I remember when I first stepped onto the land of Peru 13 years ago. The people of Peru were very friendly; they regarded morality and ethics as important, and were very kind to foreigners. Spiritually, however, it was a totally barren land where not even a single drop of living water had reached. Nine out of every ten people were Catholic, and Catholicism was deeply rooted in their society. So, there was only one thing on my mind: ‘I have to quickly preach God’s word here.’

The truth must have been unfamiliar to people here. So, I often cried secretly while preaching the truth to them. A man even said to me, “I bet there won’t be a single person who has faith in the Church of God and keeps the Sabbath here in Peru.”

However, look now! Alone in Lima the capital city of Peru, there are over 30 Churches of God including branch Churches, and the banner of Zion is fluttering in most major cities in 24 states in Peru. The uncrushable enthusiasm for the gospel spread everywhere, and the new covenant has already been preached in all countries of South America.

I am just amazed at the current results. It is all thanks to the power and grace of Heavenly Father and Mother.

The opposite side of Korea, where there are members of our heavenly family

In 2001, the 2nd Lima Church was established in another region, which is about an hour away from the Lima Church. Soon after, I left Lima and headed to Chile in obedience to the mission of evangelism in South America. Then I also traveled through Argentina and Bolivia, and after five years of preaching there I returned to the 2nd Lima Church.

The 2nd Lima Church in my memory was a small and cozy Church which had about 30 members. However, when I had my first worship service after I returned, the members continuously entered Zion and it was filled with hundreds of people.

ⓒ 2011 WATV

Being reminded of the early days of the gospel in Peru, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I could not stop my tears from flowing. Then I was determined not only to find our lost brothers and sisters but also to reveal the glory of Mother brightly throughout Peru.

As I said earlier, most Peruvians follow Catholicism. We often meet people who habitually give thanks to God, saying, “It’s by God’s grace,” “It’s a blessing from God,” even though they do not attend church or believe in God. Regardless of their religion, they all basically have a strong respect for God. They also have an open culture in which they talk freely with each other about their feelings and thoughts, so even when a younger person says something, they agree and accept it if that is right.

However, they find it hard to receive the truth of the new covenant, the good news about Heavenly Mother, although it is clearly verified in the Bible. It is because they have adhered to Catholic tradition for a long time. When we preached Heavenly Mother, they all understood Mary as Mother. The good news about Heavenly Mother who came to this earth for our salvation must have been shocking to them.

Even in this situation, however, there are people who come to Mother with gratitude. Even those who have been deeply imbued with Catholic ideas get rid of their idols immediately and receive Mother willingly. This is something beyond common sense. If they abandon their Catholic faith, which has been handed down from generation to generation, it means that their lives are thrown into complete turmoil. Despite all that, over 2,000 souls are gathered together in the 2nd Lima Church alone.

A national character or culture of a country does not have an affect on leading a soul. Children of heaven are to be led to God without fail. I remember what Mother told me before I came to Peru.

“There are so many members of our heavenly family in Peru.”

As Mother said, in Peru which is located in the northwest of South America?a far-off continent in the opposite side of Korea, there were really numerous children of God who had been prepared before the creation of the world.

The “Passion” that does not regard anything as an obstacle

“Passion!” I believe that this word is synonym for the gospel in Peru. As many of you know, the untiring passion of the Peruvian members has been an essential ingredient for the success of the gospel in Peru.

Especially this year, their fervor for preaching the gospel is hotter than ever before because they are eager to accomplish the Ten Talent Mission which God has entrusted to us. They believe that bearing ten fruits is the most basic way to repent before God and the definite way to obtain a “passport” to enter the kingdom of heaven. So, they are preaching the gospel without ceasing.

Now the 2nd Lima Church is planning to move into another building which is about four times bigger than the present building; we are going to enlarge the place of our tent soon. I believe that when the new temple is completed, it will be filled up quickly because there are already so many people who have promised to come to our Church of God that believes in God the Mother.

The members are busier preaching the gospel with the single-minded desire to please Mother by gathering materials for the construction of the spiritual temple as well as the physical temple. I am sure that they will all bear more than ten fruits within this year.

There are some members who are faced with many difficult circumstances including financial problems. Some of them live on only one meal a day, but they do not show any signs of fatigue or hardship. Rather, they strengthen their hope for heaven and preach the gospel more diligently while managing their physical lives faithfully as well.

I sometimes wonder how they can peach the gospel in such difficult situations. But the members do not regard hardship as hardship, but overcome any difficult situation by preaching the gospel joyfully. They say that they are in far better circumstances, compared to the lonely and barren environments where Father and Mother had walked the path of the gospel in its early days. They truly have a greater faith than me.

The Peruvian people are diligent by nature and they do even tough things very well without complaining. Now the members, who have realized God, are putting all their minds and hearts into the gospel work with their unique diligence and faithfulness for the eternal blessings of heaven.

They are great because they never yield to any hardship and adversity, and it deeply touches my heart. They regard nothing as an obstacle and only run for the gospel with untiring fervor. This serves as the driving force of the gospel in Peru.

