Windmills rotating their wings along the wind, tulips endlessly spread below them, a canal running through the heart of downtown, boats passing through the canal....

Which country comes to your mind? Yes, it is the Netherlands. The Nether-lands is a small country which is only about one-fifth of the Korean Peninsula, but it is a strong nation as well as a beautiful country, known as the country of windmills, canals, etc.

The word “Netherlands” literally means “lowlands,” and one-forth of the territory is below sea level. In other words, it was originally sea. In the sea they had built embankments and pumped water out from it for a long time, then diluted the salty land with clean water to make the land livable as it is today.

In the country that has turned its salty soil into fertile land, we are participating in the gospel work of fertilizing the spiritually salty land and producing abundant fruits with the water of life flowing from Jerusalem. We give thanks to God for calling us to this great work of the gospel.


Fertilizing the land with untiring fervor for the gospel

In October, 2006, the missionary work finally started in the Netherlands. It seemed like the gospel work would work smoothly under favorable conditions and a peaceful atmosphere here, even though there were only four members: myself, my wife and two sisters who came from Korea to preach at their own expense. In the Netherlands, English is more widely spoken than in any other countries in Europe. This was very fortunate for us who were poor at Dutch. We were able to communicate by mixing both Dutch and English together without too much trouble.

We sowed the seed of the gospel diligently, being determined to find our lost brothers and sisters as soon as possible. One day, two days..., and two months went by so quickly. Still, nobody listened to us. They turned their backs on us whenever we tried to preach to them, just as if they proved that half of the total population (17 million) of the Netherlands were atheists.

Our bodies and souls got tired gradually. At that time, we were reminded of the words Mother gave us before we left Korea: “Do not let your fervor for the gospel cool down!” We felt extremely sorry towards Mother at the thought that we lost the mindset we had at first, which had been full of fervor, yielding to the reality before us. We earnestly prayed to God, renewing our determination to find our heavenly brothers and sisters who are more precious than jewels.
The next day, we heard the glad news that one of our heavenly family mem-bers, whom we had so longed to meet, was found. She is Sister Sharon, the first fruit of the Netherlands Church.

She met some sisters from our Church while she was relaxing at home on her day off. She said she had always wanted to know the truth, and gladly became a child of heaven after hearing about Heavenly Mother.

We cannot describe how we felt at that time. We were overwhelmed with emotion and shed tears of joy and thanksgiving. God saw our small efforts and answered all our prayers. Sister Sharon led her two daughters to Zion, and she is now preaching Heavenly Mother to her husband and her colleagues, earnestly praying to God to help her bear fruit.

At last, the gospel started to bloom in the Netherlands as we were assured that our lost brothers and sisters were waiting for the water of life somewhere else, like Sister Sharon. We believed that God would surely fulfill our wishes if we did not give up but continued to preach with untiring fervor, just as Mother had said.


The seed of the gospel sprouted on the fertile land containing the water of life

Beginning with Sister Sharon, new lives were born month after month. We were able to feel God’s presence at every step of our preaching. It seemed that the seeds of the gospel, which had been sown for two months, were going to sprout. I would like to share with you some stories about our brothers and sisters like the green shoots.

Sister Rachel had believed for a long time that God the Mother would exist. Even though she was even hurt by the people around her who did not understand her opinion about God, still she stuck to her belief. One day, while doing house chores, she saw us preaching out the window and prayed, “O God, please let the angels preach the Word to me, too!” Her prayer was answered soon, and she was able to confirm the existence of Mother that she had believed, through the Bible.

Rachel, our precious heavenly sister, had wandered about to seek Mother for so long. Like her, there were many souls who were thirsty for the water of life from Jerusalem and were waiting for us to preach to them here in the Netherlands.

Brother Ari was one of them. He wandered from denomination to denomi-nation and from church to church, seeking the truth, even though he had much knowledge of the Bible, influenced by his Jewish father. As he listened to the truth about Heavenly Mother and the new covenant, he was born again as a child of God right away, and even delayed his overseas business trip to study the words of God continually. Now, he has grown up to be a great gospel worker, teaching what he learned through the Bible to other brothers and sisters in Zion.

