Faith & Life

A Protector That Humanity Needs

During the Second World War, Britain implemented the “Evacuation of Children” project. It was a policy to evacuate young children from major cities vulnerable to concentrated bombing to safer areas. Approximately 830,000 children and hundreds of thousands of infants were separated from their parents and placed in foster homes or temporary shelters. Although it was considered a good project, there were consequences after the war ended. Many of the children entrusted to unfamiliar caregivers suffered from illnesses or died, and they experienced emotional problems such as anxiety disorders, depression, and impaired learning abilities for a long time. This was the aftermath of what psychologists call attachment injury, which refers to the psychological shock and its aftermath caused by a lack…

Dignity of Faith

Doris Martin, a world-renowned consultant, reached one conclusion after observing and studying various people for 20 years: the difference between success and failure in life stems from an individual's habitus. Habitus, a concept established by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, refers to the habits and tastes ingrained in the body by education or social and cultural environments. In her book, Martin focused on the habitus of individuals who achieved significant success in various fields. She identified common lessons they received, including: ① Don’t be swayed by criticism. ② Generosity builds dignity. ③ Set clear goals and work toward achieving them. ④ The language one uses reveals their status. Through these lessons, these individuals acquired virtues such as strong determination, insight,…

Billionaire’s Happiness

“You should use your wealth to help people. You can’t wear two pairs of shoes at a time.” Chuck Feeney ‘Wealthy, Cold-Hearted, and Determined Man Who Is Only After Money’ In 1988, the American business magazine Forbes ranked businessman Chuck Feeney as the 23rd richest American and made the above remarks about him. True, Chuck Feeney had a knack for making money since he was a child, engaging in various ventures such as renting parasols, selling sandwiches, and organizing events. By his forties, he had achieved great success in the duty-free shop business and became a billionaire. Despite his wealth, as reported by the media, he was not a miser who only cared about money. In fact, he spent money…

The Happiest Father in the World

Mr. Roh Taekwon, who has a middle school education and works as a manual laborer, experienced a life-changing moment one day while at home. He watched an English lecture video and suddenly felt inspired to attend college. Despite being middle-aged and having dyslexia, he began studying from that moment on. He read books during breaks at work, slept only two hours a day, and attended free lectures while working night shifts at a gas station. After seven years of self-study, he gained the confidence to believe he could achieve a perfect score on the college entrance exam. However, during this period, his children, lacking his guidance, began to go astray. Faced with this challenge, Mr. Roh made a significant decision:…

Lesson From the Iceberg

“The mind is like an iceberg; it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” Freud Greenland, an island in the Arctic Ocean, is a country dominated by ice, with more than 80% of its total area covered with ice. Icebergs here range in size from as small as a house to as massive as the downtown area of New York City. As icebergs break off from glaciers, they slowly move along ocean currents, melting gradually until they eventually disappear. Many tourists visit Greenland to witness these spectacular icebergs. However, what they see is only a fraction of the whole. Typically, only about 10% of an iceberg is visible above the water, embodying the saying, “The tip of the iceberg.”…

Breaking Stereotypes

The El Cortez Hotel was the tallest building in San Diego, United States, when it was completed in 1927. Later, the CEO faced a dilemma when he decided to expand the hotel by adding more floors. If expansion construction were undertaken, a new elevator would need to be installed to reach the newly constructed floors. This would require tearing down rooms to create passageways for the elevator on each floor. Reducing the number of rooms would result in financial losses, business would not be possible during the installation work, and employees would also have to take time off from work. At that time, thanks to someone’s brilliant idea, the hotel was able to continue operating without demolishing any rooms while…

Wisdom Learned from Cows

What happens when a cow and a horse fall into a pond? Both manage to swim to the shore, but the horse, with its stronger strength, gets out much faster than the cow. But what if it’s a flood or a swift current situation? The cow comes out alive, but sadly, the horse doesn’t. It’s said that the strong and skilled swimmer, the horse, exhausts itself desperately trying to swim against the current and eventually drowns, while the cow just floats along with the water and calmly walks out when it reaches shallow ground. From this situation comes the saying “The cow lives, the horse dies,” which means that sometimes it’s wiser to wait patiently with humility rather than relying…

Different and Wrong

In Korea, crows are considered birds of bad luck, but in England they are considered auspicious. In Japan, people hold their rice bowl with their hands while eating, but in many other countries people put them on the table. In some countries vehicles drive on the left side of the road and in other countries they do on the right side. Some countries use knives and forks when eating, while others use chopsticks or eat with bare hands. Countries have different languages, climates, geographic characteristics, historical backgrounds, and foods. In the same way, cultures vary from one county to another. You cannot say that a certain side is wrong. Likewise, people are all different. However, the difference often becomes the…

A Wallet That Came Back with Hope

Wes Monroe, a freshman at an American university, lost his wallet while on his way to attend classes in the morning. He had placed his wallet on top of his car after refueling at the gas station and then set off. However, some time later, he received an unexpected package from a woman named Laura Diaz. It was his lost wallet. When the woman found the wallet, it was nearly empty inside, but she decided to send it back, thinking that the owner might cherish the wallet and photos. She found the address on the driver’s license and sent it. Inside the wallet, along with a $10 bill, was a letter written by the woman herself. “I know college life…

Mother’s Love to Lansdowne

We made a plan to do a street cleanup in Lansdowne. First, we visited the Waste Management Department at the city council to get permission for it. After a brief greeting, we showed the councilman what kind of organization we are through the church introduction video. The councilman couldn’t hide his admiration. “Your church does a lot of good works. I am glad I’ve met you.” At first, he was going to give us a small street, thinking that we were a small group. After watching the introduction video, however, the councilman welcomed our cleanup and provided us with all the cleaning supplies that we needed. Most residents are poor in Lansdowne, where most houses are shacks and most streets…

