The Least of You Will Become a Thousand, and the Smallest a Mighty Nation

In Argentina, every church unites once a month to carry out short-term mission trips to branch churches and pioneering areas. I happened to arrive in Argentina during one of these mission periods and joined the mission team traveling to a branch church in the province of Mendoza, a fourteen-hour bus ride from General San Martín.

I was filled with a mix of anticipation and concern—wondering what kind of souls we’d meet in Mendoza, whether my limited language skills would be okay, and how the members would be. When we arrived, the branch church was smaller than I had expected. I was momentarily taken aback, but that feeling quickly disappeared. I was deeply moved by the manager couple who passionately carried out the gospel while running the church from their humble home.

It was during an annual festival of God, and I was touched to witness members keeping God’s regulations with sincerity. Some would walk nearly an hour in the early morning even when no buses were running just to attend early morning worship. Their dedication was beautiful. The love and care they showed one another—always checking in, being considerate—radiated the love of Mother in every corner of Zion.

“The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.” Isaiah 60:22

When I reflect on it, every church—whether in Korea or around the world—started small. But because the gospel is managed by God, what begins humbly always ends gloriously. Though the Mendoza Branch Church may still be small and weak now, I was filled with a strong hope to find more gospel workers there, so it too could flourish.

In a place surrounded by devout Protestants and countless Catholics who firmly deny the truth, meeting a heavenly family member wasn’t easy. During a Heavenly Parents’ Day video, we retraced the path of sacrifice walked by our Heavenly Father and Mother. As I saw people refusing to listen or failing to keep their promises, I was reminded of my own past—when I hadn’t fully accepted Their love, when I promised to change but didn’t.

I offered a prayer of repentance for my past shortcomings. Soon after, we visited a household and shared the Word. To our joy, the whole family—including the children—received the blessing of new life. Similar blessings continued day after day, and by the end of the mission, we had found sixteen precious heavenly family members.

Among them was Sister Andrea, who was astonished to discover God the Mother in the Bible and joyfully accepted the truth. She promised to attend Sabbath worship the next day. However, when the time came, she didn’t show up or respond to messages. Even by evening worship, she hadn’t arrived. As I left Zion with a heavy heart, I was suddenly called back—Sister Andrea had arrived. She had come running to Zion as soon as she finished work, explaining that her phone had broken and she couldn’t reach us.

Wanting to feed her more of the Word, we immediately sat down to study together. With her faith deepened and truth more firmly rooted in her heart, Sister Andrea received the full blessing of the Pentecost, including early morning worship throughout the prayer week.

One day, after finishing work, she saw us preaching on her way home and walked over to join us. Just then, we were speaking to someone who had heard the truth but was still hesitant to accept God. Sister Andrea stepped in and shared her own experience—how she had received baptism and how it was the greatest blessing. She explained the meaning and blessing behind the baptism ceremony. Thanks to her, Sister Valeria and her children came to God.

When I returned to General San Martín, I sent Sister Andrea a message, asking her to keep her faith strong. She replied with words of gratitude that brought tears to my eyes:

“I sincerely thank God for leading us all along the same path of salvation. Everything has been beautiful, and my heart is full of joy. I am deeply grateful to every member of Zion.”

I am so thankful that through this short-term mission, our Heavenly Father and Mother led souls like Sister Andrea back to Zion.

I pray that every member in Mendoza will come to fully understand our Heavenly Parents and grow into gospel workers. As it is written, “Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Co 3:7), I earnestly pray that the Mendoza Branch Church will grow strong and mature, becoming a source of joy and strength to our Heavenly Father and Mother.