Courage and Good Deeds of Manmin Members Practicing the Command: "Love Your Neighbor as Yourself"
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November 1, 2009 |
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Manmin members are reputed for their deep faith and faithfulness to their families. They are praised for their good deeds by many people in all corners of their neighborhood. The Yonhap News reported on October 7, "Officer Myungsup Chang (40), working at Geumcheon Police Station, succeeded in rescuing Mrs. Lee (90), who had collapsed in her room. After several attempts to enter into her room which was filled with gas and flame, he was able to bring her out safely in about 10 minutes." When Chang arrived at the scene, with a loud 'bang', the house shot up in smoke and flames." He couldn't see anything in the room filled with smoke, but he could hear someone moaning, so the only thing he could think about was saving this person's life. He felt a strong assurance that God would protect him, so he felt no fear. He rushed into the fire without any safety equipment, and rescued her without hesitation. Chang said "I am just thankful the woman is all right. I just did what I had to do as a policeman. Anyone in the same situation would have done the same thing." To watch the video, go to: http://news.kbs.co.kr/article/society/200910/20091008/1860981.html.
Brother Myungsup Chang belonging to Moonsung Region of the Geumcheon Police Station joined our church on March 22. 2009. Deacon Soo Kim, who invited him to our church, says "He is a very faithful believer." Even though his work as a policeman is very demanding, Chang diligently attends worship services to live according to the word of God.
Elder Byungyoung Han (64), since the establishment of the Manmin Welfare Town in 1996, has been serving the elderly—who don't have any families to take care of them—as his own family. When he was young, Han had experienced bankruptcy while trying to expand his business and became penniless. Before he was led to Manmin Central Church, he scavenged for food left in the trash cans. Through Dr. Jaerock Lee who gave him the opportunity to work as a bus driver for the church and offered him a place to live, he felt the love of the Lord and decided to live the rest of his life taking care of the poor and neglected. Elder Han says "If I have but one hope, it is to help my neighbors who are hungry and poor—just as I was in the past." There are also members who turned their desperate lives into hopeful lives. One of them is Deacon Kwangsik Moon. With strong faith in the Scripture: "All things are possible to him who believes." Moon became a triple gold medalist; winning gold medals in the 70 kg-weight division in the snatch, dead lift, and combination power lift categories at the 29th National Sports Games for the Disabled held in Ilwon, Jeonnam Province, Korea last September. Seven years ago, Moon lost his sight from retinitis pigmentosa. But he says, "I believe God will recover my body perfectly in heaven. And even though at times I fall down in the fight against myself, rather than comparing myself with others, I will always fill my life with the thanksgiving and joy that God has given to me." He confessed that he gains strength whenever Dr. Jaerock Lee tells us to live in the truth through his messages. Moon is thankful because ever since he began attending our church, he began to see the letters in the big-print Bible which he couldn't see before, and his eyesight is not getting worse anymore. These members all confess that the messages of Dr. Jaerock Lee have been a compass for their lives. Many times, Dr. Jaerock Lee stresses in his message, "Not only should you be faithful in the church, but you should be faithful in the entire span of God's house, which includes your family, workplace, wherever you go. And you must love God first, and then love your neighbors as yourself, because this is God's will for us."
1. Elder Byungyoung Han (second from right) with his wife Senior Deaconess Dosoon Lee living in the joy of serving their neglected neighbors 2. Members of the Hair Dressers' Mission and Deaconess Malae Lee, leader of the mission team, offer free haircuts to the elderly neighbors around the church once a month
3. Members of the Manmin Volunteers' Mission and their leader, Eun Lae Jung, push wheelchairs for the disabled after Sunday worship. 4. Deacon Kwangsik Moon becomes a triple gold medalist in the 70 kg-weight division in the snatch, dead lift, and combination power lift categories at the 29th National Sports Games for the Disabled held from September 21 to 25, 2009.
Broadcast on KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) last October 8, KBS News reported on the courageous deed of Myungsup Chang (right, wearing hospital gown) with the title "A Police Officer Runs into the Flame". Chang breathed in toxic gas while rescuing a fellow citizen, and was hospitalized for 3 days. He checks the condition of the old woman whom he saved, while she is treated at the same hospital.
http://news.kbs.co.kr/article/society/200910/20091008/1860981.html
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