~ Deacon Pyong-suh Koo (Tax accountant; 7-32 Parish, 3-1 Men's Mission)

Born in a small village on the outskirts of Incheon, I had been an officer at the National Tax Service for 27 years.

Befriending the world; Emptiness in my life in Christ

Even though I'd been a Christian for dozens of years, I only attended the Sunday morning services and spent greater chunks of Sundays and weekends playing table tennis, pool, Korean checkers, and card games. As I lived without true faith, my heart was without true peace and my life in Christ was marked with emptiness and misery.
Then in April 2002, my wife Deaconess Hyun-sook Lee witnessed how her cousin Elder Hong-gi Park had received God's healing, and was led to Manmin Joong-ang Church by her sister Deaconess Jung-sook Lee. Elder Park had been suffering from a new type of illness called "public hazard disease" for seven years ,but was healed after receiving Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's prayer.
My wife had received much grace from Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's messages of life and his manifestations of God's power and made every effort to lead me to Manmin. She also said she believed I would pass the upcoming tax accountant exam if she brought a picture of mine and received the Senior Pastor's prayer.

Passing tax accountant exam with Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's prayer

I had been heavyhearted discouraged after failing the tax account exam seven years in a row but thought, 'Maybe…just maybe…' and found myself both wanting to believe my wife's words and doubting them at the same time. On the day of the exam, she received the Senior Pastor's prayer and I ended up passing the exam with flying colors. Hallelujah!
With this experience, I attended a Friday All-night Service at Manmin Joong-ang Church. Watching so many brothers and sisters in Christ praising God with all their heart and listening to grace-filled special performances on stage and messages deeply touched my heart. As I subsequently attended worship services at Manmin, I became convinced that God's work was great at this church.
On August 23, 2002, I formally joined Manmin Joong-ang Church and soon discovered something very critical about my life in Christ as I listened to the messages of Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee. Even though I had been a Christian for many years, I realized that the kind of faith and deeds I had and had done could not warrant me eternal life in heaven.

Experiencing wondrous manifestation of God's power through my mother's healing

As I received abundant grace in my own life, I couldn't help spreading the gospel to my mother. She had injured her waist about 10 years earlier and the injury caused her spine to be protruded. She had not been able to get a good night's sleep from the pain and receiving acupuncture about three times a week. She joined Manmin Joong-ang Church and while receiving the Senior Pastor's "Prayer for the Sick," a bone that had literally been sticking out of her back was placed back in correctly and the pain disappeared simultaneously.
I was so thankful to see my mother, whom I'd always loved so much, doing well again. As I experienced the work of God the kind of healing I had only read about in the Bible, I vowed to lead a more perfect life in Christ and began praying earnestly. There were times when my faith and deeds went separate ways but God always led me so that my faith could keep growing.

Living by God's Word through trials

Some time before Chuseok (Editor's Note: the harvest festival on the 15th of August by the lunar calendar) in 2002, my two brothers and I were to take our mother on a trip for her birthday and just as we had always done, my brothers suggested we leave on Saturday. I had learned and known about keeping the Sabbath holy but at my brothers' insistence, I only attended the morning service on Sunday and left for the trip. On our way, however, my mother's abdominal pain turned the trip disastrous and while on a submarine on Monday, she almost drowned. From these life-altering events, I learned how important it was to keep the Sabbath holy at all costs.
On another occasion – this time on the way to a bar with a few friends – my car, which had been working just fine, broke down all of a sudden. I repented right away and quit drinking altogether. Whenever God allowed me such experiences of grace, I kept the lessons in mind. As I obeyed God's Word preached through the Senior Pastor's messages and His commands, "Do this," "Don't do that," "Keep this," and "Throw that away," I could tell my heart was beginning to change.

God leads and blesses me to start up new business

As I always made sure to receive the Senior Pastor's prayer before embarking on any important dealings, I always enjoyed God's overflowing blessings. When I opened a new tax account service office on January 4, 2003, God led me to an office building that was directly across the street from the North Incheon National Tax Service branch, undoubtedly the best location in the city.
One time, an associate told me that participating in a local athletic competition on a Sunday would help promote my company. I paid no attention to his words but only committed everything to God, who in turn began promoting my business in His own way. As I served as full-time lecturer for the Korea Real Estate Brokers Association, there have been more than 2,000 brokers who attended my lectures in this year alone, and all advertising effects ensued naturally.
As I have kept obeying God's Word with a thankful heart and confessions of faith, the number of clients has been steadily increasing and people have begun associating "Tax Accountant Pyong-suh Koo" with the phrase, "An honest person, a faithful Christian." In gratitude of God's grace, I have spread the news of the church and the Senior Pastor and He blessed me even greater, as I am now able to offer God over $2,000 per month in tithes.

Receiving blessing of good health and in everything as my soul prospered

When I learned one day that a Christian co-worker Deaconess E-Hee Song had been diagnosed with Hepatitis B and was unable to live a normal life, I told her about the extraordinary works of God's healing manifested through Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee. Then she joined Manmin Joong-ang Church, received healing by the Senior Pastor's prayer, and brought back to God all 15 members of her family, and is leading a faithful life in Christian. This is such a blessing even for me.
God also gave me the blessing of good health. I've always had stomach troubles; it was quite difficult to drink even one cup of coffee a day. Today, I can drink as many as 10 cups of coffee and feel great. My wife Deaconess Hyun-sook Lee tripped by accident a while ago and broke two of her ribs but became whole again after receiving the Senior Pastor's prayer. My son Kyung-hwe, who had dismal eyesight, can now see much better after receiving God's healing through the prayer of Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee.
Above all, I am so grateful that all my family is marching towards New Jerusalem, each of us devotedly carrying out the duties God has given us. I give all thanks and glory to my Father God and would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee.