Fragrance of Zion

Awakened with Mother in Mind

I visited my hometown in ten years to celebrate my grandfather’s 80th birthday. If I were to describe my grandfather I used to know, I would say, “strict and strong.” He was also very diligent, so he alone usually took care of his crops, except during harvest. That was why I was sure he was quite strong and robust. However, I was surprised upon seeing him ten years after I last saw him. He had gone so weak. He hardly moved and didn’t speak that much as well. He mostly stayed in his rocking chair and slept but when he needed to stand or sit, he needed assistance. I didn’t know what to do other than to show my respect…

Jomarie M. Supleo from Mandaluyong, Philippines

As a Seed Hidden in the Frozen Land Springs Up out of the Ground

I moved to the city of Siheung to live together with my younger son. It wasn’t easy to leave a place where I’d lived for over sixty years, but I was happy to move there because my oldest son and daughter too live in that city. But one day, my oldest daughter came and said something that confused me. “Mom, I heard that there is Heavenly Mother in the Bible.” Heavenly Mother? I had been Catholic for decades, but never heard about Heavenly Mother. So I didn’t even pretend to listen, but made her leave. After that, I would get mad at her and persecute her a lot so that she would not even want to mention it anymore. However,…

Shin Dong-rye from Siheung, South Korea

God’s Blessing for My Whole Family

In the summer of 2017, my happy dream finally came true; I had been dreaming that my whole family would sing in one voice and share hope for heaven in God. When I was attending a Sabbath morning service together with my loving family, my eyes were filled with tears of happiness. I always had faith in God and hope for heaven in my heart ever since I was in primary school. However, I stopped going to church, seeing so many problems in Christianity, and then I got to know about the Church of God. While studying the truth of the new covenant, I became confident in going to heaven and received the truth with joy. It was about two…

Seok Min-seo from Seoul, South Korea

Accompanied by Angels

When I was going to India, a small problem occurred in the process of issuing a visa at the airport in Nepal. The money I had was only Indian rupees, but they said it was impossible to pay unless I had Korean won, American dollars, or Nepalese rupees. Even the currency exchange machine was broken, so I was going here and there without knowing what to do. But with the help of two kind foreigners, the urgent situation was solved. It was definitely Mother who sent the angels to me. The appearance of angels didn’t stop there. I planned to spend one night in Nepal and then go to India. So I wanted to see if anyone from the hotel…

Kim Ji-young from Busan, South Korea

Realizing God’s Love

It was around the time when my sister attended a Protestant church. One day, she returned home with bruises all over her body. Shocked, I asked her what happened. She explained that she got the bruises from a religious ritual of the church. ‘How can the church that hurts the members be right? I’m sure there is no God!’ I came to distrust the church and made a conclusion that God does not exist. My sister too no longer attended the church. Time went by, and my sister started attending another church named the Church of God. I could not understand at all why she would attend a church again after having such a horrible experience, and I firmly rejected…

Kang Yeon-suk from Incheon, South Korea

From Persecution to Blessing

The brothers and sisters participated in the preaching festival with one accord even in the scorching heat and the glowing sun that could peel their skin off. Their fragrance of Zion spread all over North India. I want to share a gracious story of the Shillong Church. Several months ago, as two young adult members were preaching the gospel, they were severely persecuted by a pastor and some members from a Protestant church. There were many passersby at that time. Among them, a female adult saw it on her way back home, and she couldn’t help but shed tears because she felt heartbroken. She didn’t know why she felt that way, but she was troubled as if it had happened…

The Church of God in Shillong, India

Brotherly Unity in Zion

In the region of Bakaiya in Hetauda, Nepal, there are two towns—one for Tamang people and the other for Majhi people. Until the two towns were formed, the two ethnic groups had been in conflict with each other since centuries ago. To infuriate the gods that Tamang people believe in, Majhi people threw slices of pig fat at Tamang people’s temple, and Tamang people threw slices of cow fat at the counterpart temple. At one time, the people of the whole community had to relocate themselves due to extreme violence caused by the conflict. What would it be like if you meet an implacable enemy in Zion? In Zion, it doesn’t matter at all which ethnic group you belong to.…

Kiran Gautam from Hetauda, Nepal

With Parent’s Heart and Soldier’s Spirit

I was born in a poor farmer’s family as the youngest of eight children. Since my childhood, I was always worried about what to do to live without hunger. After much consideration, I decided to be a career soldier. I had to go to the military anyway, so I wanted to be a noncommissioned officer just like my cousin working in the Special Forces. I thought I could settle down, while getting monthly salaries. However, my cousin stopped me, saying that it would be too hard. So I gave up enlisting in the Special Forces. Instead, I applied for a noncommissioned officer in the army and finished the education without a problem. But guess what happened next. After I was…

Park In-seob from Paju, South Korea

Blessings of the Feasts, Which Even a Lion Couldn’t Stop

I am an electrician. I work for a company that sells heavy logging equipment. When the Autumn Feasts were just around the corner, I had to go on a business trip because one of the machines had a problem. The business trip could take days, but the Feast of Trumpets, which I was eagerly waiting for, was only a couple of days away. I wanted to postpone the business trip, but it was an urgent matter, and no one else was able to handle the problem. I left for the trip, asking God through prayer to help me solve the problem and come back in time. The region I had to travel to was a town called Obala, located near…

Djangue Rudolphe from Douala, Cameroon

When We Seek God and Stay Close to His Word

In March 2020, the Philippine government implemented Enhanced Community Quarantine [ECQ] in the capital city due to the spread of COVID-19. It was not clear what would happen in Bacoor where our Bible Center was located, though it was somewhat far away from the capital city. So Brother Tirso and his wife Jane, who were building up their faith, wanted to preach to their family. The brother and the sister invited us to their house as my wife and I were working for the Bible Center in Bacoor. We could feel how earnest they were, so we hurried to go to Dasmariñas where they lived. When we arrived there, their son and daughter, and the sister’s mother welcomed us in.…