The Cape Town Church in South Africa

A Heart Willing to Help With Care

In Canada, there was a teenage girl named Kayla Connolly, who had a cousin named Lorena suffering from autism. Six-year-old Lorena never made eye contact or engaged in conversations with her family. Observing Lorena’s behavior, Kayla pondered how she could help. She had an idea to teach vocabulary to Lorena, who loved playing the piano keys. Kayla attached alphabet letters from A to Z on the piano keys and helped Lorena learn words by pressing the keys. The result was a great success. Lorena memorized all the letters, started reading words, and began communicating with her family. She even opened her heart enough to say, “I love you, Kayla.” Kayla’s teaching method spread to many special education classes in Canada…

Deep-Rooted Faith

A well-established forest helps prevent landslides and flood damage during the rainy season. The key lies in the deep roots that penetrate the soil. The sturdy and long-reaching roots deep underground serve as stakes, preventing soil movement, while the dense and shallow roots act as a mesh, holding onto loose soil. The gaps in the soil created by spreading roots absorb water like a sponge, preventing rainwater from flowing into the river all at once. The soil in dense forest floors can store over 20 times more water than hardened urban surfaces. In a life of faith, we sometimes encounter unexpected trials. Severe hardships like raging storms, can shake our hope of heaven, either all at once or repeatedly. Deep-rooted…

Confidence

Recently, I had an interesting experience. It was about a dress sold in a foreign country. What was amazing is that people had different opinions about the color of the dress. There was an online debate on whether the stripes of the dress were white and gold or blue and black. When I looked at the dress on the screen, I wondered why there was even a debate about that, because the dress looked white and gold to me right away. I showed it to my husband. I had no doubt that he would see it as white and gold as I did, but his answer was different. “It’s blue and black.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I double-checked it,…

Shin Mi-ae from Seoul, Korea

Change Method: Put Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes

If you put yourself in someone else’s situation, there’s nothing you cannot understand. There is an old saying that goes, “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” It means you can understand a man when you put yourself in his situation. Even family members living in the same house cannot understand each other sometimes. It’s natural because people think differently as they look different from each other. So then why don’t you try putting yourself in someone else’s shoes? It’s called “Change Method” and it’s very easy. Tip If a conflict arises, put yourself in the other person’s situation and converse. Change roles of each other and act accordingly at home for one day. Try…

Street Cleanup in Uganda Has Started with Unity

The members of the Kampala Church in Uganda had only heard about volunteer activities through the Elohist magazine. So we were very excited to hear that we were going to do a cleanup in our region. We did the cleanup on Kisaasi Road. We divided the road into a few parts and each team cleaned each part. We were all happy, cleaning the road in an orderly way. The residents were very surprised to see the road cleaned. They were also impressed by us, who were all happy and harmonious throughout the cleanup. They complimented us, saying that we seemed to have fear and love for God. We were so grateful to God for their compliment. The newspaper company and…

The Kampala Church in Uganda

Please, Take Me There

As I moved to a new place, I got along with a worker at a super market; for I did my groceries there often. We talked about how we live, and I often invited her to our church for a good event, but she couldn’t make time. One day, she welcomed me gladly when I stopped by the supermarket. She said she would quit the job soon and next time, we would see each other at the church. I rejoiced, and an elder next to me asked me which church I go to. As I answered I go to the Church of God, the elder was curious which denomination it was, mentioning about the names of her previous churches and…

Kim Suk-hyang from Seongnam, Korea

With the Heart of Love and Mercy

I would like to share my realization that I had while leading two souls to Zion. My younger sister and I received the truth around the same time, and the first person we wanted to share God’s blessings with was our mother. As she had been faithfully attending a Protestant church for decades, I assumed she would immediately realize the truth once I preached the truth to her. Contrary to my expectation, however, she said she never wanted to move to another church, though she acknowledged our faith; she did not even let us say a word about church. However, we could not give up on her—our loving mother. Whenever we met her, we made every effort to preach even…

Jeong Gyeong-hui from Uijeongbu, Korea

Walking Together

Whenever I encounter an issue that is too difficult to solve alone on my journey of faith, there is a verse that I always keep in mind. “Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecc 4:11–12 As the Bible says, “One may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.” When I look around, I can see helpful brothers and sisters whom I am grateful for. They are precious companions whom God granted me to keep my faith without getting weary, and they are like Mother’s hand who lifts me up when I am…

Baek Seung-hye from Yongin, Korea

We Are the Happy Ones

The more I read this verse, the happier I become. “Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places.” Dt 33:29 I am very happy that God saved me and is my shield to help me. There may be times when I am tired and exhausted while living the life of faith, but I should strengthen myself, thinking of Heavenly Father and Mother who are always on my side to help me. Since I was called to be the happiest person in the world, I will boldly preach the gospel…

Kim Hye-in from Puebla, Mexico

Love Is Not Easily Angered

You may get angry when the situation does not work out the way you want: if you get stuck in traffic when your appointment time is near, or if it rains when you put on new shoes. However, anger is mostly caused from human relationships. When you get angry, your blood vessels swell, your face turns purple with rage, your eyes are opened wide, your breathing becomes faster, and your blood pressure increases. You may easily spit out remarks that hurt or ignore the other person you want to attack. Obsessed with your prejudice, you cannot figure out the situation and even your ability to solve problems declines. Anger is not only harmful to your health physically and mentally, but…