Faith & Life

Together with God, the Owner of Zion and of My Soul

The continent of Africa is vibrant with zeal for the Gospel, more powerful than the heat of the sun. When I was young, I once dreamed of preaching the Gospel in Africa, and as I became a young adult, I got an opportunity for a short-term mission in Luanda, the capital city of Angola. It took us one whole day to get to Angola via Ethiopia from Korea. As we arrived in Luanda, the brothers and sisters were waiting to welcome us. The members were waiting calmly like passersby, but as we arrived at the airport, they suddenly surrounded us and made a welcoming performance. The atmosphere was like that of a concert hall, and we woke up to the…

Jang Min-gyeong from Seongnam, South Korea

British Schindler

In February 1988, an English TV show host released an old notebook. It had information on Jewish children who were rescued from Czechoslovakia to be placed with foster families in England in 1939. The owner of the notebook was Sir Nicholas Winton in the audience. When Nazi oppression against the Jews was in full swing, he could not stand still, seeing the Jewish children living miserably at a refugee camp in Czechoslovakia, after losing parents. He rushed back to England to find the families who would adopt the children and to get visas for the children. Despite much cost and risk, he sent them by train to safe households eight times. However, the 250 children who were scheduled to get…

Mom’s 70th Birthday Party

March 1, 2019, was my mother’s 70th birthday. The four of my siblings took each role and made full preparations for her wonderful and memorable birthday party. And the day before her birthday, we all gathered at the appointed place. We were 18 in total including my parents, oldest brother’s family of five, older sister’s family of four, older brother’s family of six, and me. My oldest brother had booked the accommodation for the whole family to stay overnight. That day, the first part of the event began with the opening address of my older brother in the restaurant of the accommodation. As an emcee of the event, he handed out the leaflets on the event orders and held the…

Yun Ju-yeong from Seoul, South Korea

Two Sons Who Saved Their Father

In 2017, a 60-year-old Korean man was diagnosed with liver cancer recurrence. His only hope was the liver transplant. His two sons, who always got along well with each other, started to argue because of their father’s surgery. The reason was that they both insisted that their own liver be transplanted into their father. The older brother stopped the younger one, saying, “You should not leave your office because of the surgery,” and the younger brother persuaded the older one, saying, “I can’t let you go through this hard surgery. You even have two children.” The brothers could not find any agreement and decided to follow the doctor’s decision after checking whose liver was better to transplant. The result was…

If You Want to Assess

It was when Jeong Yak-yong, one of the greatest thinkers in Joseon Dynasty of Korea, was conversing with his acquaintances in a pavilion. When they were in good atmosphere, one man lamented the current state of affairs. “Someone has power without knowing shame. Isn’t it frustrating?” Then, Jeong changed the topic of the conversation, saying, “Man is not the one we can assess.” After a while, another person mentioned the horse on the reins. “That horse just eats into hay without carrying a load.” This time, too, Jeong said, “Do not criticize animals because they too understand what you say.” Then somebody else complained. “I’ll have to sew my mouth when I’m with you!” At his words, Jeong replied with…

The Mind of Serving Others

A teacher and his student were going on a long journey. The teacher asked the student who was excited to go and see the world. “One person has to lead and the other has to follow, for the order of our journey. Which role will you choose?” The student said that it was natural for him to follow the teacher. That night, when the teacher and the student were about to sleep under a big tree, suddenly it rained. The teacher put off his outer garment and covered his student with it. The student was so sorry that he declined strongly. Then the teacher said, “It is a matter of course that a leader should protect the follower.” The next…

With the Spirit of Ownership

“Things have changed, but I’m fine because Father and Mother are always with me!” This is what I repeatedly say to myself these days to let go of negative emotions that pop up in my mind, spending much more time alone due to COVID-19. My faith in God transformed my lethargic and passive lifestyle. In this particular situation when all people are tired and exhausted, I wanted to share love with them. Then, just in time, I got an opportunity to do a meaningful work with the members of Salt Lake City Church. We made a plan to carry out ASEZ’s Cheer Up Campaign. We reminded ourselves of the fact that there is a lack of quarantine supplies due to…

Sidney Rogers from Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.

