I’d like to share what I’ve realized while painting the Libreville Church in Gabon.
We paint our Zion building every dry season. Since we cannot do it in the rainy season even though we want to, we have to paint in this season unless we want to be surrounded by dirty walls for a year.
But there is one thing we must do before painting: stain removal. As it often rains and there is lots of moisture during the rainy season in Gabon, moss and mold which discolor walls are easily formed. If we just paint without removing stains, it looks good temporarily but mold will come back and walls will look worse than before. Stain removal is necessary, but it is drudgery. It would be good if walls become white after just splashing water on it, but it doesn’t work that way. We should be meticulous in the job because when sunlight shines, the difference between the places where stains are removed thoroughly and roughly would be obvious.
I think of hiring an expert to do the job well, as we are laymen, but I don’t feel easy about it. Brushing every nook and corner ourselves keeps me from worrying, though it is laborious. We start joyfully in the beginning. After rubbing walls for hours and days, however, we get pain in our fingers, wrists, arms, shoulders, backs?all over the body. Besides, the decorative part of a pillar at the upper side of the wall, where we have to brush along the grain, is too complicated!
My hands were shaky when using chopsticks during the mealtime, and many things come across my mind: ‘Until when should I do this?’ ‘Haven’t we done enough?’ ‘We should move to another place next year,’ and so on. At the end, however, I get enlightened?‘Our sins in heaven must’ve been so dreadful!’
I can feel how severe the stains of our sins were?God Himself came down to the earth without asking the angels to do the job instead. My soul was stained with hideous sins that could be cleansed only when God tore His flesh and shed His blood. When I think of myself, my face burns with shame.
When stains are removed and walls are painted white, the building looks bright. Our hearts brighten, too. The decorations on the pillars add beauty to the bland walls. I’m happy that the members can stay in the clean and beautiful Zion.
Heavenly Father and Mother must be cleansing our sins without caring about Their pain to see Their heavenly children changed beautifully and brilliantly on a happy day like this. I hope that the spiritual stain removal will be completed soon. I hope that all Zion family members will be changed that Father and Mother’s trouble can end soon.