By cooking for the church events I want to repay the grace of the Lord who changed my life
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 14544 |
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March 06, 2011 |
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 Brother Suchan Kim (1-2 Canaan Mission; General Manager, Cooks Mission)
I have attended Manmin Central Church since I was young, but I did not lead a proper Christian life and did not attend the Summer Retreats, either. In 2007, I wanted to participate in the 2007 Summer Retreat. Even though I had a job interview in a restaurant on the first day of the Summer Retreat, I decided to go to the Summer Retreat. By the works of the Holy Spirit, I could both take part in the Retreat and get a job in the restaurant.
I was in charge of cooking fusion dishes in the restaurant. I could learn the basics of cooking and the restaurant management there, but could not cherish the great love that the Lord had given me deep in my heart.
I worked from early in the morning till late at night due to the long working-hours and out of a sense of duty as a manager. This life style led me to go to church less often and pray less than before, and I finally stopped praying.
Repenting thoroughly with tears in Friday All-night Service
While volunteering to cook for church events, I was persuaded by those who had prayed for me and I attended Friday all-night service. Surprisingly, I received grace and repented with tears and runny nose while singing praises during the second half of the service. I saw Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee praying and shedding tears for us through images on the monitors. I looked back on my past life and realized that my life had been filled with worldly things while Dr. Lee had urged us to live by the Word of God.
My past life filled with the foolishness came across my mind. God had shown numerous signs, wonders, and powerful miracles through Dr. Lee, but I just considered all of them as scenes in fantasy movies or just meaningless things. During prayer, those who had encouraged me with love such as my mother and my guidance pastors came to mind. Afterwards, I attended every kind of service including Friday All-night service and stopped drinking easily. I wanted to stop smoking, too. I made a resolution to stop smoking during 2010 New Year Service. Furthermore, I tried to listen to praises and even sing them.
I stopped drinking and smoking and served with joy
At that time, I worked for a spaghetti and steak restaurant. I also belonged to Cooks Department of Reception Committee in Manmin Central Church and cooked spaghetti for foreign visitors. It took a long time to buy many ingredients because the church restaurant did not have all I needed. I might have been tired, but I did everything with joy and I even felt so thankful. When Dr. Jaerock Lee saw the volunteers with love, I felt so happy.
People eat food first with 'both the eyes and the nose' and then by the mouth. It means that the best dish is one which looks beautiful, smells fragrant, and tastes good. Besides, what makes it better is the cook's heart filled with happiness and devotion.
Cooking dishes for church events, I came to know what dishes could make people happy. I confess that it is true blessing for me to pay back God's love and grace by volunteering to cook for visitors to our church. I give thanks to all those who have prayed for me.
 Cooks' Mission cooking the best dish for people, "Manmin Chefs' Meeting"
In Manmin Central Church, there are various missions which give brothers and sisters in Christ the opportunities to work for God's kingdom according to their talents. Among them is Cooks Mission which was recently established. Cooks Mission has brothers and sisters who want to share love by cooking and they volunteer to cook for the kingdom of God.
It is made up of members of Students' Mission, College Mission, Canaan Mission, Men's Mission, and Women's Mission. We often attend Food Fairs and have gatherings twice a month. We are filled with the longing heart to work for God's kingdom by exchanging the various recipes and practicing with them together.
Deacon Jaeha Lee, President of Cooks' Mission, said, "People from all around the world visit our church which has been growing up as a global church. We serve the visitors with the dishes which are pleasant to their tastes. We are trying hard to serve them with the highest quality dishes, good enough to have them wonder who cooked such a nice and elaborate meal."
Members of Cooks Mission stay up late to prepare for the big events like the Church Anniversary Celebration Service. I am looking forward to seeing Cooks Mission organize its professional teams, which includes a Korean Dish Team, Western Dish Team, Japanese Dish Team, Bakers' Team, and Dessert Team, with praying and the heart of serving the Lord. I hope the Mission will prepare the best dish all the time and give people from all around the world a great experience with it.
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Manmin News 
