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Date Posted: 16:58:52 08/20/04 Fri
Author: Truth seeker
Subject: Re: could you get a copy and post it here?
In reply to: Nick T. 's message, "could you get a copy and post it here?" on 11:40:15 08/20/04 Fri

>BJ, bring it on. Please post it here.
This could be that testimony by Joseph ahn he is referring to:.
=============================================
The Ambassador of the kingdom of God
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

I. A disciple of Niche's nihilism

My name is Joseph Ahn. I was born in 1946.1 was third among 8 siblings. My father was non-Christian. He came home drunk often. On those day dishes, bowls and spoons flew like UFOs. But God changed my father to believe in Jesus through my mother's long prayer. My house changed from hell to paradise. But God sent storm training upon our sweet home. My father lost his job by military revolution in 1961. God took away my mother when she was 45 years old. For me God was not a loving God. I fell into nihilism. "Vanity of vanity, all is vanity." "From where man comes and to where he goes?" "Why does spring come back but my mother cannot?" "Why should I live in this meaningless world?" No one answered any of my questions. 1 decided to study hard to enter the best school in Seoul to get all answers. But my freshman at the Law School of SNU, the Korean Harvard, did not satisfy my soul. I ended up 1965, my freshman year with many drinking parties, demonstrations and fasting against government. My soul was weary and tired and began to turn to God, the eternal Father.

II. An Ambassador of God in Jesus.

In March 1966 I invited myself to Mother Barry's English Bible Study. Dr. Lee taught us Genesis. I accepted God the Creator as my true Father after my father's death in my sophomore year. I was skinny but God said, "It was very good." God answered all my questions through the Bible study. He told me that "I came from God, and I will go back to God." "Jesus is the only way to God." "God sent me to this world to live for his glory and to serve God's redemptive history." But while I was studying the holy Bible, my real life was just the opposite. I thought I was a humble, kind, gentle, noble, good and recommendable young man. But God did ^iet see my outward appearance. He saw my inside. Inwardly I was more adulterous than the woman caught in adultery, more hypocritical than the Pharisees, more double minded than Pilate and self-glory-seeking than King Saul. I was another Gerasene demoniac with legions of demons in me. I found I was a wretched sinner doomed to go to hell. However, praise God! God solved this terrible sin problem. In John 3:16 I read that God loved me so much that he sent his one and only Son to die for me, so that I may have eternal life in the kingdom of God. Even my lovely mother could not die for me. But Jesus died for a terrible sinner like me! Paul also says, "While you were still sinners, Christ Jesus died for you." I received an answer about my mother too. "Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." I also accepted God's prayer topic, "World mission, Bible Korea, Extend your tent!" This changed my desire to become a judge to a diplomat who could be a missionary. Then God sent me to Spain and Guatemala as his Ambassador of the kingdom of God. In 1973 I married M. Maria Ahn. I was a penniless poor young orphan. She was as rich as a princess in a palace. She looked as pure as a lily in the valley. Her father was a Chief-judge and a millionaire. Dr. Lee worked hard to convince her parents to allow our marriage. Only by God's grace I married. To my surprise my rich father-in-law bought a house for us. But Dr. Lee advised me not to accept this favor. I did not want to make my father-in-law get mad with me. But I obeyed him and rejected his favor. It was God's training to see whether I trust in God or in material. When I obeyed God's servant, God blessed our material life abundantly since then. In 1975 I was sent to Spain alone. I didn't do anything except studying the Spanish language. I also attended 1976 Wuppertal Winter Conference in Germany where M. Sarah Lee was one of the leaders with only around 50 women. I was the only man except shepherd Abraham Keller. In 1976, God sent me to Guatemala from Spain. I expected M. Maria to come with me. But to my surprise, she said "No! God wants me to cowork Dr. John Jun who just took over Dr. Lee when he went to Chicago!" I accepted this as God's will. I thought God would send her soon. But it took nine years until I could confess like Job: "God gave her and he

took her back. Praise God who is the Sovereign ruler!" Cooking and washing dishes were not so difficult. It was loneliness. Every night I looked up the moon. It looked like M. Maria. I would play guitar to comfort myself. I also was misunderstood as a North Korean diplomat. Because they were not allowed to accompany their wives. But the work of God began to grow. Sylvia grew up to be a shepherdess in three years of intensive one to one Bible study. She came to Korea and married a Korean missionary. She brought many friends and relatives. When I was leaving Guatemala the ministry was around 15-20 members.

In 1979 I came back to Korea from Guatemala. Dr. Lee told me, "Submit a resignation letter to the Foreign Ministry and pioneer ChongRo 3rd chapter." It was like a thunderstorm. I wondered why does God always give me training instead of some reward. But by God's help I submitted my resignation letter. Three days later Dr. Lee told me to go back to the Foreign Ministry to return my resignation. This was more severe training than others were. So I said, "No, Lord! I can do everything except this." But by God's help I went and canceled my resignation. The result of God's training was always good. Through this God trained me to love God more than my diplomatic job. To pioneer ChongRo 3rd Chapter, I sat down to write Sunday messages on Saturday after six days hard working. But my heart did not move at all. I could not write even one line by mid night on Saturday. After all night struggle I barely could finish my messages just before the worship service. At first there was no one except a grandmother Bokshil Choi with baby Maria on her back on Sunday worship service. But God gave me a great vision to see his glory through this mustard seed chapter. Two years later when I was leaving for Mexico, God raised M. Paul Dang, Cephas, Paul Chung, Richard Choi and 20 leaders.

On 1982 I was sent to Mexico. This time I thought God would send M. Maria with me. But God took M. Maria to succeed ChongRo 3rd chapter. God's plan was far different from my plan. Trusting that his plan would be far better than mine, I went to Mexico full of spirit. I wrote many Spanish message in Kopenish. After three years' of shepherd life the time came for me to leave Mexico. Yet there was no sign of God's work. But God told me to go out and count the stars. So I went out and looked up the sky. But there was no star to count. No star was shining in the sky of Mexico City because of air pollution! When I was crying in deep despair, the word of God came to me again. "So shall your offspring be!" What? No descendant at all? No! That night God opened my spiritual eyes and showed me the countless stars far beyond the cloudy sky. 20 years had past. During last Easter God sent me to Mexico again. In front of me there were countless stars shining like Diamonds.

In 1990 after working in the United Nations God allowed me to resign from the foreign ministry while working in the Korean Embassy in Spain. The day I was submitting my resignation, the Ambassador delivered to me the congratulation telegram for my promotion from Head Quarter. In America I expected great work of God through me. But instead of great success severe training was only waiting for me. I had to shed many tears saying, "Did I come to cry?" 12 years had passed. God took the great servant Dr. Lee too. But God's discipline upon this sinner remains like shining diamond in my heart. God changed me so much during last 12 years. I have in my heart Dr. Lee's legacy: Go back to the Bible, world campus mission, 5 loaves and 2 fish, giving spirit, Soldier spirit, manger spirit, Martyrdom spirit, tentmaker shepherd, one to one Bible study, discipleship ministry, God centered life, America be the Kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God will surely do great work here again through Ilya, Darren and several sprouting seeds. Finally I must thank God for being the true Father for his second-generation missionaries. I have been away from my family more than 9 years while Joseph and Maria were growing by themselves. They needed father more than anyone else since they had to move many times without me from country to country and from city to city. I sometimes worried whether they would cross the streets well. Whether they would be ok at school. But God raised them so well to pioneer 2 medical schools; one in UC, NW and another in UIC medical school. Praise God our Father!

One word: You will be my witnesses to the end of the earth
=======================================================

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