Faith & Life

Power of Unity: Many a Mickle Makes a Muckle

The members of the Church of God in Cape Town carried out a cleanup campaign. We were organized into four groups to meticulously clean up each allocated area. When the time to finish the cleanup came, all the members gathered. A truck went around the cleaned up areas to collect bags of trash of the day. It was a very large pile of trash. “Did we clean up this much just within two hours?” “It’s so much! It looks like we’ve cleaned up the entire city.” All the members were startled at the numerous bags of trash. ‘What difference could our cleanup possibly make?’ The thought we had before the cleanup changed completely. Individual efforts may be weak, but when…

The Church of God in Cape Town, South Africa

Wind Chill Temperature

There are two ways to know the temperature: the actual temperature measured by the thermometer and the wind chill temperature felt by the body. The wind chill temperature is produced on the basis of wind strength, humidity, and solar heat including the air temperature. Apart from these, individual’s physical difference responding to the heat and cold also adds to it. Those who are sensitive to cold may shiver with cold despite warm weather; those who are sensitive to heat are likely to be insensitive to cold weather though others feel cold. There is also a wind chill temperature felt by heart. Despite the same condition, people sense it differently. A warm spring to me can be still a cold winter…

Adhesive Bandages for His Loving Wife

Newlywed Earle Dickson had one concern; it’s about his careless wife. She often cut herself or got burns on her fingers while cooking. At that time, as he was working in a company producing surgical tape, he could treat his wife skillfully with bandage and tape. But he wasn’t relieved at the thought she would be flustered if she got cuts when alone. ‘I would feel relieved if she alone could easily give herself first aid.’ So he began to produce adhesive bandages for his wife’s convenience. On the basis of his experience of treating his wife, he cut the tape in proper size, laid folded gauze in the middle of the sticking side, and put down a crinoline band…

According to What You Have Done

No one idles away his days, not doing any work. When a man is born, work devours him until his last breath on earth. Even people who seem to do nothing, they eat, sleep, and think. While all people are doing work whether small or big, some people achieve great things that no one else can. They are the ones who have quickly learned out that human life is too short and precious to end, repeating the same things every day. They have clear goals. That’s why they don’t dissipate even a day. They make efforts to live meaningfully, discerning things they do in general, things they must do, things that are good to do, things that are unnecessary, things…

Fast Alone? Together Though Taking Time

There is a sister whose faith grew so much around the time of the Passover. She participated in preaching with great joy that members around her were energized. One day, I preached the Passover to a passerby with the sister. We met her again at another time. She came to Zion, studied the truth of the Bible more, and finally received the blessing of a new life. She filled herself with the word of God and overcame the tests she faced right after beginning her life of faith. The sister and I saw the new sister growing in faith under God’s grace, and we spent much time taking care of and praying for the new sister. While doing so, I…

Incheon, South Korea

Allelopathy in Plants

When herbs are waving in the wind or you touch them with your hand, they give off a strong scent people like. Actually, however, the release of their scent is a way of protecting themselves against external aggression. Caterpillars feed on pine needles, and cabbage worms feed on cabbage leaves. However, pine needles and cabbage leaves do not give themselves to insects and worms so easily. When attacked by a caterpillar, they release chemicals from their wounds. Upon smelling their scent, wasps fly in as swift as an arrow to prey on the caterpillar. A toxic substance in potato sprouts and allicin, the spicy scent of garlic, are also chemical substances to protect themselves. Like that, plants defend themselves with…

The Best Energy from Mother

There is a friend of mine; we’ve been friends since the third year of the middle school. While getting along well with her, I always thought she is really nice; she considers others all the time, which makes me reflect on my weak points. Maybe that’s why. When I gained confidence in the truth, I wanted to deliver the words of God to her more than anyone else. I thought when I told her the truth, she would realize the value of the Passover and the love of Father and Mother easily. But she was reluctant to have a life of faith even though she often joined Zion events. Before entering university, I prayed to God every day to lead…

Ansan, South Korea

The Greatest Doctor

During the Warring States period in ancient China, there was a famous doctor named Bian Que. His two older brothers were also doctors, but they were less famous than Bian Que. One day, the king of Wei asked Bian Que, “Who is the greatest doctor among you and your two brothers?” Then Bian Que replied, “My oldest brother is the greatest, my second oldest brother is the next, and I am the weakest and poorest.” The king wondered and asked him why. He said, “My oldest brother can tell at a glance what is wrong, and helps people avoid getting sick. So, they do not even recognize that he has already managed their conditions to prevent illness. My second oldest…

Where Life Sprouts

To preserve the environment, 28,000 trees were planted throughout the Gunpowder Valley watershed in Maryland. However, the trees need to be continually monitored and maintained for the first three to five years of their life. So, our Baltimore Zion members partnered with the local conservancy organization to help maintain the trees. Under the instruction of the guides, we checked the young saplings one by one to see if they were growing well and removed invasive plants around the trees. We stabilized the trees by reinforcing the tree tubes and stakes and by adding more soil to where the soil was swept away. Although it was hard work especially on such a hot, humid day, everyone cheerfully worked together to complete…

Melissa Hutchins from Baltimore, MD, U.S.

