ⓒ 2010 WATV

Zion filled with so many members, food preparation that starts early in the morning, the members’ clear eyes that twinkle bright when they listen to the word of God . . .

Probably these scenes are the first things that come to your mind when you think of Nepal. You must have watched the scenes of the Nepal Church on video. While in Korea, I was greatly moved to hear about the gospel work that was amazingly being fulfilled in Nepal. Now I am on the spot; I am truly thankful to God for having called me here.

I came to Nepal in December, 2008. At that time, I was called by God to serve as an assistant overseer of the Kathmandu Church, and while preaching the gospel with the local members, I learned many things. It was really touching to see the members keep their beautiful faith while preaching the gospel diligently.

Six months later, I was given the mission to preach the gospel in Chitwan. Although I was poor at speaking Nepali and lacking in many ways, I headed to Chitwan, relying absolutely on God who said, “Go!”

Into the arms of the true God who gives the water of life

It took me 5-6 hours by bus from Kathmandu the capital city of Nepal to Chitwan. Around December, 2007, the gospel of the new covenant was preached here in Chitwan for the first time. At that time, a member who received the truth in Kathmandu wanted to deliver the good news of salvation to people in his hometown, Chitwan. Then he and some other members put their minds together and went on a short-term mission trip to Chitwan, where they laid the foundation for Zion. In 2008, a winter short-term mission team came here from Korea, and it accelerated the gospel in Chitwan. When my wife and I arrived here, there were over 200 members.

Just then, the Chitwan Zion was under construction. The members devoted themselves to the construction of the temple both physically and spiritually, giving thanks to God for granting them a new place for Zion. Their only desire was to repay Elohim for Their grace by quickly finding their lost heavenly brothers and sisters scattered throughout Chitwan. In unity with the members, I also participated in the gospel in Chitwan.

Nepal adjoins China in the north and India in the south. Chitwan is located in the southern part of Nepal, so it has been greatly influenced by India. Especially, the Hindu religion has been a major influence in Chitwan. That’s why Hinduism is more predominant here than in other regions.

I often saw people make a wish on the sun, moon and stars or offer sacrifices to them, but I was shocked to see the people here worship animals, plants, men, and even cars and offer sacrifice to them at their appointed times. Not only the streets but also every house are filled with idols.

Most people willingly listened to us when we said we came to deliver the words of God. However, since they were accustomed to Hindu culture, they refused to receive the truth, saying, “Whatever religion we believe in, if we are just devoted to it, we will be saved.” The days of frustration continued, but none of the members looked exhausted at all. Rather, they put a lot more effort into preaching the Word.

ⓒ 2010 WATV

Even though most of the members had not studied the Bible carefully yet, they considered everything they learned as precious and chewed on the truth over and over again so that they might not forget it. Above all else, they engraved deeply in their hearts the love and grace of Heavenly Mother who came to this earth for our salvation. Even those who found it difficult to read and write continued to practice preaching the words of truth and made every effort to carry out the mission of the gospel. Seeing their patience and efforts, God granted them the wisdom and ability to preach the Word well and also the fruits of the gospel.

The Hindus have believed that the earth rests on an elephant, and the elephant on a tortoise, and the tortoise on a serpent. However, the Bible, which was written over 3,500 years ago, describes exactly what the earth looks like. We boldly testified that the Almighty God, who let the principles of the universe be known and written far ahead of science, came as the Spirit and the Bride to give us the water of life in this age. Then the souls, who had been thirsty for the water of life, started to come to Zion one after another.

Giving thanks in all circumstances and being joyful always

Since we received the Holy Spirit of the latter rain through the autumn feast last year, Zion has been full of vitality; the parade of a new life continues every Sabbath day. It is because the members never stop preaching the gospel, saying, “Saving a soul is the most joyful thing for us.”

As for those who don’t have enough time to preach because of their busy schedules at work, they gather at dawn and start each day by preaching. As the members who are willing to join them increase in number day by day, the Chitwan Church is always crowded with those who preach the gospel from early morning until late evening every day. Although we preach to people early in the morning, they do not look displeased at all. Rather, they welcome us kindly, saying, “What would you like to preach about?” It would be impossible if God didn’t open their minds. Many souls have been led to Zion—those whom we might not have been able to meet except early in the morning, and a lot of young adults like the dew of the dawn. For this, the members give thanks to God every day, preaching the truth with excitement and joy.

In Nepal, during winter, it is pretty chilly in the morning and evening, while it is very hot during the daytime. Because of such a large fluctuation in the daily temperature, people are more likely to catch a cold. Since it is the winter season here now, I am quite worried about the health of the members. So, sometimes I recommend them to go home quickly and get some rest, but they persistently refuse to rest, and continue preaching the gospel. On such a day, they bear fruit without fail, and being even more energetic, they preach the gospel hard until late at night.