Brother Iwan, who spent a lot of time resting at home because of his chronic disease, got better gradually and was revitalized to work again. He has been living a new life since he realized the truth, giving thanks to Mother all the time for the new life he has received, both spiritually and physically.

One of the characteristics of the Netherlands Church is that its members are mostly composed of units of physical families. Once a person is led to God, his/her whole family members come to Zion together. The couple, Brother Mario and Sister Olive, come to Zion with delight even in difficult situations, and preach Heavenly Mother to their relatives, co-workers and neighbors. And another couple, Brother Glen and Sister Ruth, always volunteer to serve and are eager to study the Bible and preach God’s word. It gives us a warm feeling to see those families in faith harmonizing with each other for the gospel in Zion.


Visiting Korea to see Mother, who is the source of the water of Life

Individualism prevails in Europe. They usually say hello to each other, but they are not accustomed to serving others or sharing with them. At first, the native members wondered why Korean brothers and sisters devotionally served Church and the members, because they didn’t fully understand with their hearts the sacrificial path Father and Mother had walked.

We were afraid that the Dutch brothers and sisters would be slow in understanding the love and sacrifice of Father and Mother because of cultural differences, so we often held events for them to experience Korean courtesy and customs, and frequently we conveyed to them the fragrance of Zion emitting from Korea. They gradually started to accept the love of Father and Mother deep in their heart.

Finally, the prophecy that all people would fly into the arms of the new Jerusalem also came true in the Netherlands. The first one who took the first steps toward the fulfillment of the prophecy was Brother Ari. He received so much love from Mother during his stay in Korea. Since he returned from Korea, he has been supporting the gospel work with a burning fervor at the front line. He shows a good example of prioritizing Church events, big and small, rather than his own personal affairs, with a serving and caring heart. It deeply touches us all.

Sister Ruth and Brother Iwan, who had desired to visit Korea, finally had the opportunity to meet Mother whom they had so longed to see. After returning from Korea, Brother Iwan was determined to convey the love and care that he had received from Mother to people. While putting his resolution into action, he went through many difficulties because of the people who did not understand the truth. However, he did not care about it at all. Now he is preaching the gospel with joy, studying the Bible diligently.

Through them, we come to realize that the gospel work is really being accomplished with the power and guidance of Heavenly Mother. We believe that Mother is pouring out Her love and blessings more abundantly upon the Netherlands Zion as the members try to participate in the gospel work that brings about blessings with one mind, even though they are still lacking in many things.

Thus, the water of life that flows out from Jerusalem is breaking down the national boundaries and cultural barriers, and is awakening the souls that are confined in darkness. We will carry out our mission to deliver the water of life more diligently.


In Europe, the final destination of the water of life

In the Netherlands, it takes less than two hours to travel from a city to another because of its relatively small size, and we can meet souls that are thirsting for the water of life in Amsterdam and all the other cities as well. Surely there are many brothers and sisters who are waiting for us in the places we have not yet had the opportunity to visit.

In the Netherlands, the number of existing churches decreases every year and consequently the number of believers is being reduced considerably. Just five years ago, there were about forty thousand churches, but now only two thousand are registered. It is common for five or six denominations worship together in one place, and most of vacant church buildings are used for other purposes.

In this situation, we need to preach the truth of the water of life quickly to people. In the beginning, most people seemed indifferent to the word of God. But now we believe it is because they had no opportunity to hear the truth, not because they had no interest in God’s word. In order to quickly deliver the water of life to them, we need more gospel workers who will put into practice the love and sacrifice of Father and Mother, following Their examples.

Even though Europe is spiritually a barren land because there are still many places that need to be reclaimed, it is the great gospel ground which will be revived soon as the water of life has finally reached it. Of course, there are some difficulties in preaching in Europe, but it means that there are so many opportunities for us to receive blessings from God. So, we believe that the gospel will quickly prevail all over this continent including the Netherlands.

Mother, the barren salty land without the truth is now being purified and turning into fertile land through the water of life flowing from You, Jerusalem. We, all the members of the Netherlands Zion, earnestly pray for the Netherlands Zion to be expanded into a bigger temple that contains the ark of God’s covenant. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. So, please send us workers, and open the door for preaching in the Netherlands, so that the dry land of Europe can overflow with the water of life from You, Mother!