Faith & Life

Assist in the Gospel Work

Penedo is a small town in the State of Alagoas, Brazil. In Penedo of which the population is less than seventy thousand, people spend time at home because it is difficult to get a job. Maybe because they have time, when we say that we are delivering God’s word, they willingly listen but don’t accept it easily. Despite the truth, they feel a sense of burden to change their church which they have attended for a long time. When we were about to be exhausted without leading anyone to Zion for a few months, we heard about the New Jerusalem Preaching Festival. Although my husband and me were the only members, we decided to enjoy the festival and started to…

Lee Hye-jin from Penedo, Brazil

Weight

A man carrying his load complained to God. “Why do you give me such a big and heavy load while giving others small and light one?” God took him somewhere. There were all kinds of loads piled up there. “If your baggage is heavy, I will change it to another one. Pick one of these as you want.” He was so happy that he did not know what to do. He looked for a small, lightweight load but it wasn’t easy to find the one he wanted. After a while, he was able to pick up a baggage he wants to carry. “I guess this will do.” The man was satisfied. Then God looked at him and said, “Look carefully.…

My Younger Brother’s Egg Dishes

When my brother was little, he wanted to learn to cook eggs. So my mom gathered us and said, “Please eat the eggs he made no matter how bad they are.” The first time, the eggs were undercooked slightly. When none of us could willingly eat them, he came and asked, “Do you like them?” “Yes, they are so good,” said Mom. After complimenting him, she gave us a look that said, “Eat them.” So we could not help but eat. When he tried the egg dishes again, my mom kindly explained to him how to tell if they’re done. With this new information, my little brother had confidence and overcooked the eggs. He seemed to be satisfied with his…

Bianca Papapietro from Atlanta, GA, U.S.

Just by Looking at Mom in the Photo

The University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States conducted an experiment on children aged seven to twelve years. When they were asked to solve math problems before strangers, they were too nervous to solve them. After that, the children were divided into three groups. One group of children talked with their moms on the phones, another group saw their moms in the photos, and the other group was with their moms. When they solved math problems after that, all three groups of children had a rapid rise in oxytocin levels. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps feel closeness, stability, and happiness. Just by looking at their moms in the photos, children felt as if they were with their moms and…

The Value of the New Covenant

People are apt to make a wrong choice when they do not know the value of something; they may even make a choice that they will bitterly regret in the future. The seal of salvation, the grace of the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life... In the new covenant, there are tremendous blessings that we cannot even fathom. If we neglect its value just because we cannot see it right away, we may fall into the error of Esau, who burst out with a loud and bitter cry after exchanging his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew. If we realize the value of the new covenant that cannot be measured by anything, we must take firm…

For the Co-worker in Danger

A man is being hung upside down, tied with a safety belt at the top of the pole, losing his consciousness. On the next pole another man is hanging, performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for the unconscious man. What on earth has happened? In July, 1967, the city of Jacksonville, Florida, U.S., was blacked out due to a sudden increase in electricity usage because of heat wave. In order to recover this, a utility worker named Randall G. Champion climbed a utility pole and was working on it. Suddenly, he was struck by electricity and lost his consciousness. At the sudden accident, his co-worker J.D. Thompson reached him hurriedly and performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Around then, Rocco Morabito, a photographer who visited the…

At the Flood Recovery Site

At the end of this summer, the southern part of Korea was hit by regional torrential rains. Even people who had lived in Busan for a long time said that they had never seen that much rain. Since it was a sudden natural disaster, there was severe flood damage. Many houses were attacked by the flood; their furniture and appliances got covered with mud, and the stores located in the basement were flooded up to the knees, and it was hard to get the water out. All the store owners were at loss what to do. The officials of the town office were having a hard time because they were short-handed though many residents were asking for help. We went…

Wahng Ga-ram from Busan, South Korea

Serving the Magistrate by Looking at His Clothes

A county magistrate disguised himself as a woodcutter to see how the people lived. While looking around the town, he felt thirsty and knocked on the gate of a rich man’s house nearby. “I’m a woodcutter passing by. I’m so thirsty. Would you give me a glass of cold water?” Then the rich man, who was standing near the gate, saw the poorly dressed woodcutter. With a displeased look on his face, he called his servant and said, "This man says he’s thirsty. Give him a large bowl of water to drink." When the servant brought out a bowl of water, he poured it over the woodcutter; he seemed to have done that many times before. After being treated in…

Express Your Mind with a Pen!

Handwriting is one of the cultures that gradually disappear due to the popularization of computers and smart phones. As keyboard or touch screen enables you to easily send messages and letters, people rarely use a pen or a pencil these days. However, handwriting with great care will move the other person more than using convenient digital letters. A handwritten letter has a positive effect on the writer as well as the recipient. A research shows that a person who frequently handwrites letters has higher affection for the other person. This month, let us take up a pen for our precious family. A letter, card, note, postcard, calligraphy, and anything is good. While writing a letter word by word, you will…

Digging Out Potatoes

On Sunday, May 25, we went out to help a potato farm as it was a harvest season. As you can find it everywhere nationwide, farming villages are shorthanded during their busy season. So we couldn’t miss the opportunity to lend a hand. About 30 members—male adults and students who spared their Sunday as well as female adults—gathered in Zion early in the morning. We set off for a potato farm located in Boepsong-ri, Dosan-myeon. The weather was cloudy, but we felt refreshed as if we were on a picnic. The potato farm was on a slant at the foot of a mountain. As rain was forecast in the afternoon, we decided to finish it as soon as possible, and…

