By Kelvin, Peru

I lived in a small town in Peru. My whole family was Catholic, and so were most of the other villagers there. But since the Catholic church in our village didn’t have a priest presiding over it, for a long time no one went to study the Bible at church. Then on May 22, 2020, I read Almighty God’s words online. Through reading God’s words, I became certain that the Lord Jesus has returned, that He’s Christ of the last days, Almighty God, and I happily accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. Later on, I read this in Almighty God’s words: “Since man believes in God, he must closely follow the footsteps of God, step-by-step; he should ‘follow the Lamb wherever He goes.’ Only these are the people who seek the true way, only they are the ones who know the work of the Holy Spirit” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Practice). I knew that as believers, we should know God’s work and follow God’s footsteps. There were so many believers in the village, and none of them had heard God’s voice or welcomed the returned Lord Jesus, so I really wanted to share the incredible news of the Lord’s return with them. But I felt a little afraid. I felt like I was young and didn’t know how to share the gospel, so they definitely wouldn’t listen to me. Besides, they’d been believers for years, so would they listen to my testimony of the Lord Jesus’ return? How could I fellowship to resolve any notions or confusions they might have? What would I do if they were opposed to me believing in Almighty God and sharing the gospel? How would they treat me? I worried they’d look down on me and say, “You’re so young. Why run around preaching, instead of going to school or getting a job?” I gave it a lot of thought, but I knew that spreading the gospel was God’s will. I had to share the gospel and testify to God.

So I prayed to God, and strengthened my confidence through reading Almighty God’s words. I read this in His words: “Are you aware of the burden on your shoulders, your commission, and your responsibility? Where is your sense of historic mission? How will you adequately serve as a master in the next age? Do you have a strong sense of masterhood? How would you explain the master of all things? Is it really the master of all living creatures and of all physical things in the world? What plans do you have for the progress of the next phase of the work? How many people are waiting for you to be their shepherd? Is your task a heavy one? They are poor, pitiable, blind, and at a loss, wailing in the darkness—where is the way? How they yearn for the light, like a shooting star, to suddenly descend and dispel the forces of darkness that have oppressed man for so many years. Who can know the full extent to which they anxiously hope, and how they pine, day and night, for this? Even on a day when the light flashes past, these deeply suffering people remain imprisoned in a dark dungeon without hope of release; when will they weep no longer? Terrible is the misfortune of these fragile spirits who have never been granted rest, and long have they been kept bound in this state by merciless bonds and frozen history. And who has heard the sound of their wailing? Who has looked upon their miserable state? Has it ever occurred to you how grieved and anxious God’s heart is? How can He bear to see innocent mankind, whom He created with His own hands, suffering such torment? Human beings, after all, are the victims who have been poisoned. And although man has survived to this day, who would have known that mankind has long been poisoned by the evil one? Have you forgotten that you are one of the victims? Are you not willing to strive, out of your love for God, to save these survivors? Are you not willing to devote all of your energy to repaying God, who loves mankind like His own flesh and blood? When all is said and done, how would you interpret being used by God to live your extraordinary life? Do you really have the resolve and confidence to live the meaningful life of a pious, God-serving person?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How Should You Attend to Your Future Mission?). I learned that sharing the gospel is our duty. Lots of people still haven’t heard God’s voice and they have no idea that the Lord has returned, and is doing the work of judgment to purify people. They’re still living in the misery of Satan’s corruption. God hopes that all of us can consider His will, stand up, and cooperate with God. No matter what issues or difficulties we face, we should pray and lean on God more, and do everything we can to spread the kingdom gospel. But I didn’t understand God’s will—I felt that being so young, I couldn’t share the gospel. I was afraid the villagers wouldn’t listen to me and would look down on me, so I was stuck in the difficulties of my own imaginings, burdened with worries. I only thought about my own hardships without considering God’s will, and I didn’t think to pray and lean on God through these struggles, to do my duty and take responsibility. When I thought about how lots of people were longing for the Lord’s return and being saved from darkness, I felt a sense of urgency. I resolved to do everything I could to spread and bear testimony to God’s gospel of the last days, to put all my time and energy into the work of the gospel.

