Kingdom can remember vividly the weather, whom he met, and what he ate on a given day. It is as if the experiences of his life were passing in front of his eyes and being recorded in his mind and saved like photos in a folder. This syndrome is called hyperthymesia. It is the condition of possessing…

Mother’s Love Only for Her Children

One day, I was having lunch with my grandfather, and we were discussing the most important thing in relationships. I mentioned communication as something I thought was important, and then he told me an old story: Before my dad was born, my grandparents had another son. He was born brain-dead, and the doctor told my grandfather that he would live only a day or a week or two weeks at most. My grandfather’s biggest concern was how it would break my grandmother’s heart to see her son die like this, and he wanted her to avoid the pain. So he made a decision, without consulting her, to send the newborn off to an institution far away. Afterwards, he could see…

Philadelphia, PA, U.S., Maxwell Rothstein

Take Off Your Old Self and Put On the New Self

When I look back at the life I lived, I cannot help but cringe. Everyone knew my personality: loud, arrogant, and spoiled. I was set on my plans of world victory and I was going to show it off to everyone I knew. I only wanted things to go my way or there was no way. Who on earth could have pulled me out of myself? Looking back, my past was just dark. Some years had gone by and I felt like Solomon: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” There was even a point in my life where I thought, ‘If I die now, I wouldn’t have to work anymore or be on this earth!’ Three days had gone…

Riverside, CA, U.S., Vivian Paire Dewong

Unchanging Seeds

You may think that if you sow a sweet persimmon seed it will produce the same sweet persimmon. In reality, if you sow a sweet persimmon seed, it produces wild persimmons. If you sow an apple seed, the apples produced are very small; if you sow a pear seed, wild pears are produced. Most fruits we eat are grafted and improved varieties. In grafting, the plant that is selected for its root is called the stock or rootstock. Rootstocks are selected from wild varieties because they are vigorous; however, their fruit is small and tasteless. That is why improved fruit varieties are grafted into rootstocks. Then, why is it that the seeds of the improved fruit varieties still produce wild…

When Every Part Isn’t United

“It’s an intruder! Attack!” “No, wait! I’m not an intruder. We’re a family!” “Liar! Attack! Attack!” This is what goes on inside the body of someone with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease; a disorder in which the immune system attacks the thyroid because it looks at the thyroid as a foreigner in the body. The thyroid is located in the front of your neck. It’s in the shape of a butterfly. The thyroid gland makes hormones that control metabolism and energy. Low or non-functioning thyroid can lead to hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid does not make enough hormones for the body’s needs. It can cause certain symptoms such as fatigue, depression, weight gain, hair loss,…

Manhattan, NY, U.S., Viana Lynnette Vazquez

God Leads My Way

I was troubled many times with lots of concerns when I was about to carry out a plan. Nevertheless, I prayed to God only when I was desperate. I got sobered, however, when I realized that it was not my plans and efforts that made everything possible. “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Pr 16:9 Everything has happened according to God’s will, including my overseas mission experience. It seemed as if I made a plan and worked on it, but if God hadn’t led me, I couldn’t have done anything. I give thanks to God Elohim for walking with us and leading us to heaven.

Hyderabad, India, Ryu Gi-bok

The Tears of the Cauldron

In the old days, Korean mothers made a furnace-fire and cooked rice with a cauldron. Just as building a house, sewing a dress, or writing a paper requires much effort, making rice with a cauldron is not easy, either. It is more strenuous than cooking rice in an electric rice cooker or a gas stove. You need proper skills to wash and soak the rice, measure the proper amount of water, and make a fire using wood. Once the rice starts cooking, you need to wipe the cauldron lid with a cold dishcloth as steam releases. That way, the vapor inside the lid will become water and flow down blocking the gap between the cauldron and the lid. The water…

With the Spirit of Khalas

The Cape Town and the Bellville Churches from South Africa and the Windhoek Church from Namibia went for a joint short-term mission to Cairo, Egypt. Although there were many brothers and sisters who wanted to participate in the short-term mission to Egypt, only a small number of members could go. The team members who were allowed to go participated in preaching with even more enthusiasm, determination, and eagerness. In Egypt where most people are Muslims, we still met quite many Christians. It is pretty safe there, and because the stores open until late, we could preach until at night. At first, not many people listened to the word we were preaching in our poor Arabic. However, after praying with one…

Short-term Mission Team to Cairo, Egypt