Power of Collaboration

The Higgs boson is an elementary particle that composes the universe, and it plays an important role in explaining about the universe through modern physics. However, physicists failed to prove its existence for about 50 long years even though they could foresee the existence of the Higgs boson. CERN [the European Organization for Nuclear Research] is the place where the existence of the Higgs boson was proved. CERN successfully developed and manufactured LHC [Large Hadron Collider] which is a 27-kilometer long powerful particle accelerator with collaboration from 10,000 physicists in 25 years. Furthermore, thanks to long years of hard work from thousands of physicists who visited CERN, the existence of the Higgs boson finally got proved in 2012. Such a…

Enjoy a Family Staycation!

Since the pandemic, more people prefer Staycation to going somewhere for vacation. Staycation is a compound word of stay and vacation, which means spending time off in or near your own home. It is good to travel far to relax your tired mind and body. However, staying with your family in your comfortable home can also be a great vacation; you don’t need to worry about making travel plans and preparations, and you’re much less tired. So, isn’t your home the best vacation spot for real relaxation? Enjoy a staycation with your family this month. The place where your love for family resides and you spend your daily life with your family, will look different. Tip Set up a tent…

The Key to the Bird’s Intelligence

Birds that belong to the crow family, including azure-winged magpies, nightingales, and magpies are the smartest of all bird species. In fact, some magpies or crows can even perceive the concept of volume as well as the flow of time, and they can recognize themselves through reflected images in a mirror; it is also known that they spend leisure time, enjoy their own culture, and have a language of their own. Particularly, New Caledonian crows are able to grab food out from bottles by bending wires and using them. Even chimpanzees that are known to be the smartest of all wild animals aren’t able to make a hook as they do. Max Planck Institute in Germany analyzed the correlation between…

Joy Found in God’s Love

A few years ago, a mission team from the Peru Zion came to Caracas, Venezuela, where I lived, with the slogan “Let’s Find Our Lost Brothers and Sisters to Make Heavenly Mother Smile!” While preaching in unity with the mission team, I met one precious soul whose name was Luis. He had lived in Venezuela for a long time, but he was originally from Peru. I then met him again with other brothers and sisters. Luis welcomed us and let us into his house. I prayed to God that his heart would be opened. Luis was getting things ready to go back to Peru, his home country, because of the bad economy in Venezuela. We invited him to Zion, hoping…

Ydermo Lugos from Caracas, Venezuela

Shackleton and His Crews 2:The Captain Who Gives Hope

“Low wages, harsh cold, impenetrable darkness lasting for months, constant hazards, and unsecured return! However, honor is given when you succeed.” Captain Shackleton did not ask the applicants who came to join the Antarctic expedition for their professional backgrounds or experiences, but asked if they could sing. It was to see if they could get along well with others. He thought the mindset was the most important thing in choosing the crews to explore the unknown territory where there might be unexpected dangers. The final 27 crews firmly trusted the captain from departure to distress, drift, and rescue. One of crews left a comment in his diary that he was “happy” even while feeding on seals and penguins day after…

Inventions That Saved Humanity

The New York Times chronicled milestones in medical technology that influenced generations to come. In chronological order, it dealt with inventions that has had a great influence on saving humanity by becoming a medical technology directly in the field of physiology and medicine in the last nearly 1,000 years from the mid-13th century to the modern times. Among the milestones there is one invention of Benjamin Franklin, a renowned American politician and chemist. Franklin made a flexible tube by connecting metal segments together for his brother who suffered from bladder stones, and it replaced the urethra. It was the first urethral catheter. Now the catheter has developed to a level that it can replace all tubes in the human body.…

