testimonies of all

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2011

By Inesse Lee, Kevin Kim, Hannah Lee,

Esther Choi, Eunice Kim, Hansol Choi,

Michael Baek, Chris Doh, Dan Chung,

Myohan Oh, and Jonathan Yi

The Resurgence Ministry of Chodae Chur

The Resurgence Ministry Peru

Missions Testimony



2 | P a g e

Table of Contents

Inesse Lee ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3

Kevin Kim ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5

Chris Doh ----------------------------------------------------------------- 9

Michael Back ----------------------------------------------------------------- 13

Eunice Kim ----------------------------------------------------------------- 16

Esther Choi ----------------------------------------------------------------- 18

Hannah Lee ----------------------------------------------------------------- 20

Daniel Chung ----------------------------------------------------------------- 23

Jonathan Yi ----------------------------------------------------------------- 26

Myohan Oh ----------------------------------------------------------------- 28



3 | P a g e

Inesse LeeI guess I’ll start off by saying that I am the last person who deserved

to go to Peru, not even for myself but to tell others about the Holy One,

when I don’t really know, when my faith isn’t strong, when my prayer isn’t

what it is supposed to be about.

I felt this guilt and disgusting feeling right before I was to be at

church. At the time, I only went because I thought to myself all that time

and effort would go to waste. I didn’t think that... 1. a person could be

saved through my words, 2. the trip could change me, and 3. that I could get closer to God. I

didn’t even know what my purpose was. Why was I chosen to go to Peru? What made me so

special from all the other people who went to church? Without any of these questions

answered, I went, landed in Peru, and finally got to the base.

The next day, I was given the chance to see God do his work right in front of me. It’s as if

though this elderly woman, named Rosa, I was able

to feel the connection between her and God.

Words do not describe how beautiful and

emotional this moment was. As we prayed for Rosa,

tears rolled down my face. I couldn’t really tell you

why… You just feel this emotion that touches your

heart and makes you realize that God is always

there, literally. His presence was so obvious and it

was the happiest moment of that whole day.

Another moment like this occurred, but with a younger girl named Elsa. She was such a

sweet native girl. She welcomed us with an open heart and open arms. She accepted Christ into

her heart. She was so happy and couldn’t wait to go to the base where we had set up medical

help. Through Elsa, God made me realize that he will help me when I evangelize to others.

The youth group was in charge of the VBS. All the kids were so different in every

city/village. Some were very shy, some were welcoming, and some were beyond greedy. But

when it came to praising the lord in these children songs and adding the motions it was like my

frown was turned upside down. God gave me the spirit and the strength to express all I had in

me to the kids watching and listening. Even though I had inflation in my nose and got sick, I wasstill able to praise the Lord through these songs and make the kids smile. Oh my goodness,

when one kid smiled it was like someone gave’em 100,000 dollars; well, even better than that.

Then, and right then, God showed me the answer that I asked from the very beginning.

My purpose was to put a smile on each face that I saw. Through singing, smiling myself, handing

out goodies, evangelizing, or even saying hello, my given purpose was to make people happy

through the Lord, to show them that I am happy because of one reason; which was because I

“ Words do not describe how

beautiful and emotional this

moment was… “



4 | P a g e

am a believer in Christ who died for my sins. At that moment the guilt, pain, and negativity

vanished and I was left with a pure and happy feeling inside.

So this is my testimony, and I guess what I’m trying to prove is that even though I am

not a strong believer, the attempt and the gradual continuation to serve the Lord is just as good

enough as being a strong believer. He took his only son and sacrificed him for our sins.

One way that showed me that I am

worthy of saving was the “Everything Skit.” I

was the main character and it’s about a

girl/boy who commits all these sins and goes

through all these hardships that life throws at

you. So the girl, being human makes all these

mistakes but in the end the light from God is

presented to her. She meets God at her lowest point and he brings her up again, making her

stronger and becomes pure again. So because of that, because of what his son did for us, theleast I can do is accept my sins, move on, and continue to praise God.

This trip to Peru was such a blessing and it is something that I will never forget and

something I will always cherish. To PJ and every member of my team, I thank you so much for

being there for me, supporting me, and especially loving me. FIGHT TEAM 2011<3

“ Then, and right then, God

showed me the answer that I

asked from the very beginning…”



5 | P a g e

Kevin KimOk, I’ll be honest. I didn’t know why I was going to missions. I knew what

missions were, I knew why people went on missions, but I didn’t know why

someone like me would be called to go to missions. I went to missions last

year, but I didn’t know why I felt the need to go on missions then either. It

might’ve been because I felt obligated as a member of the church, because

it would make me feel better, or because I wanted to make my parents

proud. What I do know is that I didn’t go with the heart of a missionary. I

went with the heart of a volunteer worker. Regardless of my intentions, I

went in blind with no idea of what God’s plan for me was. The same applied to this year. My

father told me that if I wanted to go to missions, I needed to pray about it and have a

conviction in my heart that God was calling me for a mission. I guess he understood how

important Peru would be to me even then.

When he told me that though, I was in a spiritual slump. It was going on for about two

years, before Philly missions, and I hadn’t had an honest conversation with God for that whole

time. I never touched my bible, even on Sundays, and I prayed before meals, but only if I felt

like it. That was the extent of my relationship with God for that time. I grew up a Christian, so I

knew how to act like one even if I no longer felt his presence in my heart. I knew how to tell

people the word of God, I knew how to argue with atheists, and I knew about the important

verses of the bible and when to say them. However, I had no relationship with God. I lived a life

that showed I wasn’t a Christian and that I was just

as secular as the rest of the world. I found no guilt

when I sinned, and I sinned knowing it was a sin. Iwas callous to everything around me, but I was

totally oblivious to the work of God in my life. It was

with this attitude that I went into Peru missions training.

Although I didn’t believe that God was really in my heart, I still believed that God existed.

