As it is prophesied that the light of the gospel from the east is visible even in the west, brothers and sisters in San Diego, California, have gathered to Zion, hearing the word of truth. I truly give thanks to God for gathering my scattered brothers and sisters all over the world and leading them to the truth of salvation.

In the summer of 2002, the Church in San Diego began holding worship services in a house; there were only a few members who had attended the Church in Los Angeles, driving two hours every Sabbath day.

San Diego, located at the southernmost corner of California, is known as a military city where Navy ports and Marine bases are located. At the beginning of the church, we had a Bible study and preached the truth on a military base, through which we could find good gospel workers. That is why many of the brothers and sisters in the San Diego Church are soldiers.

Some of them have even been deployed to Iraq because of the war and to Indonesia for tsunami relief. Wherever they went, they were faithful to their duties and bore much fruit by preaching as God’s soldiers of the gospel.

Some brothers served as drill sergeants at the MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot), so it was hard for them to preach and keep the feasts. Even in such a difficult situation, however, they still bore much fruit, understanding how important and valuable it is to keep God’s commandments and preach the gospel. Realizing God’s will for them, they’ve devoted their lives to the gospel.

It is difficult to imagine how our brothers in Zion, who seem very gentle, train new recruits and drill the spirit of a soldier into them through intense physical training. However, when the three-month long training is over and the recruits graduate, the brothers are happy for the new marines and their parents who come and shake their hands in gratitude. Training the new recruits, our brothers realize that they themselves are being trained by God as new recruits to become good soldiers for the gospel.

ⓒ 2006 WATV

The more they understood God’s will, the more they bore fruit. We needed a bigger space for wor-ship. However, as many people moved into California, real estate prices increased, and it was not easy to find a suitable building for worship. Sometimes we rented a community center to worship in, and sometimes we had to move between two different community centers for worship services.

Experiencing various difficult situations, we realized that God helps us when we trust in His help and confess our faith to Him with our lips and pray earnestly with one mind. When the Israelites reached the Red Sea, while the Egyptian army chased them, Moses stood in front of the Israelites and shouted, “You will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today,” and prayed for God’s help. The Red Sea was divided when Moses had such absolute faith in God and confessed it with his lips. Through the Bible history, we can understand that our Father and Mother are waiting for us to speak faith-filled words and that They are searching for children who have such faith.

Finally, we were able to move into a bigger and more beautiful building than we had expected: It was the result of praying and by the grace of Father and Mother who quickly accomplish the gospel work in its time. Our brothers and sisters in San Diego firmly believe that Father and Mother are with us in all situations. We will fulfill our mission as the soldiers of the gospel.

Recently, a wedding was held in our new Church—that was the wedding of Brother Ray and Sister Mandi. Brother Ray accepted the truth about one and a half years ago. He called his girlfriend Sister Mandi, who was staying in Washington, and asked her to come to San Diego, saying that he couldn’t leave the military base where he was stationed and that he had something really important to tell her. Sister Mandi flew to San Diego the next day. The day after her arrival, she participated in the Sabbath day worship, studied the Bible, and got baptized.

When she began the Bible study again, she looked upset and said she didn’t want to continue studying. Brother Ray and Sister Mandi went outside and talked for about 30 minutes. They came back with a bright face, and she started studying the Bible again. Staying a few days in San Deigo, she studied a lot and realized the mystery of God, Christ, through the prophecies of the Bible.

After a week, she returned to Washington and made a phone call to the Church in San Diego. Then she asked if she could be baptized again. She said that it was not by her own will but because of Brother Ray that she had been baptized. However, after reading the Books of Truth written by Father, she realized how precious the gospel is, and wondered if she would be baptized again. So I explained to her that she was already born again and didn’t have to be rebaptized because she was given such understanding.

ⓒ 2006 WATV

Later, I asked Brother Ray why she had been upset at first, and what it was that he and Mandi talked about outside and what changed her mind to study again. Actually, she had been full of expectation to receive a marriage proposal from him while flying to San Diego. However, he just talked to her about the truth and she was temporarily disappointed that ‘something really important to tell her’ was the word of truth. He told her that he wanted to share this precious truth with her because he loved her so much, and she opened her mind to study more about the Passover.

Brother Ray’s first proposal was ‘a Passover proposal,’ and then ‘a marriage proposal.’ Congratulating their wedding, we realized that the greatest love for our family, friends and neighbors is to save them by preaching the new covenant to them.

Remembering that the gospel of the new covenant should be preached in the whole world, we regularly go preaching to Tijuana in Mexico, and Phoenix in Arizona. In Tijuana which is bordered by the United States, some brothers and sisters who cannot cross the border gather together for worship every Sabbath day, and in Arizona also several families keep their faith after receiving the truth.

Some smilingly said after baptism that they’d never seen a Korean pastor before. Despite the differences in upbringing, culture and skin color, they all come to understand the truth and the sacrifice of Father and Mother. How beautiful it is when our brothers and sisters make efforts to be united in love, longing for Korea the country of Father and Mother! Seeing them, I am grateful for the grace of God who has given me the opportunity to preach the gospel overseas and find good fruit.

I pray that this beautiful temple may be filled with Father and Mother’s children who are precious like jewels. We will make every effort to proclaim the gospel until the day we go back to our heavenly home.