Mark Sumeguin from Mandaluyong, Philippines

Since God Leads the Gospel Work and Our Members Dedicate Themselves to the Gospel

At present, I’m carrying out my gospel duty as a missionary in São Paulo, Brazil. I’ve learned what mindset I need to have for the gospel after experiencing God’s grace. So I would like to share the realization through this writing in the Elohist. The Church of God in São Paulo manages the branch church in Ribeirão Preto. In 2019, the Ribeirão Preto Branch Church was granted a new temple under God’s grace. We were so grateful and worried at the same time, because Ribeirão Preto was 300 ㎞ [190 miles] away from São Paulo and so it was difficult for our members to go and help its construction. While I was urgently in need of help, unexpectedly one brother…

Seol Yun-deok from São Paulo, Brazil

Faith Comes from Hearing the Message

“Do you attend church these days?” “Are you a minister?” This is what my acquaintances often tell me these days. When I hear them say that, I feel relieved, thinking, ‘I’m on the right track,’ because it means that my appearance, words, and actions are different from before. I followed my wife nineteen years ago to receive the truth. At first, I had no idea about church, but as I attended sports fellowship and did various services with the church members, I was attached to the church and kept all worship services. However, my daily life was far from a Christian life. Ever since I left my company and started my own business, I have always been busy, having no…

Han Chan-hyeon from Busan, South Korea

Walking with Heavenly Father and Mother

One Sunday, on my way to a church that my relatives introduced to me, nearby my matrimonial house, I met members from the Church of God. They delivered to me news like a bolt out of the blue—the cross is an idol. Following the example of my devout Christian parents, I always had a cross around my neck from a young age, and felt at ease during sleep only when I had a cross in my hand. It was extremely unpleasant to hear that the cross is an idol; it was to shake the foundation of my faith. However, they proved it from the Bible, and I could not refute them. A few days later, I became a child of…

Park Chan-jeong from Jeju, South Korea

In Accordance with God’s Word

Heavenly Mother blessed us, “The gospel in Europe, too, will go well.” We had to be patient for a long time as the barrier of the gospel work in Europe was high. However, Mother’s words of blessing greatly cheered us up. We became convinced even more that everything will be done surely in accordance with God’s word after experiencing the amazing work of the Holy Spirit during the preaching festival that was conducted in unity with churches in Central Europe during the Feast of Pentecost. Before and after the Pentecost, things we had never experienced took place in the Düsseldorf Zion. We have led many souls to Zion. The new members asked quality questions with great interest in God’s word.…

The Church of God in Düsseldorf, Germany

Duty as a Father

I was wandering around in the world, without anyone to rely on. Then, one day, my colleague in my former company introduced the Church of God to me. Unlike the heartless world, the Church of God had a bright atmosphere, and all the members looked happy. When I realized the Spirit and the Bride who give the water of life to my soul, I was overjoyed, thinking, “I’ve found where I should go at last!” and received a new life. Afterwards, listening to sermons became a part of my daily life. Through sermons, I was able to gain greater understanding about the principle of the soul, and the more I realized, the more I was reminded of my family. I…

Lee Jeom-do from Ulsan, South Korea

Family Love and the Meaning of Life I’ve Learned in Zion

I thought making a lot of money is all I have to do as the head of a household. I was running a diner at Shenyang in China, where I was born and grew up, but I moved to Shanghai, two hours away by flight, to begin to work as a tour guide to make more money. When my pregnant wife went back to Shenyang to be well taken care of, I had to stay alone. But I had the sense of responsibility more than that of longing. Four years passed by quickly while staying away from my wife and child, meeting them only during the national holidays. I faced a challenging situation and had to make a choice whether…

Lee Guk-cheol from Jeju, South Korea

Holding on to My Crown of Life

It was a very special day for me though it must have been a usual day for others. Some members from the Church of God in Windhoek let me know the existence of God the Mother and how important it was to receive the promise of salvation. I was very surprised, and wanted to learn more about the Bible, but my mother had taught me that I should be careful of other people; so I decided to postpone the Bible study until the following day to make a careful decision. That very afternoon, I went home and highlighted the very verse I had been taught, not wanting to forget even one point. On the one hand, I thought, ‘I already…

Shange Valombweleni Nawa from Windhoek, Namibia

A Happy Path of the Woman Pastoral Staff in Zion

I am the first born child in my family, and my parents always wanted me to be given over to God just like the mother of Prophet Samuel. My parents sent me to a theological seminary so that I could become a pastor and serve God. Before receiving the truth, my dream was only to be a pastor who serves God. In India, pastors are approved in society; they are honored and served by Christians as absolute beings to them. When they are registered in the association, they are guaranteed with lots of income. More than that, I had passion to serve God. Unknowingly, however, I had pride that I attended the second largest theological school in Asia, so I…

Angela Berry from Thane, India

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

When You Pray Earnestly

My life has been completely changed after receiving the truth and being baptized at the age of fifteen. Since my behavior was not like before, everyone around me said, “You are so different nowadays.” Even though my friends, family, or relatives asked me, “Where are you going?” or “What is going on?” I didn’t give them any answer. It was because I was afraid of being ridiculed if they found out that I attended the Church of God. However, after studying the prophecies of the Bible fulfilled without missing the smallest letter or the least stroke of a pen, I couldn’t just sit back anymore. I started to deliver the precious truth, which I shouldn’t keep only to myself, to…

Rakesh Kumarakunta Rathinam from Puducherry, India