Inspiring Convert Story-19
"God accepts men from every
nation who heed His call"
Converts:
Ja-Hoon Ku, Hae-Eun Cheong, and Vincent
Boram Son
South Korea
THERE ARE THINGS in life that take place in a
straightforward manner but,
undeniably, certain surprising twists do bring to the fore
God's plan. Such is what happened to Brothers
Ja-Hoon Ku, Hae-Eu Cheong, and Vincent Boram Son. From their
homeland Korea, they came to the Philippines without any inkling
that one day they would be called by God to the true Church and that
they would, indeed, listen to His call.
Mr. Ku, a
civil engineer and a
housing and condominium developer, decided to build the
core of his business in the Philippines because of its fine weather,
in contrast to Korea's freezing cold, and his taking notice of
many Koreans staying here for good. With him in his venture was Mr.
Cheong, a mechanical engineer, who has been working for him for 20
years now. They then needed someone fluent in the Korean, English,
and Filipino languages to serve as their interpreter. Like pieces in
a puzzle falling into place, they met Mr. Son who is about 20 years
their junior and whose family settled in this country back in the
'90s. Aside from being their interpreter, Mr. Son also became the
company's planning manager.
Their elegant condominium project rose on a
suitable expanse of land along Central Avenue in Quezon City.
Fortunately enough, it was just a stone's throw away from the
Iglesia Ni Cristo Central Office and stood side-by-side some of the
Church's properties. Probably noticing that the Church provides
housing units for its volunteer workers, the company management
wrote a letter to the Church Administration offering units from its
condominium. Upon approval by Brother Eduardo V. Manalo, the
Church's Executive Minister, Brothers Glicerio B. Santos Jr.
and Restituto S. Lazaro, General Auditor and Legal Officer of the
Church, respectively, were assigned to facilitate the purchase of
several units in the condominium. During the
course of their transactions,
Brother Jun Santos took the opportunity to mention to Mr. Ku
several beliefs of the Church. It was during this conversation that
Brother Jun asked if Mr. Ku could assist the Church in having it
registered in South Korea. He assented and surprised Brothers Jun
and Resty by even accompanying them on their trip to South Korea.
Mr. Ku attended his first worship service in South
Korea which was officiated by Brother
Jun. With the aid of a translator, he was able to
understand the lesson. In fact, despite the
language barrier, he was visibly moved by the singing.
of hymns, the fervent prayers, and the orderliness
and spirituality of the entire worship service. He
recounted, "I was observing Brother Jun and the brethren during
their stay here [in South Korea]. I admire their helpfulness, trust,
and instant camaraderie even though they were just introduced to
each other."
For Mr. Ku, the conduct of the worship
service in the Iglesia ni Cristo stood
in sharp contrast to the
congregational gatherings of his
religion, the Korean Christian Church. He said, "I admired the focus
of the Iglesia Ni Cristo in their worship services. Afterwards, the
members go back to their work or school. In my religion, after the
worship, there are a lot of gatherings that one has to still attend.
In the back of his mind right that instant was a burning resolve to
know more about the Church when he returned to the Philippines.
By divine
providence, Mr. Cheong, an active Protestant
for 30 years, was already familiar with some of the doctrines of the
Iglesia Ni Cristo through friends who are members of the Church and
by watching its religious programs aired on Net25 and GEM TV.
He had observed the solemnity of the worship services and had
learned that the Lord Jesus Christ is Man, not God, and that He is
God's greatest messenger. Mr. Cheong also found out that Christmas
is not found in the Bible.
Back from South Korea, Mr. Ku, together with Mr.
Cheong and Mr. Son, took care of the necessary documents for the
purchase of properties by the Church in South Korea.
But Mr. Son, for his part, really did not have any
idea about the doctrines of the Church. As he recalled, "I did not
have any interest in the Church or its doctrines. My interaction
with the ministers assigned to coordinate properties was purely on a
professional basis. But when I accompanied Brother: Ku to assist the
ministers in registering the Church in Korea, my mindset was
changed. The focus of the ministers in overcoming all obstacles, be
it the freezing weather or bureaucratic
difficulties to register the Church caught my attention.
There must be something to this Church, I thought." Born and
raised a Catholic, his first impression of the Iglesia Ni
Cristo worship service was that "it is very orderly". The
teaching about the one true God called his attention as well as the
use of the Bible as the sole basis of faith. His exposure to the
brotherhood in the Church tells him that "there are no walls between
brethren, they listen [to] and help each other."
The language barrier did not hinder Brothers
Ku and Cheong from joining the Church. With Brother Son acting as
the group's official translator, and Brothers Ku and Cheong bringing
their own Bibles written in the Korean language, the
biblical instructions went underway. A
typical lesson took almost two hours to complete, primarily because
of the translation needed for Brothers Ku and Cheong to fully
grasp the lessons taught. Still, they managed to go
through all the lessons. The three of them were eager to ask their
questions which Brother Roldan A. Gavino, a minister of the gospel,
answered by reading verses written in the Bible. Brother Son
said that their discussion prior to entering the Church centered on
the relationship of Brother Felix Y. Manalo to the Iglesia Ni
Cristo." At first when we heard that the Church believed that
Brother Felix Manalo is the messenger of God in these last days, we
initially met it with a lot of skepticism. But when we studied the
prophecies written in the Bible pertaining to
his commissioning, we said to each other that he really
is the Last Messenger.' Brother Son emphatically said, adding that
"I am very happy to be a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.
Brothers Ku and Cheong share this same feeling
with Brother Son. They expressed their great appreciation for
Brother Eduardo Manalo's determination in shepherding
the flock. They pray for Brother Eduardo Manalo to stay healthy as
he continues to lead the Church to its salvation. Although their
families are not yet members of the Church, they said they are
determined to invite them to also join the Church.
By: Norman A. Reyes, Marie F, Ruiz, and Bienvenido
A. Santiago ]r
___________________
Source: November 2011, God's Message, pp.34-36