I knew that he was all powerful and all knowing, because I had believed it even since I was a

child. Since I knew this, I figured that missions are important in the eyes of God, so that if I

wasn’t meant to go to missions then something would come up that would prevent me from

going. I knew that God worked in mysterious ways and that he does do his work in others, so I

thought that he would only send me to missions if he wanted me to. As the months dragged on

and trainings came and went, the day for departure finally arrived and I still felt no different

from before. Then, we left. It really didn’t seem like we were going to Peru for any of us

because it had crept up on us so quickly. Even when we landed after the 7 hour flight, it felt like

we were still in America. Then came the bus ride. It’s crazy how many games you can play with

11 people for 9 hours. Riddles came and went, stories and jokes were told, but most

importantly, the fellowship that we shared bonded us even closer together as a team,

something that was crucial to our working as a group. Finally, we arrived at our base and the air

“ I was in a spiritual slump… “



6 | P a g e

was so thin. Like, really thin. We couldn’t take more than a couple steps without panting for air,

and we weren’t even carrying anything.

After the first night passed, the first day of real ministry began at Vicas. There, we

weren’t accepted as well as we expected to the point where the children there actually refused

to talk to us and the adults rejected us when we tried to reach out to them. It was here that I

made my first mistakes on this trip. As I walked around with my translator, Samuel, I spoke with

an elderly man who hadn’t heard the word of God. I was happy that he seemed approachable

because when I was looking around, some other town members didn’t seem as friendly. As I

told him about the four spiritual laws and God’s love for him, he was very receptive to both me

and my translator. As I finished up with my reading of the laws, I asked him if he wanted to

accept Christ as his Lord and Savior and he said yes. In my heart, I was so relieved, but for the

wrong reasons. It wasn’t because I was genuinely happy for the man himself, but I was relieved

that I didn’t have to continue my awkward conversation with him. However, my translator

interrupted, and I am so glad that he did. Samuel asked the man if he realized what this meant

for him and that he would have to change hislife. He would no longer be a man without a

reason to live but he would be a son of God

which means that he would have to live his life

in that manner. It didn’t even occur to me to

mention that to him, but in my haste to finish

the conversation, I failed to really reach out to

him. After the man heard that news, he decided

that he needed to think about it more and

reflect upon his life. With those parting words

we left, and I realized just how misguided my intentions were. I realized that the way I wasacting was for out of my self interest and not for the kingdom of God, which was why I should

be going to missions.

After my conversation with that man, I looked around and saw members of our team

spreading the word to the children who were on average no older than 10 years old. Looking at

this, I thought to myself, “What’s the point in telling them? They’re nothing more than children

and there’s no way that they could truly understand the word of God.” Because of that bel ief, I

refused to talk to the children, because I figured that they wouldn’t comprehend the gravity of

what I was saying.

That night, after all of our VBS and evangelizing, we had a meeting with the youth of ourteam. As we reflected upon what we did that day, I realized just how ignorant I was to God’s

work. It says in Matthew that children are the kingdom of God and that they are the future

children of Christ. When I talked to Pastor Jaemyung about my experience, he told me of the

vision he once had of these children being the future soldiers of Christ who were working for

his glory. When I tried to see his vision, my heart broke because I realized then that I was

lacking Christ in every part of my being. After our meeting adjourned, I felt the need to fix my

inadequacy so I asked PJ for help in my faith. Before then, all of my doubts in Christ prevented

“ He would no longer be a man

without a reason to live but he

would be a son of God which

means that he would have to live

his life in that manner.”



7 | P a g e

me from getting any closer to God than what I thought was a comfortable distance away. My

doubts broke down my faith brick by brick and I no longer found my strength in Christ, but in

myself. Talking to PJ really opened my eyes to how ignorant I was being to the grace of God. I

realized that what I was doing was asking God for all of these things but I refused to look for

answers. I thought God was rejecting me and ignoring me, but it was me rejecting God. I waslooking for God to speak to me through a vision or in spoken word or in some other awesome

way, but I refused to look for answers in his

written word, which was my greatest mistake.

I chose to open my mouth to selfishly ask for

what I wanted, but I closed my eyes and ears

to all of the answers that God was trying to

show me.

That night, I reflected upon the word

and I remembered the verse that I kept closest to my heart when I first knew Christ. That verse

is Habakkuk 3:17-18 and it goes like this, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are nograpes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there

are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in

God my Savior.” I hadn’t really reflected upon this verse since I first accepted Christ as my

Savior, and now was the time I needed it most. My faith was failing and my trust in God was

almost completely gone, but after reading this verse again, I realized that even though I may

not get my answers and that I don’t succeed in the way I want to, even when my life is down in

the dumps, it is my duty, not to give up on God, but to have faith and praise his name because

he never gave up on me. From that day on, the week only got better and better, Although I did

get sick over the course of the next day, every time I was doing God’s work I got reenergized

and all my symptoms drained away as if I was never sick. I began to appreciate everything Godhad done for me as well, starting from the beautiful mountain ranges to the mission team he

had blessed me with. Everyone in the team had a strong relationship with Christ and I was in

awe of how he used each and every one of us to our full ability.

On our prayer walks in the morning, we would sing songs at the top of our lungs and

pray for the land and people we encountered as well as reaching out to complete strangers to

join us for our services and for the fun of VBS. In everything that we did, whether it be singing

songs and dancing with the children or spreading the word of God to the natives, it all

brightened my mood every day to the point

where I couldn’t stop smiling. I knew it then

that this was the reason I was called tomissions. Not to reach out to the children or to

experience the food there, which I did do, but I

know now that I was called to strengthen my

faith in God so that I would be able to spread it

to others. My doubts made my faith even stronger than before because the gap that I crossed

to get back to Christ was so much greater. He completely erased all of my doubts in my work

“ I thought God was rejecting me

and ignoring me, but it was me

rejecting God.”

“ My doubts made my faith even

stronger than before…”



8 | P a g e

there and he opened my eyes to the light that made my job clear as day. It is our job as his

people to never doubt in him because he always has faith in us no matter how far away we

stray. I always knew that God was our Shepard and he always searches for us when we wander,

but it was at Peru where his love for me was revealed and I am forever thankful for the work he

has done in my life. Because of him, my life has meaning again and the fire in my heart hasgrown ever stronger for his love.