After that, I started making plans to share the gospel with them. First, I went to the copy shop to print out some invitations for ten families to hear a sermon at my house. They were all pretty surprised, and had nice things to say about what I was doing. I was so happy. After that, I thought that if lots of people came that evening, with just my little cellphone, it would be hard for everyone to read God’s words while listening to the sermon. So, I went to ask a friend to borrow his laptop. That evening, 13 people came to listen to the sermon, and everyone liked reading God’s words in the gathering. Whoever wanted to read would stand up and volunteer, and they loved it. Everyone was really happy after the gathering. They said God’s words were wonderful and felt nurturing for them, and it was great to gather and read God’s words. They also wanted to bring their family members over the next day. Seeing how everyone longed for God’s words made me really happy. But always borrowing my friend’s laptop wasn’t viable, so I wanted to buy one of my own. But when I put together all of my money it still wasn’t enough to purchase a laptop. I felt like I was in a quandary. After asking around, I learned that projectors are cheaper than computers, so I decided to take out a loan to buy a projector so the other villagers could read God’s words that way. I went to the county seat to take out a loan, and I bought a projector. I got everything set up before starting the next gathering. The villagers started showing up before too long. Nineteen people attended, filling up the entire room. In that moment I saw that God had arranged everything, and I was so excited. I rushed to find a speaker so everyone could listen to God’s words. I fellowshiped the truth of how the prophecies of the Lord’s return have been fulfilled, how to welcome Him, how to be sure that the Lord Jesus has returned, and that God has come to expose every type of person. The people in attendance were all enthusiastically participating in reading God’s words, and some of the kids were also excited to read God’s words. Seeing how much they thirsted for the words of God, I knew this was all God’s work. Some people lingered after the gathering wrapped up, and said they’d really enjoyed it. The village head and the others were all very moved, and the village head wanted to get all the locals to come listen to God’s words. It was such a pleasant surprise. This outcome totally shot down my notions and imaginings—I felt ashamed. I truly witnessed God’s work and guidance, and gained more faith to share the gospel. I invited villagers to listen to sermons every single day after that, and more and more people started showing up. They were all thrilled, and said, “I’ve never read anything like this before. God has become flesh and returned and we can come face-to-face with Him. We’re so lucky to be able to welcome the Lord.” They also planned an event to invite more people from surrounding towns to a gathering. They told me, “You’re so young, but you’re doing this for the villagers, helping us hear God’s words and being so conscientious about it. No one’s ever done something like this for us before. We never thought a young person like you would do this—it’s wonderful.” I knew this was entirely God’s deeds, which excited me and strengthened my faith.

But I ran into all sorts of difficulties when I was watering these new believers. Sometimes my internet connection wasn’t great, and I had to go door-to-door to conduct gatherings. What was worse was that we got a lot of rain there, and when it rained the roads would all turn to mud, and it was hard to walk on them. When I went out for watering them, I’d be scampering from house to house. Sometimes I rushed to a new believer’s house before it started raining and I had to wait because they hadn’t gotten home yet. Then when I finished fellowshiping with them, the road home was in bad shape. I’d feel negative and weak when I wore myself out, so I’d pray and read God’s words. Then I read this in Almighty God’s words: “Do not be discouraged, do not be weak, and I will make things clear for you. The road to the kingdom is not so smooth; nothing is that simple! You want blessings to come to you easily, do you not? Today, everyone will have bitter trials to face. Without such trials, the loving heart you have for Me will not grow stronger and you will not have true love for Me. Even if these trials consist merely of minor circumstances, everyone must pass through them; it’s just that the difficulty of the trials will vary from one person to another. Trials are a blessing from Me, and how many of you come often before Me and beg on your knees for My blessings? Silly children! You always think that a few auspicious words count as My blessing, yet you do not recognize that bitterness is one of My blessings” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 41). “When you face suffering, you must be able to lay aside concern for the flesh and to not make complaints against God. … No matter what your actual stature is, you must first possess both the will to suffer hardship and true faith, and you must also have the will to forsake the flesh. You should be willing to endure personal hardships and suffer losses to your personal interests in order to satisfy God’s will. You must also be capable of feeling regret about yourself in your heart: In the past, you were unable to satisfy God, and now, you can regret yourself. You must not be lacking in any of these regards—it is through these things that God will perfect you. If you cannot meet these criteria, then you cannot be perfected” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement). God’s words encouraged and comforted me not to lose heart or become weak, that God would guide and help me. I’d experienced some physical discomfort and paid a bit of a price to share the gospel, but it was meaningful and valuable, it was the most righteous thing to do, and what would most gain God’s approval and blessings. I thought of Peter, Matthew, and other apostles of the Lord Jesus who suffered a lot to spread the gospel, and some even died in their efforts to share the gospel. But they stayed strong in sharing God’s gospel and never backed down. Compared to them, what little I’d suffered wasn’t even worth mentioning. Having the good fortune to accept God’s work of the last days, and being able to do my duty to spread the kingdom gospel was God’s elevation and grace. I couldn’t keep considering my own flesh, being afraid of a little hardship. I had to be willing to suffer. I couldn’t become discouraged under any difficulties. Even if I suffered physical discomfort, I still had to share the gospel and bear witness to God’s work, do my duty to satisfy God.

Later at one point I got sick, and had a cold for several days. In the evenings I had a fever, a headache, and a stomachache. I couldn’t even talk. A sister saw I was in bad shape and told me, “You shouldn’t go to tonight’s gathering.” I agreed at the time. But afterward, the thought of leaving new believers to gather by themselves left me uneasy. I was thinking that feeling unwell was a test for me, and I still had to do my duty well. I remembered once before I got sick and had an injured leg, but I’d still go play soccer. So now why couldn’t I do my duty? At this thought, I got on my motorcycle and went to the gathering. Surprisingly, when I arrived I didn’t feel as unwell. I was really happy. I got better in just a couple days.