I am very touched to see the members trying to be with God from the moment they wake up until they go to bed. They must be tired, but they even regard it as a heavenly blessing and happiness. Even when the temperature rises to over 40º C (104º F) and their whole body is dripping with sweat, they say, “We are happy because we are going to heaven where it is not hot.” And when it is so chilly and they shiver with cold even though they wear many layers of clothing, they say, “We are truly thankful because we have Mother who is walking the path of suffering on this earth to take us to heaven where it is not cold.”

They may feel exhausted because they are living a hard life and going through many hardships in their life of faith, but they accept all those things with gratitude and joy. They put God first before themselves and have hope for the eternal kingdom of heaven instead of putting their hope in earthly things. Seeing their beautiful hearts, God continuously grants them good fruit.

“Father is looking down on you from heaven and is well pleased with you. So, let’s continue to work hard and go to heaven together.”
Recently, I delivered these words of Mother to the members. Then they shouted out, “Thank You, Father and Mother!” After gaining new strength through the words of Mother, they are now putting a lot more effort into the gospel work.

Only waiting for the day when they will be with Mother

In Nepal, it is common to see forests if we get out of the downtown area, and there are villages even in the deep forest. Some of our members live in forest villages, and it is not easy for them to come to Zion because of the inconvenient public transport system and the expensive bus fares. There is a member who wakes up at 6 a.m. to prepare for the morning service every Sabbath day; he walks for three hours and changes buses several times to arrive at Zion on time. However, he comes to Zion with gratitude, not uttering a single complaint.

One day, I went out to visit him. I had to climb up a mountain and another mountain again, but I couldn’t see a single house. I was surprised at the fact that there was a member of our heavenly family deep in the heart of the mountains. On the other hand, I was encouraged by the thought that there would be our lost brothers and sisters who were waiting for us somewhere else in the mountains. The members also had the same thought as me.

There are some members whose hometowns are mountain villages. When they visited their family and relatives and preached God’s word, their family members delivered the Word to their neighbors and the neighbors to their other neighbors. Meanwhile, many souls came into the arms of God within a short period of time. As a result, the Chitwan Church branched out, and Zion was established in two villages. Since there are still many areas we have not visited yet, all the brothers and sisters in Zion are now diligently running to those areas to sow the seed of the gospel.

ⓒ 2010 WATV

It has not been a long time since the Chitwan Church started to do the gospel work systemically. Nevertheless, the gospel has been spread rapidly within a short period of time. There is a certain reason why the gospel can be carried out so actively. It is Mother. Only from Mother comes the power that enables us to become one and to preach with untiring fervor.

‘How can we please Mother?’
All the members—male adults, female adults, young adults, youth students, and senior adults—have the same thought. Since they all know well that the best way to please Mother is to save one soul, they put such great efforts into the gospel. A student member delivered the Word to his parents who attended a Protestant church and led his whole family to Zion. And an elderly brother said after bearing fruit, “I have also pleased Heavenly Mother, haven’t I?” and he rejoiced a lot.

When I tell the members what pleases God, they obey it 100 percent without adding their own thoughts. Sometimes I feel heartbroken, worrying that I might not deliver Mother’s will fully and correctly because of my poor language ability. Despite that, the members understand what I say and accept it well. For this, I am deeply thankful to God and to the members as well.

Every member of the Chitwan Church has a beautiful soul that truly loves Mother. They miss Mother so much that they wish to meet Her even in dreams. How much more they desire to meet Mother in person! However, even though they want to go to Korea, it is so hard for them because of their difficult financial circumstances. The only way for them to meet Mother is to return to the heavenly kingdom by finding their lost brothers and sisters. So, they try to save one more soul very earnestly, without rest, only waiting for the day to come quickly when they will be with Mother forever.

The gospel in Nepal, which started in Kathmandu in 2000, is spreading rapidly throughout Nepal; now the banner of Zion is fluttering in ten cities including Pokhara, Dungari and Dharan. The Chitwan Church is already filled with beautiful souls; it is very crowded. While we are preaching the gospel with joy and excitement just out of gratitude for the grace of God, the Chitwan Zion has quickly been filled with many good fruits. Now we are joyfully asking God to expand our Zion again.

At the beginning of 2010, every member of the Chitwan Church resolved to gain ten more talents of the gospel by bearing abundant good fruit. Moreover, we are preparing for short-term missions to establish Zion in neighboring cities as well. Until now, all the work of the gospel has been accomplished through the blessings of Mother. From now on, we the members of the Chitwan Church and of all the other Churches in Nepal will continue to rely only on Mother, always trying to please Her.

Even though we are far away from Mother, our hearts are always with Her. We run to Mother, expressing our yearning for Mother through praise and our love for Mother through fruit. We want to be with Heavenly Father and Mother forever after quickly finding all of our lost heavenly family members.

We give thanks to Elohim for always bestowing abundant blessings on us. May the blessings of the Holy Spirit come upon all our brothers and sisters throughout the world! Mother, we miss You so much, and we love You!