Praise to God in an African Local Language

The Republic of South Africa uses English as an official language, but there are ten more local languages: Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Ndebele, Venda, Southern Sotho, and Swati. Even though you are fluent in speaking English, if you have your own mother tongue, you will feel more comfortable with your mother tongue. People here, too, like to speak in their tribal languages. It is the same with Zion members. Sometimes, when I greet them with a short sentence in their local language, they are delighted like a child, saying, “How did you know that?” This happened when the New Songs were translated into the Afrikaans and Xhosa languages. After the morning service on a Sabbath day, we announced…

Kim Min-gyu from Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa

Shackleton and His Crews 1:Great Return

In December 1914, Captain Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922) and his 27 crews left on a voyage with the goal to cross Antarctica for the first time in the world. Their ship was called Endurance, but it got trapped in pack ice and was finally crushed to sink due to pressure of floating ice. The crews, left on a huge ice sea with the average temperature of -50°C [-58℉], changed their goal to return home alive. They arrived at Elephant Island after walking on the ice with baggage and boats, and after taking the boat when the ice melted. They stepped on a land in six months after drifting but it was an uninhabited island. After much consideration, Captain Shackleton finally made…

How to Recognize the Mysterious World that Transcends Time and Space

Peter Drucker, who was a management consultant and educator, served as professor of philosophy, political science, and business administration, and he was also the founder of modern management. When he was little, his parents often held different types of meetings in their house, and invited public figures of various fields such as Schumpeter and Hayek, who were economists, Thomas Mann, who was a writer, Freud, who was a psychologist, etc. Peter’s meetings with them acted as the catalyst for him to expand his knowledge and his way of thinking. Experience is important asset for one’s life. However, there is a way to learn from great teachers, transcending ages and national boundaries, and accumulate valuable experience without having to meet someone…

Have a Happy Morning!

At the question, “What word comes up in your mind when you think of a morning?” some may say sunshine, dew, stretch, refreshing, and opportunity, and some others may say haste, oversleeping, lateness, busy, and tired. The words people associated with morning show a rough picture of how they actually spend their mornings. On New Year’s Day every year, sunrise spots across the country are crowded with people who want to start the new year by watching the first sunrise. The beginning of a year is the first day of the New Year, and the beginning of a day is the morning. A good morning is the key to a good day; because it is more likely that a happy…

The Value of the Truth I Realized Again

My dream was to run God’s errands in Europe ever since I was a student. My dream was fulfilled in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in the following month after I finished my military service a few years ago. I was excited that I was finally fulfilling my long-standing goal, but worried at the same time. It was because I heard quite a few times that preaching the gospel in Europe wasn’t easy. As soon as I arrived in Amsterdam, my concerns turned out to be reality. I could hardly communicate with them because of the language barrier, and it was very hard to meet people who would pay attention to the Bible. Even when we met someone who listened to the…

Gwon Gu-hyeong from Yongin, South Korea

Happy People

Cassie Mogilner, an American professor of marketing and behavioral decision making, conducted a study about happiness, targeting adults between ages 18 and 87. According to the result of the study, happiness felt from daily activities such as watching movies or going for a walk is much greater in older people than younger people. The reason is simple. Young people normally feel happiness from special experiences such as overseas trips or a wedding. On the contrary, old people feel happy from ordinary activities such as smelling the scent of flowers in the street. It is noteworthy that happiness, which everyone wants, is not only gained through something new. Some of modern people make an abstract goal, and feel frustrated as they…

Just like My Sister

As the youngest at home, I have rarely worked hard nor did something difficult. Even on my parents’ birthdays, my elder sister took the lead in preparing birthday food and gifts, so I didn’t have anything to do. This year, too, I didn’t prepare anything for my mom’s upcoming birthday. Then suddenly, I remembered that my sister had gone abroad. Since my mother said, “I want to eat the seaweed soup that my daughter cooked,” I was worried about cooking seaweed soup by myself, but I decided to give it a try. Soon I’ll turn 20, but what I can cook is only ramen (instant noodle). For me, making seaweed soup was a challenging mission. I searched for recipes on…

Jo Eun-bi from Gwangju, South Korea