9 | P a g e

Chris DohI have been going to church ever since I could remember. I grew up in the

church. I knew the answers by the book and I knew what I had to do to be

called a “Christian.” For 18 years, I went weekly to service listening here

and there to get a simple grasp of what the Bible is. To be honest, I didn’t

really care for it and kind of regarded Sunday to be a day where I HAD to

go to church and I HAD to sit down and listen to some pastor ramble on

about the Bible. It is most likely because I was too comfortable with my

own life. Nothing was earned, only given to me. I never had to beg for

anything because I would live a fortunate enough life to just go out and buy it myself. Now that

I look back, I never understood why I complained so much in High School when everything I had

was in front of me.

Towards my Junior/Senior year in High School, I thought I had everything figured out. I

started to get even more relaxed, and this put my

guard down to things such as drugs and alcohol. I

became addicted. The first thing in the morning

that ran through my mind was that I would have a

fix, then at night before I slept, the same thought

process. I was obsessed with drugs. Furthermore,

towards my Senior year in high school, I picked up drinking as well. What I’ve learned is that

drinking is reserved for those who are mature enough. Let me tell you, I am almost 20 years old

and I know for a fact that my mentality about drinking is still not up to par. Long story short, I

lost my purpose as a Christian, and my heart and mind had become extremely calloused. Ididn’t care about anyone, my emotions were gone, and I was totally indifferent to those around

me seeking only to find something to make only me happy. In the process I hurt people and

there’s not a day that goes by when I feel guilt for causing them pain. I was lost, but I didn’t

understand it.

Then came college. I thought that college was a time to start myself anew. I wanted to

give out a different image of the name “Chris Doh.” I wanted people to see me, not as the drug

and alcoholic but as a “good boy” that went about daily doing work, studying and occasionally

going out to have fun with everyone else. Two weeks into college, I failed, miserably. And I

continued to fail daily throughout the rest of semester. You ever hear the rule about not having

a girlfriend your first year in college? I did, but deep down in my mind I was lonely and ignorant.

This girl was the root of all my problems, I lost my friends in college because of her, I lost my

friends in high school because of her and the worst part was that she didn’t even care. If there

is ONE thing that I know for sure, is to not get in a relationship until at LEAST your junior year in

college. You know why? Because your first and second year there, your still trying to get to

know everyone. It’s impossible to have a relationship with someone you barely know. It just

won’t work, trust me. To be simple, this was the darkest part of my entire life. I was completely

“My heart and mind had become

extremely calloused …”



10 | P a g e

and utterly broken, in the deepest ditch of my life and there was a stretch of a few weeks right

before winter break where I would literally cry alone asking for help to a God that I had

forgotten, to a God that I had ignored my whole life.

Second semester rolled around and I did something I thought would never happen, I

started to go to church and praying voluntarily. Two weeks into second semester, God pushed

me to go on a retreat. I couldn’t have asked God for something better because the whole

theme about the retreat was the Love of Christ and the Gospel. It was the first time in my life I

had broken down in tears begging the Lord to take me back. He did, because his faith never dies

for us. I had never prayed and read the Bible so much in my entire life. My whole life I had

betrayed Jesus Christ, spitting in his face and acting as if I was better. But now I realize, He is

the one and only God that died for us, and for that I am forever grateful. This retreat is where I

found Christ Jesus. He taught me the value of prayer, the Bible, and love.

It took me 19 years of my life to finally understand the Love of Jesus Christ. There is a

difference between knowing it and understanding it. And even now, I may understand it, but Ihave so much more to learn from Him. There is one thing I know for sure, the Jesus Christ loves

us with an undying faith and he has a specific plan for EACH AND EVERY one of us. Second

semester, God showed me his Love, he showed me that no matter how many struggles I have in

life, He is always there to help me prevail. After freshman year, I had this conviction to do more

than just say the words of the Bible. I just didn’t know how. That was until Peru Missions landed

in my lap. This was perfect timing and I couldn’t thank God more for giving me an opportunity

to send me to Peru to preach the Gospel to the people of Huaraz. This was His plan all along; He

wished to show me that with the Love that we have received, we must go out into the world as

disciples and do his work. In other words, we must follow in his footsteps and do as Christ as

done to the best of our ability. That week Peru has really shown me to be more than a Christian,

but a missionary, a worker of Christ.

I had my bags packed, my snacks in my bag and lounged in front of the church waiting to

leave on the coach bus that stood in front of me.

After a few months of missions training, I was

still doubtful of what was to come on this trip. I

had many questions: What is the food like? Are

the people there willing to accept Christ? What

happens if they say “no” to the gospel? How will

this help my relationship with Christ? And most

of all, what is my purpose on this trip? Least tosay, I was very anxious, even doubtful. The

whole plane ride there and the 8 hour bus ride I had my mind set on Christ. I was continuously

meditating and praying that Christ will truly humble me and set a right mindset in me so that I

may go about doing the best work to glorify Him. Let me tell you Missions were nothing like I

had imagined.

“ I was continuously meditating

and praying that Christ will truly

humble me and set a right

mindset in me…”



11 | P a g e

God does unspeakable miracles wherever there are soldiers for Him. As representatives

of the youth group, we were in charge of VBS for the children. In the four days that we had

gone around in Huaraz, we had seen about 200 children. When you see these children, you

realize how fortunate you are and how much Love God has for each and every one of us who

live in the tri-state area. We live in some of the richest parts of the world, and yet we are allblind to those that don’t even have a dollar, or enough to eat. Tuesday through Friday we

travelled to four towns of Huaraz: Collon, Ucush Pampa, Yiwash Vicos, and Pashpa. In these

four days, God had shown me so much love, he kept me safe and healthy teaching me the value

of a missionary and how we need to have a

right mindset about spreading the word of the

Gospel. As a youth group we were so excited

for Peru. To be honest, I was very antsy and

jumping out of my seat. Interestingly, however,

God slowly humbled me. He taught me the

value of being excited for God, but at the same

to be sensitive and mature, quiet and reserved

when need be. A missionary is not one who is

crazed, but grounded and secure in his own

mind, not anxious of what will come next because Jesus has us in His arms secure and sound.

My relationship with Jesus Christ blossomed even more, and now more than ever, I seem to be

getting a true grasp of how a Christian goes about living with Christ. This maturity in Christ,

really put me at peace with myself. No doubts, no pain or suffering, just joy.