Laughter Defeats Even Cancer

Do you know we have special forces in our body? They are natural killer cells(also known as NK cells). Viruses or germs that get into the body from the outside can be destroyed by antibodies. However, cancer cells are an enemy growing inside the body, so antibodies alone are not enough to destroy them. NK cells are necessary in this case. When NK cells detect an infected or tumor cell, they release perforin in close proximity to the target cell, which forms pores in the target cell membrane and allows water and salts to pass rapidly into the cell. This ultimately causes the target cell to burst. So, NK cells are our immune system’s most powerful front-line defense. One of…

Prince’s Identity

A king visited a village famous for unfriendly neighbors. Before he left, he made a request: “My youngest son is staying here temporarily. Please be nice to him.” But the king didn’t tell anyone who the prince was or where he was staying. The villagers began to greet each other with smiles, thinking any child could be a prince. While doing so, they came to greet each other with gentle words and looks on their faces even among adults. A few months later, the king came to the village again. The villagers didn’t know who the prince was yet. “O king, did you come here to take the prince back? Who is he?” Then the king answered with a smile.…

Your Beginnings Will Seem Humble

A river starts from a drop of water. A raindrop falling from the sky, and tiny water drops that well up from the forest and form a spring gather and flow into a stream. When they meet other streams from every direction, they get a name, river. The river that embraces dozens or hundreds of tributaries flows continuously and becomes wider and deeper. The waters that have gathered in the river do not quarrel but flow without any complaint until they reach their destination, sea. While the river goes with the flow, it achieves things that it could not even think of when it was alone as a single drop. It breaks down a hard rock with a strong wave…

“Let’s Have a Family Meeting!”

There are class meetings at school, and companies hold various kinds of meetings such as a team meeting and an executive conference. A meeting is natural and essential for operating an organization. A family is also an organization that forms society, and meetings are needed for mutual understanding and compromise. When people are asked, “Do you hold a family meeting?” most of them say, “We hardly see each other,” “No, my child is still too young,” “What are we to talk about in a meeting?” “They just need to listen to what I say! We don’t need a meeting!” Like this, most people think that they don’t need a family meeting. Living a busy industrial life, parents are busy with…

Love Starts from Seeing

“A rainbow is a full circle.” It sounds odd but it is true. From an observer’s line of sight, we can only see half of the circle above the horizon, but it is full circular if seen from an airplane. Anorexics, who refuse or are afraid to eat, look in the mirror and see themselves fatter than they really are. Researchers at a hospital in London have found that anorexic teenagers have an abnormality in blood flow to the part of the brain which affects body image. If you try to believe only what you can see, you come to make a hasty judgment. If you regard a part of something as its whole, or if you take a fake…

Find a Family Resemblance

When you look in the mirror, do you think you look like your parents? Have you been surprised to see your child talking or acting like yourself? When you went out with your brother or sister, did people recognize you as a family? Do people say that you look like your spouse? Family members resemble each other in appearance, habit, taste, palate, voice, and emotional expression. Of course, the genes play their roles, but people also get affected by the surrounding environment. So it’s natural that the family members in the same environment resemble each other. Above all, when you love someone, you want to follow whatever he or she does, and while following the person, you become alike. This…

Nicole Weber from Parsippany, NJ, U.S.

One sister performed pansori, a Korean genre of musical storytelling, and sang an English New Song in the form of pansori at Carnegie Hall. It’s completely different from American music, especially for those who have never appreciated folk music or theatre arts. Many brothers and sisters attended the event. As the pansori chronicle continued, the show’s host informed us that a typical pansori performance takes eight hours but we would experience several parts that give a better understanding of Mother’s love. The sister eagerly wanted to not only preserve Korean culture but wanted brothers and sisters in the U.S. to realize and appreciate Heavenly Mother’s love. Thanks to her sincere efforts, those who had never flown to Korea could learn…

A Beautiful Story about the Members in Mmakau

By the grace of Father and Mother, I have many loving brothers and sisters around me, through whom I can realize the type of faith I need to have to enter the kingdom of heaven. In 2017, seven thousand churches were established, thanks to God’s grace and according to the prophecy in the Bible. A Zion in Mmakau, which is a small area in South Africa, is one of them. The Mmakau Zion is newly established not long ago, but the members there are so gracious and beautiful in faith. Whenever I listen to them speak of their gospel experiences, I come to smile. I’d like to share some stories about them. There is a four-year-old sister, and on the…

Pretoria, South Africa

Nyanong Koung from Lincoln, NE, U.S.

Since I began my journey of faith, I’ve sought for wisdom from the words of God, and I’ve studied the Bible to know God whenever I had time. But sometimes there were some parts that didn’t make sense to me. Then I just kept praying to God to help me understand the Bible, believing the words, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). I truly believe that Jesus is God who came in the flesh, and I was baptized at a church. But they didn’t study the Bible thorougly. They didn’t go beyond speaking about love and being a good person. I wanted to realize more…

Normisha Boyd from Salem, OR, U.S.

Over a month ago, a little girl kept on following us while we were preaching. When we delivered the word of God to others, she listened closely. I thought, ‘Why is she following us?’ Moments later, we approached the apartment complex where she lived. She then ran ahead of us, yelling, “Mom, mom!” Again I thought, ‘Is she trying to hinder us?’ Then her mom came towards the door as if she was expecting us. We shared with her that Heavenly Mother came to the earth to give us salvation, and she invited us into her home to my amazement. Though we had little time, we shared with her about the Second Coming Christ and Heavenly Jerusalem Mother. Like this,…

There Is No Appropriate Age for Receiving Salvation

In my young adulthood when I could do anything, I was called to the overseas mission under the special grace of God. As I’d always dreamed of it even though I had a job, God let my dream come true. I was determined to repay God by bearing fruits. However, things went different from what I had thought; there was no fruit for a long time, so I was torn by anxiety. Meanwhile, I went on a short-term mission trip to Huai Khwang in Bangkok. I had been there a few times before. Many foreigners live in the district with a high standard of living. But almost no one listened to the words of God. ‘Who will listen to us…

Bangkok, Thailand