ⓒ 2005 WATV

On January from 16 to 17, 2005, "The 6th Foreign Language Bible Awards Ceremony" was held at Okcheon Training Institute covered with white snow. Adult men and young adults had the ceremony on the 16th, and women on the 17th.

The members had gotten qualified at a preliminary contest, which was held to check their comprehension ability and basic knowledge on the Bible on 26th December. They all expressed a great will to use God's gift of speaking in other tongues for saving souls.

Before the ceremony started, Mother prayed, "Please, let Your children be blessed even more by seeking for their lost brothers and sisters with this talent," and also said, "In this age, we need to sacrifice ourselves like our God did for us. What is important is preaching the gospel with sacrificial love than speaking other languages."

"It is worthy to be recommended to go abroad for the world mission. However, it is also an excellent way of overseas mission to lead the foreigners residing in the nation to God; they will go back to their countries and preach the love of God if they realize the truth. Even though you don't speak other languages well, you don't have to lose your spirit, but preach the gospel boldly, believing that God is always with you," Mother said.

ⓒ 2005 WATV

The Chief Pastor Joo Cheol Kim preached, "Foreign language is mere an instrument for finding our brothers and sisters scattered all over the world and for revealing the glory of God. It must not be used for personal glory," and emphasized, "Of course, it is important to preach with perfect sentences, but what is more important is to please God by bearing beautiful fruits with a language full of love." He also asked the participants to preach the gospel, always remembering their original purpose.

The test was held in ten languages - English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, French, German, Bangol, Arab and Indonesian. The participants preached with their whole hearts in front of the markers of 42 groups. They preached earnestly. Some participants said, "I couldn't answer some questions though I knew the answer for being so nervous," after the preaching. A man member who applied for Russian said, "I have learned Russian for only a short time, but I willingly attended to reveal the glory of God," "It is not easy to memorize the foreign words, but I could memorize them more easily when I studied with a heart willing to save a soul."

A lot of foreign members attended this ceremony - from Pakistan, Mongolia, China, Japan, Russia and so on. Among them, Nargiza Choi from Uzbekistan who applied for Russian and Tokuhara Matsumi who applied for Japanese had been preaching the gospel hard while living in Korea with Korean husbands. Sister Nargiza Choi showed her enthusiasm for the gospel, saying, "I give thanks to God who's called me, a sinner. The Bible is a mysterious book containing the truth of God. I've realized the love of God through this book. I will preach the love and sacrifice of God who came into this earth to save mankind." The Japanese Sister Tokuhara Matsumi said, "I received the truth because the words of the Bible attracted me. Studying the Bible hard, I am earnestly praying God that I may preach His love to my family in Japan."

ⓒ 2005 WATV

The markers said, "At the last 5th Foreign Language Bible Preaching Awarding Ceremony, the participants had good foreign languages abilities. This time, too, so many members had good talents, that it was hard to choose the final awardees. The standard was how confidently they testified to God, not how well they spoke the languages." While the marks were being added up, the participants watched a video titled, 'Let's Be Grains That Fall Down and Die' showing the importance of 'Unity' and 'Sacrifice.' Through the video, they reflected whether or not they had hurt their brothers and sisters, and felt that they would be blessed when walking the way of the gospel as a 'grain that falls down and dies' and getting rid of the selfish thinking for the glory of God.

All the awardees, who received the awards with great marks on the 16th and 17th, gave glory to God and said, "I give endless thanks to God who chose me as a servant of the gospel and even gave me an award," "I will preach the gospel diligently wherever God sends me," "To repay for the grace of God who's given me this talent, I will preach hard, although I'm not fluent, to reveal the glory of God."

As Mother said, the prophets, who are blessed and entrusted to preach the gospel to the world, shall awake the world with earnest hearts and words of love, rather than with skillfulness in foreign languages.

This reporter hope all the members can reveal the light of the glory of God with fervor, saying, "Here am I. Send me!" anytime or anywhere.