Deacon Youngshik Hong (Doctorate of science, Men's mission leader of Daejeon Manmin Church)

In the June of 1997, I was very busy in completing my Ph. D. paper working ay my college until late night. My wife was pregnant and burdened with her job, so she gave birth to a boy in just 7 months. The child had to live in an incubator 50 days.

The baby showed the symptom of retarded brain

When my wife left her newborn baby at the hospital, she felt discouraged. At that time her sister gave her a book "Tasting Eternal Life before Death." My wife was very touched after reading it, and attended the Friday All-night Service of Manmin Joong-ang Church with the desire of seeing Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee, the author of the book.
In the October of that same year, I flew to France for continual study with my wife and son. My son was so retarded in his growth in 7 months after birth, so I took him to the hospital. The doctor said he had been seriously damaged in his brain when he was born.



Experiencing the healing of God at the revival meeting

In the April of 1998, my wife was excited at the news of the 6th Two-week Special Revival Meeting and became certain that the child would be healed if we received the prayer with faith. So she came back home with the son and I also flew back in the next month.
My son cried all the time because of the underdevelopment of his brain before we took him to the revival meeting, but when we received the prayer from Rev. Dr. Lee, my son stopped crying and the apples of his eyes were recovered to normal. Our faith grew up very quickly and my son gradually recovered good health. We flew again to France and finished my study that year. Then, we returned to Korea and registered at Manmin Joong-ang Church.

My wife became pregnant a second time

In the January of 1999, God let my wife have the second baby and then my first son became enervated and God took him to the kingdom of heaven. At first my wife and I were very sorrowful but we realized it was the delicate love of God and He had given us the best thing. We were really thankful to God from our deep heart. My parents told me that my wife and I had made all our efforts to let the son healed and prayed so eagerly at the revival meeting. And they began to attend the church.
God gave us true faith through our first son who was born weak. And He healed him and let us have a happy time. Then He took him to heaven so that none of us would suffer pains anymore and gave us a new baby. How grateful to God we were!

We prayed with faith and goodness for those who spread rumors about our dead son

In the April of 1999, a woman called to my wife and asked her to give some advice about her nephew who was stricken with cerebral palsy. My wife allowed her to visit my house.
The woman had no interest in my wife's testimony and asked in a doubting manner if our son had been really healed. And she said that my wife could no longer see her son who had been dead and asked my wife what she had felt at his death. My wife felt sorrowful for a moment but tried to testify to the living God and His blessing.

Many broadcasters and pressmen gathered to film the 7th Two-week Revival Meeting just after a broadcasting station wrongfully broadcast about Manmin Joong-ang Church

The woman, however, got up in a hurry and my wife said she wanted to help the boy who had been with the cerebral palsy, asked the woman to let her know the boy's home phone number. She hesitated and gave my wife a mobile number. Two days later I called to that number, but it was a wrong number. At that moment I had no idea that she had approached me with wicked purpose and with a hidden camera.
In the May of 1999, I heard that a broadcasting station would broadcast my family story and watched it on TV. I was so surprised at its falsehood. The program said that they had visited my home in the November of 1998 and founded something wrong. They deleted the story of God's blessing and edited it wrongfully.
My wife and I were shocked because her face was seen on TV without any notification and she was interviewed and filmed by a woman who concealed her identification and her hidden camera in an unlawful and one-sided way.
But we tried to forgive them who disgraced us that way and to be thankful in everything as Rev. Dr. Lee had taught us. We were sorry for the fact that an official broadcasting station had treated a happy and religious couple as a miserable one on TV, and prayed that nobody would suffer pains because of that kind of mistreatment.
God was pleased with our faith and my wife gave birth to the second son under God's protection from premature childbirth and in His blessing.

Double blessings of childbirth and amazing employment

In 1998 God blessed me to work as a researcher at the Korea University and in 2001 I was recruited with the best contract condition by Daeduk Research Complex.
While living in Daejoen, I attended Daejoen Manmin Church and served the church as a cell leader. I tried to pray much more time and be faithful in all God's house. In 2005 God gave me a blessing to become chairman of men's mission.
My parents' dream was for me to become a professor at a college, so I concentrated on the study on inorganic chemistry. I often felt I should have more time to study but sough for the kingdom of God because I have deep desire for saving souls.
When I first chose to serve the Lord and take care of beginners in faith and then did my best to focus on my study.

The blessing of new employment

In the June of 2005, I found an announcement of the recruiting of a new professor by a university located in Seoul. Generally new professors on inorganic chemistry are recruited every two or three years and its competition is very serious. When that university recruited 5 in the early August, 14 applied and I was selected. And I passed the second examination where just three of the five applicants would be selected. At that time I believed God can give us anything we ask for if He permits.
At the final interview test, I was asked of education philosophy. I answered we can bear good fruits when we endure everything in the right way, and I would teach students truth. In the late August I received the notification of employment. My dream came true!
I give all thanks and glory to God who has blessed all my family to live a right Christian life and to prepare for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.