Kim Dong-ho From Tongyeong, South Korea

If My Burden Is Heavy

In a horse race, each horse is to carry an assigned impost, which is a specified weight. It includes the weight of jockey, saddle, and saddle pad. Race horses carry different weights according to their age, gender, past performances, race condition, and difference in competence. Through analysis of such factors, the handicap weight is assigned to each horse. This is to provide competitors with a fair opportunity, preventing superior horses from racing far ahead of others. In other words, heavy weight is assigned to the horses that are likely to win, and light weight to the horses that are not, making the racehorses’ abilities comparable. In order to meet the weight, a heavy saddle can be used or the jockey…

Lake Wobegon Effect

Those who live around Lake Wobegon are almost perfect. Men are all handsome, women are strong, and children are smart. This town, where everyone believes with groundless self-confidence that (s)he is above average, is a fictional town that appears in a novel written by a satirist. Psychologist Thomas Gilovich named the mentality of a person who overestimates himself Lake Wobegon Effect after this town. It is not really necessary to mention the findings supporting this psychological error; no one wants to underestimate himself. Everyone wants to believe as follows: ‘I’m a nice person,’ ‘I’m doing good enough,’ ‘It will be done better if I do it,’ or ‘I’m better than he is.’ In fact, it is impossible to assess yourself…

The Most Valuable Work, the Most Special Blessing

Just like most other Korean dads, my life was also a series of days to go to work, seeing the stars early in the morning, and come back home, seeing the stars again late at night. Back then, I didn’t know what the starry world in the distance was and for whom those stars were shining. My only goal was to give my family a comfortable life, not asking others for help, as a head of my family. With this goal, I worked hard without taking a day off throughout the year. It was not until my wife told me about the truth that I thought this life might not be all. Actually, I didn’t believe the truth at first…

Choi Su-hyeon from Austin Town, India

Why Do Baseball Managers Wear Their Teams’ Uniforms?

Soccer, basketball, volleyball, and handball coaches usually wear suits when their teams are in the game. However, baseball managers and coaches wear their teams’ uniforms with the uniform numbers. The tradition of their wearing uniforms dates back to the early days of baseball. The position that managers hold today used to be typically held by the team captain. Then, why do they still wear uniforms? Unlike in most other sports, baseball managers and coaches can step onto the field without reserve to replace their pitchers, to give directions to their batters, or sometimes to appeal to referees. During the game, they enter the field frequently. However, without wearing uniforms, they cannot enter it according to the rules. That’s why they…

Kindness That Changed a Robber’s Mind

It happened in New York, U.S. A young social worker ran into a robber in a lonesome place on his way home from work. The robber with a knife was a teenager. He was startled for a moment, but he took out his wallet and handed it to the young robber. The robber who snatched his wallet started to run away quickly. The man chased after the robber who was running away and shouted, “Hey, wait! You left something behind.” The robber stopped and looked back with a strange look. The man said to the robber, “To keep it going all night, you’ll be cold, so take my coat. And I’m on my way for a dinner now. Why don’t…

Remove Greed, You’ll Be Filled With Happiness

On the New Year’s Day, people give all different answers about their wishes for the New Year, but their ultimate wish is all the same: It is to live a happy life. The criteria of happiness vary depending on people. Some people think they can be happy if they have much money, and some think they can if they have much fame, and some believe that having power will give them happiness. However, Jay Gould, a millionaire, said before he died, “I believe that I am the most pitiful person in the world.” Emperor Napoleon who conquered Europe confessed, “I only had six days of my life when I was actually happy.” Jimmy Carter, a former U.S. President, responded to…

Resonator

Musical instruments that make beautiful sounds! Their material, shape, and way to be handled are different, but they all have something in common: Their inside is empty. The empty part is called a resonator which enables the instruments to produce a loud and clear sound. If the resonator is clogged up or filled with other substances, the instrument cannot make any sound, and it will be useless. People too have a resonator. What do you think the human resonator that makes a beautiful sound is? It is the mind. You can never make a beautiful sound with a mind full of your stereotypes, thoughts, and stubbornness. When you empty your mind, you can make a profound resonance with the inner…

Tears of a Prodigal Child

Before I entered high school, I was led to the Church of God by my cousin, and I started attending the Church. My parents opposed my going there, but I liked Zion so much because there was a beautiful unity among brothers and sisters through the word of God. However, my mind changed when I entered university and my parents approved of my faith. Just as the saints of the early Church relied fully on God and kept their faith firm during hard times but became neglectful of the truth during peaceful times, my mind, which once went towards Zion, gradually started to go towards the world and I became lazy in my life of faith. After I started a…

Hui-jeong Im from Namyangju, South Korea

A Heart That Goes Out to the Neighborhood

Jang Gye-hyang is another great mother in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea along with Shin Saimdang, the mother of famed scholar Yi I. Jang wrote recipes invented around the middle and late of the Joseon Dynasty in Hangul the Korean alphabet. The book is titled Eumsikdimibang. In every morning and evening, her servants looked for houses with no chimney smoke. If there was no smoke coming out of the chimney in the morning, it meant that home had no food; and if there was no smoke coming out of the chimney in the evening, it meant that home had no firewood or the head of household was lying ill. Jang Gye-hyang had her servants deliver food and firewood to the…

Mom and Strawberry

In my childhood, my family was very poor. When the six members of my family lay in a single room, we had no space to turn over. My parents leased farms from others to raise their four children. One day, I was so sick that I told my mom that I wanted to be absent from school. She told me not to be absent because there was no one to take care of me while being alone at home and forced me to go to school. When I arrived at school after walking for two hours, I was so sick that I bent over the desk. Seeing my condition, my teacher wanted me to go home. I said it would…

Park Eun-ja from Gumi, South Korea