Later on, after over a month of hard work, most of the villagers, aside from those who were working out of town, had accepted Almighty God’s gospel of the last days. Later on I thought, though I’d shared the gospel with all the villagers, that wasn’t enough to meet God’s will. I wanted more people to hear God’s voice, because there are still lots of people who don’t know that the Lord Jesus has returned, is expressing so many truths, and doing the work of cleansing and saving mankind. So I decided to go share the gospel in other villages. I prayed in my heart, “Almighty God, please guide me so that I don’t lose faith and I can keep moving forward. I’m confident that You’ll help me resolve whatever difficulties I face.” After that, I went to a neighboring village to share the gospel. I walked downhill down a muddy road for 30 minutes to preach the gospel to them, but the first three households all said they didn’t have time, and politely turned me away. I felt really disappointed and kind of discouraged. I got home really late that night. Sister Annie called me to ask about how my gospel sharing had gone, plus she fellowshiped on God’s words with me, encouraging and helping me. I read something in Almighty God’s words. “What I desire is your loyalty and obedience now, your love and testimony now. Even if you do not know at this moment what testimony is or what love is, you should bring to Me your all, and turn over to Me the only treasures you have: your loyalty and obedience. You should know that the testimony to My defeat of Satan lies within the loyalty and obedience of man, as does the testimony to My complete conquest of man. The duty of your faith in Me is to bear witness to Me, to be loyal to Me and none other, and to be obedient to the end. Before I begin the next step of My work, how will you bear witness to Me? How will you be loyal and obedient to Me? Do you devote all your loyalty to your function, or will you simply give up? Would you rather submit to My every arrangement (even if it be death or destruction), or flee midway to avoid My chastisement? I chastise you so that you will bear witness to Me, and be loyal and obedient to Me. What’s more, the chastisement at present is to unfold the next step of My work and to allow the work to progress unimpeded. Hence, I exhort you to be wise and treat neither your life nor the significance of your existence as worthless sand. Can you know exactly what My work to come will be? Do you know how I will work in the days to come, and how My work will unfold? You should know the significance of your experience of My work, and furthermore, the significance of your faith in Me. I have done so much; how could I give up halfway, as you imagine? I have done such extensive work; how could I destroy it? Indeed, I have come to bring this age to an end. This is true, but moreover you must know that I am to begin a new age, to begin new work, and, most of all, to spread the gospel of the kingdom. So you should know that the present work is only to begin an age and to lay the foundation for spreading the gospel in the time to come and bringing the age to an end in the future. My work is not so simple as you think, nor is it as worthless or meaningless as you may believe. Therefore, I still must say to you: You ought to give your life to My work, and moreover, you ought to devote yourself to My glory. Long have I yearned for you to bear witness to Me, and even longer have I yearned for you to spread My gospel. You ought to understand what is in My heart” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What Do You Know of Faith?). Reading this in God’s words gave me some strength. I felt like God was telling me that I should have faith in Him, and no matter what difficulties I faced, I couldn’t be weak or negative, I couldn’t be discouraged or down, because God is guiding us. As long as I was considerate of God’s will and went out to spread His kingdom gospel, He would open up a path for me. Through God’s words I saw that the path of sharing the gospel isn’t easy, but it requires suffering and paying a price. Noah preached the gospel for 120 years and he was mocked, slandered, and maligned by people. He suffered so much, and though he didn’t convert anyone, he still didn’t give up or become weak—he kept sharing the gospel. Noah stayed strong in his devotion and submission to God. He did his duty as a created being and gained God’s approval and blessings. When God sent the flood to destroy the world, Noah’s family of eight were saved by God. They survived. Then thinking of me, I just shared the gospel with three families and I lost heart when they didn’t accept it. I didn’t have true faith in God. In fact, God had allowed this situation, this difficulty to come upon me to perfect my faith and my devotion to God. So whether they accepted the gospel or not, I had to go preach the gospel. That was my duty.

God’s words gave me strength. I went to another village the next day to start sharing the gospel. I also said a prayer, asking Almighty God to enlighten the potential gospel recipients to understand His words. That evening, I found someone interested in hearing the gospel, and what’s more, after that I kept finding others to share the gospel with, and converted six people that night. I was so surprised because some gospel recipients were Catholics and had lots of notions, but they could understand after I fellowshiped on God’s words with them, and they accepted Almighty God’s gospel of the last days. I went to another place after that, and every time I went out to share the gospel I’d pray, asking God to enlighten and guide me so I would know how to preach and bear witness to God’s words. As more and more people accepted God’s gospel, my faith grew. Though sometimes when I went to other villages to preach to strangers I felt a little shy and scared, the guidance of God’s words gave me confidence and the courage to face it. I knew I absolutely had to fellowship with them, that it was my duty, and if I didn’t share the gospel with them, I wouldn’t have more chances to practice, and I wouldn’t learn and gain more truths. After that, by constantly practicing sharing the gospel, I stopped being so nervous and afraid and came to understand the truth of visions more and more clearly. I felt really relaxed and free.

I really gained so much through this process of sharing the gospel. If I hadn’t experienced all this, there’s no way I could have understood God’s almighty rule, and I couldn’t have learned the importance of doing my duty or how to seek God through hardship.