Deacon Jea-kyu Joo
(Director, The Korean Residents Union in Japan)

Working at the Korean Residents Union in Japan in Yamagata Prefecture

I had been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Korea from June 1986 and then moved to Japan to work at the Korean Consulate General at Sendai in December 1988. After marrying my wife Deaconess Yoon-young Choi, I began my life in Christ because of the heart surgery she underwent.
Then in the autumn of 1994, I was offered a position at the Korean Residents Union in Japan (an organization created to promote the rights and prosperity of South Korean-Japanese residents; also known as "Mindan") in Yamagata Prefecture. Thinking of the proposal as a sign of God's guidance, I quit my post at the Consulate General and my wife and I settled in Yamagata. Contrary to our anticipation, however, only unfamiliarity and poor financial conditions of the Mindan were awaiting my arrival.

My wife diagnosed with "cholesteatoma otitis media"

Then in the middle of one night in May 1995, my wife began complaining of an acute pain and we rushed to a nearby hospital on an ambulance, but the doctors were clueless as to even the name of the disease. For I had to leave for Korea on business in two days and because there was no one to look after my wife in Japan, we ended up going to Korea together. En route to Seoul, my wife complained of the pain and said if she could, she wanted to jump out of the plane.
Once in Korea, we went to a hospital for medical checkup and my wife was diagnosed with an incurable disease called "cholesteatoma otitis media," in which bacteria would not only gnaw at the bones in one's ears but also penetrate the brain and develop brain tumor. We were also told that an immediate operation was unavoidable.

Receiving Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's prayer and healing

At the time, my mother-in-law had just attended "The Two-week Special Revival Meeting with Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee" and received healing of her rheumatoid arthritis. She urged my wife to receive Rev. Dr. Lee's prayer and we ended up receiving his prayer together.
Miraculously, as I found out later, the moment we received his prayer my wife said her body felt very "cool" all of a sudden and the severe pain already disappeared. The following day, we attended the "Special Meeting for the Sick" at which she rent her heart in repentance. After that day, there was no more oozing from her ears and without any sequela, my wife was completely healed.

Receiving the blessing of pregnancy; creating a blissful family

God's blessings did not end with my wife's healing. In June 1995, my wife became pregnant. We had been unable to have children during the first five years of marriage but after receiving the Senior Pastor's prayer, we received the blessing of pregnancy.
Our firstborn Shi-young was born in March 1996 and he was followed by Dae-young in October 1998. Another exam in 1999 revealed that my wife was pregnant with another son but this time we wanted a daughter. So we received the Senior Pastor's prayer.
With the birth of our daughter Ga-young in May 2005, our family praised and gave glory to Our God on High!

Worshipping on Sundays; praying for a branch church

"Father God, we ask you to spread throughout the whole Japan the messages filled with life. Allow a branch church to be built here. Send us a missionary."
After experiencing the Living God with the healing of cholesteatoma otitis media and the blessing of pregnancy, my wife and I returned to Japan and diligently distributed sermon cassette tapes and books written by Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee and never stopped spreading the gospel and praying.
On July 4, 1997, we had a worship service with Rev. Seung-kil Ryu, Pastor at Ida Manmin Church, at a Mindan office. We rented a welfare center building the following week and began Bible study sessions once or twice a month with the people we had evangelized. On November 16, eight people including children offered God our first Sunday Worship Service and we met every Sunday from then on at the welfare center building. During breaks at work, I prepared for worship services by creating the weekly bulletins and calling other members. After work, my wife, our children, and I paid visits to other members at their homes.
We offered Sunday Worship Services with the Senior Pastor's sermon tapes, and words cannot adequately describe the bliss all of us felt when we shared the testimonies of the grace we had received. Each member came to the Service with food he or she had prepared at home, and we prayed fervently for the founding of a branch church and a sanctuary.

Yamagata Manmin Church founded!

On January 9, 1998, my heart could not have been moved any more as we offered God the "Founding Service" of Yamagata Manmin Church in His grace. In September, with Rev. Kang-sup Jang who was commissioned to Yamagata from Korea, we rejoiced in gathering on the entire second floor of the welfare center building and prayed all the more fervently for the construction of a sanctuary.
"Father! Give us a sanctuary at a convenient location where we can call out to You freely. Give us lots of parking spaces, too!"
The God of love began doing His work. He moved the hearts of Korean-Japanese residents in the area, who had long seen me faithfully serving and working for them despite the continuing financial difficulties at the Mindan, as they provided with necessary furnishings and funds for the construction of the sanctuary. Finally in September 1999, as His answer to the prayer of Rev. Jang and alls of us, God allowed us to offer Him "The Dedication Service" in a sanctuary of almost 4,300 square feet in area on a land almost 11,400 square feet in area.
In September 2003, when I received the Senior Pastor's prayer for the upcoming "Handkerchief Meeting" (Acts 19:11-12) and the attendance of 17 people we had evangelized, God worked for all of the 17 people to attend the Meeting. We are so thankful to have a church that keeps growing in a country where it is so difficult to spread the gospel to even one person.

Brimming blessings at home and work after founding Yamagata Manmin Church

Meeting with former President of Korea Dae-jung Kim
God also blessed me in many other ways. The construction of a Korean-Japanese Resident Center was complete only in my fifth year at the Mindan while I was given the Envoy Extraordinary and Ambassador Plenipotentiary's Award in January 2004 in recognition of contributing to the development of the Korean-Japanese society and enhancing national prestige.
As I am a salaried man, I do not have much to spare but as I sowed earnestly on various occasions, God blessed me as much as I have sown.
In 2003, I was able to purchase a single-family house with a lawn. When I received the Senior Pastor's prayer with offering in May 2005 because I wanted the stocks of a Korean-Japanese company I had purchased in 2004 to be listed, God did His work in a truly astonishing way soon after. I had never received the dividend from the company for the previous 12 years but within a couple of months after receiving the Senior Pastor's prayer, I received the hundred fold of the offering in return. In addition, I have also been receiving so many requests on my side job ? in which I introduce companies in both Korea and Japan and help them do business with each other ? that God has allowed my tithes to double.
I give all thanks and glory to God and Our Lord Jesus Christ, and I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee, who leads my family onto the road of blessing with his life-filled messages and prayer.