On this mission to Peru, I saw true happiness in the eyes and smiles of all the children

and adults I evangelized to. It taught me the value of God’s power and how he uses us to make

others happy. I have forgotten many names but when I saw the smile from an adult or a childand looked into their eyes to see acceptance, I was blown away. I was utterly speechless. These

people accept Christ knowing that they live in poverty and their next meal might never come.

Yet Christ fulfills them with so much Love they can do nothing but smile and agree. In this trip

there was one boy named Freddie. As soon as I looked into his eyes, we connected. He was like

a long lost brother I never had. As I talked to him about the Gospel, his eyes had so much joy! It

actually brought tears to my eyes. Then I looked around, and I saw that everyone else had

smiles as well, including the youth group missions team. It was like spiritually charged electricity

filling my heart. To see a smile on a child’s face is worth more than anything. I would do

anything to see a smile on the face of a lost soul. It breaks my heart to know that I may never

see these children ever again. But Jesus has assured me that all will be well because planting

that one seed in that child will help him/her to grow to be a soldier of Christ, willing to give up

their lives for him. That thought, helped me to sleep at night. I taught these people the Gospel,

but in return these people of Peru taught me a value and power of Christ Love, grace, and

mercy.

God has a plan for each and every one of us. It was his plan to break me down and bring

me up in college. It was his plan to show me His love in a time of difficulty and struggle. It was

“ A missionary is not one who is crazed,

but grounded and secure in his own

mind, not anxious of what will come

next because Jesus has us in His arms

secure and sound.”



12 | P a g e

his plan to send me to Peru missions. And it was his plan to show me that there is much more

to life than just reading the Bible, and praying, but actually participating in the act of

evangelism. We are the clay and he is sculptor, he continues to mold us and change us for the

betterment of our Christian lives. I am convinced, now more than ever, that we need to spread

the gospel. No one ever said it was easy though, I never said it was. We need prayer and weneed faith. In retrospect, I haven’t understood Christ for a long time, but I have learned so

much from Him and I am determined to know

more because of this mission’s trip and what it

has done for me. He is my salvation and he has

done miracles for me. I know everyone

struggles; it’s when we finally learn to no

longer feel any more pain that we turn to Jesus

Christ. He is our one and only savior and he

died for all of us so that we can rejoice in life.

He died, and he still loves us because his faith is unfaltering. Put your trust in God because he

has a plan f or everyone. It’s a matter of time before you accept the truth, because when you do.

Your life as you know it will change forever. I promise you this because it’s happened to me,

over and over again! Amen.

“ I am convinced, now more than

ever, that we need to spread the

gospel.”



13 | P a g e

Michael BaekFirst off, I would like to thank God for giving me an opportunity to be

used as his vessel at Huaraz, Peru. Sharing the Word and serving the people

in Peru truly blessed me, and I’m sure the entire missions team was blessed

as well. I also thank God for letting me grow, love, and work with each and

every person on the team, and I couldn’t have asked for a better one.

Initially, I decided to go to Peru because I felt as if I had a calling to

solely help the people there through our ministries. I thought that as a

Christian with a strong relationship and faith with Christ (or so I thought), I was obligated to

serve the children there, respectively through VBS. All this is true that we as Christians must go

and make disciples of all nations and serve the needy, but what I didn’t realize was how much I

needed to be changed myself. I’m in no way trying to say that this experience was only aboutme, but that God has truly opened my eyes.

What do I mean by opening my eyes? First, God has taught me how blessed I am to be

living in a place like Bergen County. I realized that I have always taken everything for granted

and am so privileged to be living in these kinds of circumstances. Down to the basics, I have

realized how lucky all of us are to have warm food, hot water, warm clothes, etc at the touch of

our hands. I know how clichéd this sounds, but truthfully, everything we take granted for is a

blessing given to us that we should be thankful for. For example, when the whole team would

take a lunch break, kids would be huddling around and staring at our food hoping to get a bite

to satiate their hunger. Cold water was the norm to take showers at our base, but when I

arrived home, I was truly amazed at how I would be able to take a hot shower just by the turnof one knob.

God also opened my eyes to show how

happy I should be with anything I have. On the

second to last day of our missions, in a town

named Ucushpampa, God helped me witness a

truly humbling experience with a little girl

named Y-Soura. As the team and I were

singing songs and dancing with the children

outside, one of the NFC members came up to

me with a girl and her mother, asking me tohelp them. Soon, I found out that Y-Soura

wanted a balloon, a prized possession to all the children in Huaraz. Soomin nuna blew up a

bright yellow balloon and put it into her little hands, and the smile on Y-Soura’s face was

indescribable. Her eyes lit up and I thought her cheeks were gonna rip apart. But what I realized

was that Y-Soura’s eyes kept wandering and not even glancing once on the balloon, and upon

asking the mother, I found out that she was blind. In 2008, Y-Soura had a leaking in her brain

“…Y-Soura’ s eyes kept

wandering and not even

glancing once on the balloon,

and upon asking the mother, I

found out that she was blind.”



14 | P a g e

after hitting her head, and during the operation, she lost her vision in both her eyes. To see that

a girl growing up in these kinds of conditions being so happy and ecstatic by a simple balloon

humble me. God truly floored me and I questioned myself, “Who am I to be complaining about

such little things back in Jersey while this girl finds so much joy in a rubber balloon.” God gave

me more of an amazing opportunity to share the Gospel with Y-Soura and her mother, andspend time with them by making bracelets and other arts n crafts activities. Of course we gave

her a lot more balloons towards the end of the day.

God also helped me realize how broken I was in my relationship with Him. During one of

our morning QT devotions, Pastor Kyungsoon said how to be molded into God’s vessel, each

one of us has to experience the brokenness of our faith to Christ. To be honest, I didn’t

understand what she meant until later that day,

when Pastor Jaemyung was explaining the Four

Spiritual Laws to the kids in Wiyosh Vicus. He was

describing how as sinners, we were always meant

to die, but because God loved us and showed

mercy on us, he sent his son to die on the cross for

us. I know how everybody hears this basic sunday

school lesson many times in the week, but if you

think hard about it, (I know I did), SOMEONE DIED FOR YOU. Someone took their own life just

to save you from God’s justified wrath. I was left speechless and I don’t know why I realized it

to this caliver during missions. I again asked myself, “Who am I to be sinning against this great

God that sent His own Son to die for me? Do I truly realize how much God loves me?” I wasn’t

sure of how that experience tied in with being at missions, but I realized God’s love for us, and

how we as missionaries ought to show this same kind of love to lost people. I realized that I was

so broken by thinking I had a confident relationship with Christ by not truly realizing what Godhad done for all of us.

