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JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF AFRICA AND THE COMFORTER

DANIEL’S TESTIMONY TO NIGERIA FROM CHONGRO 2

I was born in 1980 at Sungnam City, Korea as the youngest of two sons. My parents were diligent and fully supported us, and we lacked for nothing. In school, I studied hard and was acknowledged as an outstanding student by the teachers. But in my teenage years I wandered because of my inner sin problems. I avoided people because of my inner fear and inferiority complex, and indulged in a computer game called, “RPG.” Because of that, my school grades got worse. It seemed impossible for me to enter a college of high reputation. Then I changed my major to art to become a cartoonist.

By God’s grace I was accepted by the University of Kookmin (interior design) which is one of the top universities in art course in Korea. At first I was so happy, but soon after I found out that I was not as adaptive to the class because I was an introvert. I became weary and burdened because of my inner sin problem. At that time God invited me to one to one Bible study through a UBF shepherd. Through Bible study, God gave me a desire to have an active and transformed life in Jesus.

God helped me to examine myself and to see myself as a wretched sinner before God through the study of the cross of Jesus (Luke 23). I also deeply accepted that God did not spare his one and only Son and handed him over to die on the cross in my place.

When I confessed all my dirty and wicked sins before the cross of Jesus, God set me free from all my sin and shined his bright light into my heart so that I could enjoy his light through singing and praising God. By God’s grace I no longer had nightmares, which I used to have when I was sleeping before meeting Christ. Through the 2001 spring conference I came to know God’s unfailing love for me when I studied the Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God.” God one-sidedly blessed me with new Bible students and enabled me to serve them through the word of God at the campus though I did not deserve it.

In the meantime, God led me into the army training camp for recruits when I finished the first semester of my senior college year. It seemed like desert training for me as I never had before. During that training I realized that I was greatly favored by God because I was called by God in my youth because there I could not find any others like me among my colleagues, and I thanked God.

After the training I was deployed to a public service office. Then I made a resolution to serve God’s ministry instead of concentrating on my studies for my major. God was pleased because of my resolution and deployed me to the early morning duty team by which I could finish the work early at 2 p.m. each day. By this I could freely go up to the campus every day to invite new students to Bible study. It was a great privilege for me to participate in the work of God. I experienced the power of God in many ways, such as how he miraculously provided materials and enabled me to faithfully serve brothers Lee Kyoung-Chan and Lee young-nam though the word of God.

God also blessed me so that I could attend the 2008 UBF international Bible conference at Purdue, USA through the support from one of my common life brothers. During the world mission night program at the conference, I made a vow to God on the stage to be a missionary to Africa in the future because I was moved and felt God’s calling for me through the world mission report. Indeed it was a dream I had dreamed from when I was in under graduate school. At the conference I remembered it and also had a detailed vision to be a missionary to Africa. After I established a house church with my wife, by faith, I realized that my wife also had the same vision to be an African missionary. By this I was convinced that it was God’s will for my family to go to Africa as a missionary family. In the mean time I applied to a field corporation (interior company) in Nigeria and was accepted. After that, we would be leaving for Nigeria in three weeks to the mission field God had prepared for my family. Because it was all of a sudden for us, my wife and I were in a bit of confusion. But my wife accepted God’s will for us with a servant’s attitude like Maria, the mother of Jesus, did. She encouraged me that this was the best time for us to go out to the mission field, and she will also join this mission field within a year after preparing for everything as a missionary. I also realized that the missionaries in Nigeria have been earnestly praying for my family.

Humanly speaking, when I look at myself, I was not ready for the mission field in many ways, such as language, Bible knowledge, my interior skill, etc. I also felt pain because I have to leave behind me my precious son who was recently born and my loving wife too. But I remember the grace of God who brought me out of my sin and darkness and especially that he has set me free from the Anthropophobia, which was leading my life to eternal destruction. I thank and praise the Lord who shone his wonderful light upon me and raised me and my family to be a light for the black continent, Africa.

I pray that I may meditate on the word of God day and night with prayer so that I can serve Nigerian campus souls through the word of God. I also may be faithful to God without being shaken and may commit my wife and son into the hands of God for a year in prayer. May God strengthen me to overcome all kind of difficulties that I will face in Nigeria with prayer for the glory of God in Africa. May God help me to be faithful to the point of death so that I can raise many disciples of Jesus from Nigerian campuses until the season of Christ comes to Nigeria. May God give me a humble, learning mind so that I can learn and grow to be a good and loving coworker to the senior missionaries and for the leaders over there. Most of all, may God help me to take daily bread and to my write testimony without missing so that I can shine his light on Nigerian campuses.

One word: Jesus is the light of Africa and the comforter.