Mother, the source of their passion

The Peruvian members are now very passionate, but in actuality, when the gospel had just started in Peru, they only had fervor without realizing Mother’s love deeply. At that time, they were probably only able to understand the love and sacrifice of Heavenly Mother as something that a Korean prophet was telling them. It was also hard for them even to think about going to Korea to meet Mother because of their difficult circumstances. However, who can stop the prophecy of God from being fulfilled? In 2002, some of the Peruvian members finally visited Korea for the first time in Peru.

Mother whom they saw with their own eyes was “love” that is indescribable?far beyond what they had heard. As a member who had returned after meeting Mother conveyed the fragrance of Zion while being overwhelmed to tears, other members came to receive Mother, who had been vague for them, deep into their hearts, and as the love of Mother was alive in their hearts, they started to preach the gospel while staying awake.

The number of those who wanted to visit Korea gradually increased. Their first visit to Korea became a fuel to ignite the fire of the gospel in Peru.

It is definitely the truth about Mother that the members preach the most. They do not only preach the truth about Mother but also try to deliver the love and sacrifice of Mother.

Since South America is regarded as a Western society, it is said that the Peruvians have a strong tendency toward individualism. However, the members who have realized Mother put into practice the virtues such as serving, humility, thoughtful consideration and concession, following the examples of Mother, and share the love of Mother with everyone.

Since they started their life of faith after being awakened through Mother’s love, their yearning for Mother is desperate beyond description. However, it is really difficult for them to meet Mother in Korea. For this reason, whenever a season to visit Korea comes around, those who cannot afford to visit Korea feel mentally exhausted and look sad.

I am also heartbroken to see them grieve like that. So, I once told Mother about how they felt, and Mother reminded them of the eternal heavenly hope and gave them words of comfort.

Since Mother encouraged them with Her words, there are no longer any members who look sad or exhausted. Mother’s wish is their desire, and they put more efforts into preaching the gospel with a firm resolution to quickly find their lost brothers and sisters, so that they will live with Mother forever in heaven, their true home. They have now become even more mature in their faith. Truly, it is only Mother who leads us from the beginning till the end.

From Peru to all other regions of South America

The gospel in Peru, which had started in Lima, spread quickly throughout Peru as the members’ dream of building a Zion in their hometown came true. Now, almost every city has a couple of Zions.

There are still so many souls whom we have to find in Peru, which is a vast fertile land for the gospel. Only in Lima there are more than 8 million inhabitants; it is really a big city. As 3% of salt purifies the vast sea, more gospel workers must come out and work hard to find precious souls like the three percent of salt, who will purify the world so that it can be beautiful.

Recently, many of the most intelligent and talented young people at the prominent universities near Zion have been led to God one after another after hearing the good news about Heavenly Mother. In Peru, no one is allowed to enter a university campus except the students. So, the university student members who have been led to Zion earlier hold Bible seminars and preach Heavenly Mother to students at their campuses. I expect that many young people like the dew of the dawn will stream to Zion and perform the great mission of the gospel, as the Bible prophesied that they would willingly devote themselves to the work of God.

Now the members are continuously carrying out short-term missions in other regions in order to activate the gospel throughout South America. It is because they keep in mind that finding their lost brothers and sisters is the only way to shorten Mother’s days of suffering.

A short-term mission is the best opportunity for the members to grow in faith. While reclaiming a spiritually barren land by preaching the gospel, they can personally experience the sacrifice of Father and Mother and achieve “unity” that pleases God. When it came to a short-term mission, I used to have an illusion that everyone would be able to bear much fruit once they went on a short-term mission trip. In actuality, however, when we go to another region to preach, we come to experience discord with our brothers and sisters, who have different personalities and habits than us, while staying with them in an unfamiliar environment. Meanwhile, we come to reflect on our own faults, understand each other and have a strong bond to love one another. By going through this process, we are able to produce good results.

While obtaining such precious realizations, we’ve diligently cultivated the barren fields for the gospel. As a result, the banner of Zion, which was fluttering in only one region of Peru, is now fluttering powerfully in every country of South America. We have only one resolution; it always was, is and will be the same. Our resolution is to shine the glory of Jerusalem brightly so that every soul in Peru and all other regions of South America will know the salvation of Heavenly Mother. In order to accomplish the mission, we the members of the Peru Church will always preach Heavenly Mother powerfully with untiring fervor.

I have walked the path of the gospel in South America for some time, which can be considered a short or a long time. As time passes by, I realize more deeply that if we just obey Mother’s words, She helps us in everything and guides us. The fact itself that Mother has chosen me to do Her work is a great blessing to me. Actually, when I had a hard time, I often thought that I was alone even though Father and Mother were with me. However, Mother never turned away from this weak child full of faults and always held my hand warmly. I have received many blessings form Mother although I did not do anything special for Her. For this, I feel very ashamed of myself.

The gospel in South America has been accomplished with the help and love of Mother from the beginning till now. Giving thanks to Mother for Her great love and grace, I will carry out the mission entrusted to me by God till the end. I love You, Mother!