One thing that I draw from all of this is that God gave us our own circumstances for a

reason. He let us live in warm houses with a good education so that we can benefit from all of

this, and in turn, serve God by sharing His love with everyone else. While I was in Peru for two

more days because of losing my passport, I was given the opportunity to talk with Missionary

Kevin while we stayed in a hotel room for those nights. He said that a mind of any Christian

should be to read the Word of God and act. Read with faith, and act with good deeds. In time,

after repeating this, we will find out what God has planned for each one of us. Many of us fail to

recognize why we study or go to school. We aimlessly study to get “good grades” but if we tookthe time to develop our relationship with God through his word, we would know God’s will for

us. Although I don’t know entirely what God has planned for me, all I do know is that living in

this kind of environment, I have to take full advantage of it and in the end, serve God and his

people like in Peru in any way possible.

In sum, Peru Missions was a very humbling and blessed experience for not only me, but

to the rest of the team members as well. From the bonds we’ve formed, to the love we shared

“ but if you think hard about it, (I

know I did), SOMEONE DIED FOR

YOU.”



15 | P a g e

with the Peruvians, every second while being out in ministry was eye opening. I wish to come

back next year if God lets me and calls me there.



16 | P a g e

Eunice KimTo be honest, I’m not a very faithful Christian. In fact, I’m sometimes

ashamed to declare myself as a Christian because I’m scared I’ll leave a bad

impression to non-Christians. It’s funny how God used a person like me, who

is useless in many ways and just filthy in God’s eyes.

In Huaraz, I helped out in VBS, went to prayer walks, evangelized, and

helped out in other fields. In America, I would normally be just going to

church, hardly praying, and living the sinful life. Although the environment in

Peru was not as abundant as America, I felt stress- free and joyful. I have never experienced this

kind of joy and happiness, and Peru Missions 2011 is about the best part of my life.

I wasn’t always so excited to go to Peru.

Being a weak Christian, I fell into many spiritual

attacks. The week before missions, I felt sensitive,

easily angered, and nervous. I felt like I was not

needed to go and felt like Pastor Caleb secretly

didn’t want me to go. The insecurity never left me

alone. Sometimes, during missions, I felt spiritually

shaken. The smallest things would bother me, and

things that I wouldn’t have thought about twice at

home began irritating me. I began to be scared of myself; why was I acting like this? Why can’t I

focus on spreading the love of God? Satan really tried to mess me up in many ways. I was being

a bother to my teammates, being overly sensitive, and just being a burden. It wasn’t until thesecond to last day when things got cleared up.

Besides my spiritual attacks, a lot of events still happened. When our team went up to

the mountains to get to each campsites, the people who lived there were so peaceful.

Compared to us, they had nothing. They had no internet, no A/C or heat, clothes, or food. The

children in Huaraz became happy over things that nobody would care about in America;

coloring books, bead bracelets, crayons, and stickers were luxury to them. Then I thought to

myself: If I were to live here instead of Ridgewood, how would I feel? Would I still be a faithful

Christian? The people in Huaraz are incredible; they’re so humble and sweet.

Helping out in VBS was a wonderful experience. At the first site, the kids were really shyand aware. They refused to sing and do the motions, and some even left VBS when the pastor

started praying! I don’t blame them, but I couldn’t help feel but feel depressed. I felt a bit

frustrated also. I wished these kids would experience God’s love and realize He loves them very

much, like how Jesus loved kids. In other sites such as Acushpampa, kids were a lot more open

to our team. They sang along, danced to the motions, and did all our activities. But the kids

from the first time kept bothering me… Did they understand at least some of God’s love?

“ They had no internet, no A/C

or heat, clothes or food. The

children in Huaraz became

happy over things that nobody

would care about in



17 | P a g e

Peru was a wonderful experience to me. Although many spiritual attacks came upon me,

I feel like this made me realize how happy and lucky I am and grow spiritually. I would love to

go again next year and help spread God’s love!



18 | P a g e

Esther ChoiOne week of Worshiping, Praising, and Evangelizing: What a

wonderful place to be! It was a blessing and honor for me to be a part of God’s work. I am

really thankful that God sent me and that I was able to be used by God. At first, going to Peru wasn’t easy. I wasn’t sure if I was ready. I

struggled many times doubting myself. I felt I wasn’t spiritually ready. There

were many times where I thought about quitting, but somehow I was able to

go on with it and I was able to realize that I wasn’t the only one. Many people around me

struggled with the same reason. Unfortunately, when I arrived in Peru, I

made some mistakes. I wasn’t able to control my

emotions and somehow I felt anger and frustration

to one of my friend and I felt like I poured out my

anger to her. It was the weirdest feeling ever. I

didn’t know if it was a spiritual attack, but we got

into a misunderstanding. During that time I felt like it was a mistake to go to Peru. I felt so

empty and I didn’t know how God was going to use me when I felt so unholy. Thankfully, the

older sisters in the team were able to help us out. We were able to solve the misunderstanding. Everything seemed to be better the next day. However there were some distractions in

the way that prevented me from being used by God. These distractions were my thoughts. At

some point I had thoughts that got out of control. These thoughts were ruling over me and it

constantly annoyed me. I wasn’t able to focus, but through prayer God was able to help me. The most fear I had about missions was evangelizing. I don’t think I ever felt this scared

about evangelizing. I didn’t want to make any mistake. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to

fulfill God’s will. I knew that mission was a serious thing and God sent me to do his work, but I

felt like I wasn’t ready to evangelize. I felt ashamed because everyone seemed ready and I

wasn’t. I didn’t know what God’s plan for me was. However, God gave me courage and I was

able to spread the word of God with his help. It gets better… The most amazing thing that happened in missions was the last day. It was on an

afternoon when suddenly schedules kept changing. Youth group was assigned to go evangelize

with the NFC. I was so scared that I started to cry. I felt like I was going to make a lot of

mistakes. Through my doubts and fear, I still went. I kept praying to God, but I felt like it was no

use. Every time we found a person to evangelize my heart was not ready. Until, I met this man.

