There’s a saying: “A frog in a well cannot imagine the ocean.” That used to describe me. Although the Bible calls young adult who willingly dedicate themselves to God “the dew of the dawn,” I thought my best effort was simply attending worship services and gatherings diligently.
One day, I was shown the vision of completing the gospel mission around the world. That changed my perspective. When I looked beyond my narrow view, I realized there was so much more I wanted to do—and could do. Among those things, I felt a strong desire to plant the flag of the gospel in places where the truth hadn’t yet reached.
I immediately acted on that desire. I went to a city called Sorsogon City, at the southern end of Luzon Island in the Philippines. While helping the local church leaders at a small pre-branch church, I got a small taste of the path our Heavenly Father and Mother walked. I traveled deep into the mountains to share the Word, and crossed wooden bridges over the sea—things I never imagined doing back in Korea. We climbed mountains and crossed rivers, sweating like rain just to feed the word of life to the souls whom we found in difficulties.
After returning to Korea, I wanted to be even more helpful in the gospel, so I studied languages and filled in other gaps. I went on a few more mission trips. But just after returning from my third short-term mission, the COVID-19 pandemic began. I had been planning to go abroad again soon, but suddenly the skies closed, and travel was no longer possible.
When the goal I had been chasing disappeared, I found myself back in that small “well.” I returned to my old routine. I told myself to just do my best with what I could, but even that didn’t feel right. I began to lose not only my passion for the gospel but also the love I had for my Zion family. Even after the pandemic eased, I couldn’t find my way. I knew I had to leap out of the well again—but I thought, “Could I really do anything again?” God helped me through the brothers and sisters around me, giving me strength to rise once more. That was how I came to Laoag, another city in the Philippines.
Laoag was quite different from other places I had been. People spoke Ilocano, a language I didn’t know, not English or Filipino. There were hardly any Koreans around. I started missing home more than I expected. But then I remembered why I was there: the mission to complete the world evangelism God had given us, the promise I made to bring joy to Mother by finding our lost brothers and sisters, and the hope to enjoy eternal happiness with Father and Mother in the kingdom of heaven after completing the gospel. Each step toward Zion, each soul I passed by, started to feel precious. From then on, I prayed constantly and shared the Word tirelessly to find more heavenly family members. God led one soul after another to Zion—soon there were twenty!
We were even able to build a pre-branch church in a small town called Vigan. When we believed in God who gives us strength and took action, He gave us beautiful fruit. What started small began to grow. As more family members joined, all the worries I had melted away.
Before I joined overseas missions, I thought I was already standing at the gate of heaven. Even when I went on long and short-term missions in the Philippines before the pandemic, I thought my duty ended once I bore fruit. But the gospel has no walls too high to cross and no wells too deep to trap us. God had already shown me a vast field full of opportunity—but I avoided it, afraid of the challenges. Only when I faced reality and answered God’s call did I realize I was standing in the very center of His gospel work. And I began to see blessings overflowing everywhere.
There are still so many people around the world who wander without hearing God’s Word. Just as Father and Mother never stopped searching for us, I will keep following Their footsteps and continue finding our heavenly family. Until the day God’s kingdom is built in every corner of the world, I will give my heart, my effort, and my strength as a youth of the dawn.