“ I don’ t think I ever felt this scared

about evangelizing.”



19 | P a g e

This man was catholic. This was the second person our group was evangelizing to, and I

didn’t want to do anything with this man. I wanted one of the NFC members to talk to him.

However, they told me to do it. They said it would be ok. So I trusted in God and I started to

read the four spiritual laws. When I read to the man., he seemed to understand everything. As I

kept reading I noticed that my fears were gone. My thoughts and my doubts disappeared. I feltthe Holy Spirit working with me. As I finished reading and asked if he wanted to accept Jesus as

his savior, the man said “yes” and I gave him

the paper so that he can pray.

It was amazing. My thoughts were all

gone. I suddenly started to cry and feel so

happy. As we finished praying I just wanted to

hug that man. He just seemed so loving and he

reminded me of my father. I was so thankful

that God was able to use me at the last minute. He was able to show his power. Through that I

was able to see that God is really watching over us and he has total power and control over allthings. Although this may seem like nothing, it really meant something to me.

I am so glad and really thankful that I went. I was able to confirm God’s love for me. I

was filled with God’s mercy and grace. I learned that through grace I was sent to missions. If I

could go again next year, I would really like to go again and glorify God.

“…I noticed that my fears were

gone. My thoughts and my

doubts disappeared.”



20 | P a g e

Hannah LeeWhen I first entered the missions field, I was very skeptical of our

relationships with God. I had grown up in a Christian family and had been a

well-behaved Christian girl, but I hadn’t really personally experienced God

and so I would always have spiritual doubts. I can shamefully admit that

sometimes, I would even question the very existence of God. But out of

nowhere, one day, Esther came skipping over to me, exclaiming that she

was going to go to Peru missions, and that I should come with her. Just like

that, I was in for something so unexpected, yet so life-changing. However,

even when I went to mission trainings, I would sometimes question why I had even gotten my

life and myself entangled in this commitment. At the time, I had thought that I didn’t really

have a calling to do this kind of work, and truthfully, I felt a worthless. Even through this, God

helped me persevere, and do work for His glory.

In order to explain my experience in Peru, I have to give a background of the kind of life

that I led before I experienced missions I was before missions. To begin, my self-conscientious

attitude towards my surroundings ran my life. I was so people conscientious to a point where

all my actions reflected on what people thought of me and what they might think of me.

However, after missions, I realized that every

single one of us experiences God’s love in our

lives, which is one greatest gifts on the planet.

I’m trying to change now, because I know that

God has a calling for all of us, and that we all

carry his love inside of us. During QT onemorning, Jeremiah Chapter 1 came up into my

mind. After reading, suddenly, everything I had worried about was answered. This is how the

chapter went:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I

appointed you as a prophet to the nations. ‘Ah, Sovereign Lord,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to

speak; I am only a child.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘do not say I am only a child. You must go to

everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am

with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.”

After reading this, my fears literally dissolved.

I again experienced the ever present God and the work that he does in our hearts when

we prayer walking on the second day of evangelizing. In the midst of the shouts of praise from

fellow team members, I turned around to look if anyone was following us. Instead, I found

Kevin and Chris holding what looked like a bucket of potatoes, and an old Quechuan woman

slowly pacing herself towards us. Just that alone made my heart skip. It was then that I also

realized that we were here to spread not only the gospel, but also the love and the joy of

“ Do not be afraid of them, for I

am with you and will rescue

you…”



21 | P a g e

having God in our hearts. As they slowly made their way to us, I couldn’t help but smile. They

helped carried the old woman’s potatoes up a steep cliff, and then joined the group. I thought

that would be the end of it, that we had shown the woman God’s love and there was nothing

else that we could do, but I was wrong. At that time, God convicted her heart and as we sang

“Dios Nos Envio” at the bottom of the hill, she slowly made her way down to the mountain to join us. Although I sadly cannot remember her name, we were all overjoyed when she grabbed

Pastor Kyungsoon’s hand and started to join us in singing and motions. Pastor Kyungsoon then

decided to share the four spiritual laws with her.

Before meeting this woman, I was very skeptical of the four spiritual laws, thinking that

a few pages of words couldn’t really transform anyone. It didn’t seem possible that just four

points could explain what took me over 10 years to even try and grasp the idea of. But as

Pastor Kyungsoon kept talking I saw the old woman’s face conform. It was as if I was seeing

God work in someone right in front of me. The woman started to cry, and it was just an utterly

beautiful moment. After seeing this, I realized that God prepared the hearts of some so that

when we missionaries come to spread the gospel, we see the immediate acceptance andembrace of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Everybody was so emotional, and I think

everyone at the moment was touched by the Holy Spirit.

However, I experienced low point in our experiences evangelizing others. I went up to a

Quechuan woman with a translator on the third day, and I tried speaking my heart out.

Although I was nervous, I felt as if I had done my job well. I asked the question, “Would you like

to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?” Like others, I expected a yes, for I was

counting on God and I thought he would be present with me as I spread His word. However,

she backed away from the translator and I, and

firmly stated a resounding, “No.” For some

reason, I felt crushed. I started having feelings

that the woman didn’t know any better, that

she didn’t really know what it felt like to have

Jesus Christ in heart. When I approached Pastor

Kyungsoon with my dilemma, at first, she

started to laugh. She didn’t think that a no

would hurt someone’s feeling as it did mine. However, as she realized that I was honestly

depressed, she said to me that I was feeling the hurt that God faced every single time one of His

sons/daughters said no to His love. At that moment, it really hit me. That day, I experienced a

fraction of God’s breaking heart when His children reject His love.

Peru was honestly a life changing experience for me. Although I keep repeating that

one phrase, it was just unbelievably crazy. I really feel as if it helped me grow closer with God

in heart and in spirit. And even through all the spiritual attacks that this team faced, I know

that God was with us as he gave us the strength and courage to carry on, and that he will

always be supplying us with the strength that we need to live in His name. The experiences that

I was so fortunately able to experience in Peru will always remain in my heart and my mind, but

“ I was feeling the hurt that God

faced every single time one of His

sons/daughters said no to His

love…”



22 | P a g e

I also hope that our team’s experience will stay in others’ hearts too, as this is not an

independent experience that we endured alone, but something that we must all share.



23 | P a g e

Daniel ChungThis year’s mission trip to Peru was a powerful experience for me,

and I hope that it was the same for everyone else. I was moved by the

dedication of everyone who went, and had a good time as well. It’s always

been my belief that evangelism should be enjoyed, not labored, and I’m glad

to say that this year’s trip was the most enjoyable and fulfilling mission I’ve

been on yet.

It’s been almost two weeks since we arrived at the Peruvian airport. Yet I still

remember the day clearly. I remember the grueling 8 hour bus ride with a bus driver that either

didn’t know how to slow down on sharp turns or simply chose not to. I remember being

somewhat sick of the chicken we ate for dinner after having delicious chicken at least one meal

a day for the past week. I also remember we had to leave Michael behind because he’d lost hispassport. That part was funny.

Most importantly, I remembered our emotions and our attitudes. We were all happy,

but there was regret mixed in with the emotional and spiritual high; we were sad to say

goodbye to Peru after only a few short days.

It’s always been hard for me to deal with change, and it just so happens that I’m always

beginning to get used to the routine at Peru on the very last day of service. So when the time

came for us to board our flight and depart, I wasn’t a happy camper. Then I thought about the

rest of the team and how they might’ve felt about everything. I wondered how this trip would

affect them, how they would interpret this experience. After some unnecessarily careful

meditation, I found myself getting angry. In

hindsight, this doesn’t surprise me, as I

experienced some form of irritation at the end

of every mission trip I’ve gone on. I was

displeased with this and I had to talk with

Pastor Jaemyung to finally calm down. For

those of you who don’t know me, anger is my

greatest problem. I don’t get angry often, but

when I do, it’s very hard for me to cool off. In

my eyes, it’s something of a vice.

I remember my first mission trip didn’t start off very well. My father and I had had an

argument the night before, and I was still a bit irritated in the morning. After the mission

actually began, I somehow managed to erase from my mind all traces of anger, and I found that

I was happy. Then, as the trip came to an end, I found myself becoming irritable again, just like

the day before I’d left for the missions trip. At the time, I dismissed it, thinking that it was

“ It ’ s always been hard for me to

deal with change, and it just so

happens that I ’ m always

beginning to get used to the

routine at Peru on the very last

day of service…”



24 | P a g e

something that everyone went through. When my second missions trip two years later followed

a similar pattern, I decided that I was under spiritual attack by Satan, that he was trying to

unnerve me and throw me off of the right path the moment I stepped out of the mission field.

That was last year. Now I feel enlightened, and much more open-minded to the truth. During

the trip, PJ told us that even if our time in Peru came to an end, our mission was not over. That just because we were packing up and going home after a few days, didn’t mean we were no

longer missionaries. He said that our attitudes in Peru and at home should be the same. That

our mentality should remain the same no matter

where we are or what we’re doing. While at the

time I didn’t really consider it a huge deal at the

time, when missions was over, I found those words

nagging at me. After I cooled off, I thought about

my irritation and I realized then and there that I

was not going to missions for the right reason.

As I mentioned before, anger is my greatest problem, and is what I am used to

experiencing while I am at home. I used missions for the past few years to get away from my

own habits, to feel good about myself and my Christian life. ‘I’m doing something worthwhile

with my time,’ and ‘I am doing something good and I feel good about myself.’ I was using

missions when missions should have been using me. It became my drug, my source of

temporary satisfaction. And as I think of it like that, everything clicks into place. Missions was

like a short-term therapy session, and I, once it came to an end, fell into relapse. My old habits

and mentality returned to me as we left Peru. And I came to understand the reality of missions;

once you leave the site of your missions trip, old habits begin to creep back into your life, and

despite our best efforts, we are knocked back to square one. Not because we’re inherently evil,

nor because no one takes missions seriously, it’s just because we’re human. It’s in our nature toreturn to what is most comfortable for us, to take the path of least resistance.

As Pastor Han said to our group before the missions trip began, missions is not like a

retreat. It is not meant to be a spiritual high for a few days, but to leave a lasting impression in

us for the rest of our lives. To go expecting nothing but personal gain is worthless. We should

be ready to give all that we can give to people who we otherwise may have never met, so that

when the day of reckoning comes, we can meet them again in heaven and worship the Lord

together.

I learned that my way of looking at missions was completely off-target. I wanted to usemissions for my own gain and satisfaction, rather than for the privilege of spreading God’s word.

I wanted to find an escape from my own mistakes instead of trying to fix them by lifting up

others through prayer and worship. I was being selfish instead of being selfless, as God would

want all of us to be.

For those of you who have gone to mission before and plan on going again, or those of

you who may be thinking of going for your first time, I encourage you to go through with it, but

“ Missions was like a short-term

therapy session, and I, once it

came to an end, fell into

relapse…”



25 | P a g e

I also caution you to reevaluate your reasons for going. If your intentions are to take something

from missions and not to give every last ounce of yourself to the Peruvians, it may be more

detrimental for you than helpful. Missions is a calling and a privilege, not something to be taken

on a whim nor a job or chore.



26 | P a g e

Jonathan Yi

Hello, I’m Jonathan Yi, and this is my testimony about the Peru

Mission Trip 2011. This year was my second time going to Peru for Missions

and this year’s experience was completely different from last year’s.

To be honest, the first day we visited the village of Collon, I felt that I

did a horrible job. For example, when we went out to evangelize, the

natives would just discourage me by saying that they could not understand

Spanish or by not paying too much attention while I shared the Four

Spiritual Laws. More importantly, I let myself get too distracted by my other teammates. I

constantly felt that we needed to be doing something, so I became disappointed when I saw

some of the other members being a slight distraction while a pastor was preaching to the little

kids. But later that night, Pastor Jaemyung made us meet up and share our experience during

the first day, and to my surprise, it seemed that everyone was spiritually touched. When people

were talking about how an experience while talking or teaching a native, I realized that they

may seem to fool around, yet God was still working through them. And there I was, worrying

that we would get too distracted to do anything.

The second day, we went to a place called Yiwash Vicos. I still remember making an

assembly line to transfer the medical equipment to the top of the hill and then seeing everyone,

myself included, struggle to climb back down. That morning during the prayer walk, Kevin and

Chris helped out a native, Rosa, carry her bucket of potatoes back to her house. We continued

to sing while we prayer-walked. Surprisingly, after we brought the potatoes to her home, Rosacame back down and wanted us to pray for her ears. I don’t know what compelled her to come

down, but it was a blessing being able to pray for her.

Shortly after lunch, there was time to go

around evangelizing the people waiting on line for

medical attention. All the translators were with other

teammates, talking with other people. But, I felt that

my Spanish was sufficient enough, so I approached a

little boy and his younger brother. I did not start

evangelizing him right away, but I made a

conversation with him and his younger brother.Although, to be honest, his younger brother seemed preoccupied and disinterested. So the boy

was twelve and his younger brother was four; they came to get toothpaste and medicine. While

I was talking, I slowly transitioned into the Four Spiritual Laws. To my astonishment, the boy

seemed fully interested in what I was saying- he even seemed teary eyed or sad about

something. He accepted Christ, though I feel that his brother was too young to understand and

“ To my astonishment, the boy

seemed fully interested in what I

was saying-he even seemed

teary eyed …”



27 | P a g e

pay attention to what I was saying. I prayed for him and told him where the nearest church was,

but I still regret not asking for his name.

The third day, we went to Ucushpampa. That day while we were prayer walking, we

intrigued Elsa. We all sang a song for her and later when we came down the mountain, she gave

us popcorn-like food and some potatoes. Pastor Kyungsoon remarked that sometimes, the

sound of the songs and praise alone touches people. I always knew that the seemingly foreign

songs were forms of praise, but I never knew that they could be so powerful and influential.

After lunch, again, we were given time to go around evangelizing people waiting for the

services. Once again, the translators were with other people, but I still approached this woman.

While I began to share the Four Spiritual Laws with her, her husband came out of the optical

services. He was willing to listen too, so I shared the Four Spiritual Laws with both of them.

Surprisingly, they seemed older of age so I thought they would speak mainly Quechua with little

knowledge of Spanish, but this couple knew everything I was saying. They seemed to know

some things about Christianity, like how Jesus came down to save us, but I don’t think theywere fully devoted at the time. So when I asked them if they wanted to accept Christ, they

willingly complied and prayed with me.

On the last day of going to a town for

mission work, the youth group was given a

chance to go around door to door

evangelizing. I talked to many people like

Jorge and San Mariel and even to a family of

seven/eight people. Those experiences of

introducing to them God were very touching.

I don‘t know how to truly describe it in words,but it felt satisfying in an unselfish way. But I remember that there was one man, who would

refuse to listen to us because he was a Catholic leader; he did not want to accept that Jesus was

all that he needed. Additionally, there was one man that did not even want to take a Four

Spiritual Law packet. It was discouraging, but my group was able to go to other people.

The last night, we spent around an hour or so praying together. To be honest, it was the

first time in a very long time that I genuinely felt humbled while praying.

I certainly hope that this trip is not just a spiritual “high” in my life and that I just

continue to grow.

That’s my testimony.

“ I don’ t know how to truly

describe it in words, but it felt

satisfying in an unselfish way.”



28 | P a g e

Myohan OhThis missions trip to Peru was beyond unbelievable both spiritually

and somewhat physically. Peru was my first missions trip and like most

people, I didn’t know what to expect at all. My first impression of Huaraz

was that it was impoverished and we are far more privileged; on the bus

ride from the airport in Lima to Peru, I could see countless houses

surrounded by garbage and stray dogs and rather poor people all

crammed into a busy country/rural setting. It was only through God’s eyes

that I saw that we weren’t there to give sympathy or mere communal help,

but more than that: we were there to give our hearts, our time, and our energy to give the

people there LIFE and to serve Him in doing so.

The first day, we arrived in Huaraz and we met the blessed people of the Peruvianchurch {people like Pastor Mario, Jesus (the clown for our VBS), Saul (awesome guitarist and

helpful translator), and Daniela and Pierro and Samuel (extremely helpful translators as well)}. I

felt that these people we worked alongside with were anointed brothers and sisters and they

did nothing but help us reach out to the community.

On the first full day in Peru, we went to a

region called Collon and started off with a prayer walk

where the youth group would go around the region

telling locals about our dental, medical, and children’s

service (VBS) that we were hosting. Our first

encounter that day during the prayer walk was with afairly old woman and two girls who all spoke only Quechua. Jonathan, Saul, and I went over to

talk to them and although there was a huge language barrier, we managed to convince the girls

to come to VBS. In our broken communication, I still felt blessed when I witnessed the

acceptance of Christ.

Chris Doh and I approached a boy named Mario, about 12 or 13 years old, who was

waiting on line to get a haircut by our haircut ministry. Like most of the boys at Peru, he was

somewhat shy but surprisingly attentive when we were explaining the four spiritual laws to him;

later when I asked him if he wanted to accept Jesus as his personal Savior, he said yes and to

make sure that his answer was sincere, I asked Mario again. When I heard his affirmation, I

couldn’t help but hug and congratulate him. Something in my heart clicked and tears came outwhen he accepted the gospel.

Sunday after Sunday, I would hear from pastors and teachers that Jesus said, “go and

make disciples of all and every nation”. The moment when Mario sincerely wanted to live a

better life than the life of sin that he was living, I knew that God had used me to save a life. As

days went on, I continued to see others being blessed through the grace of God and the gospel.

I became touched when the Peruvian boys would become happy over the smallest things like

“…I saw that we weren’ t there to

give sympathy or mere

communal help…”



Hansol ChoiHansol’s wrote a beautiful testimony. However, some of her contents being very

personal to her, we decided to omit it from this booklet and keep it just between

her and God. God was truly pleased with her through all her obediences and

sacrifices, and her words thanksgiving, I’m sure, brought glory to God above.

We love you, Hansol. =D

-PJ

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