Dirt Floor, Open Sky

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.”

-Psalm 127:1 (KJV)

A year ago, there was no church here at all, and not a single Adventist in the community. Then our senior missionaries came, worked faithfully, and by God’s grace planted the seed.

When I arrived, a newly built church stood waiting, filled with newly baptized members eager to grow in their faith. It was also an empty lot with a leveled dirt floor and a tin roof. At first, the inconveniences piled up. The heat pressed down all day long, and even a trip to the restroom meant a long, hot walk from church.

In October, heavy rain turned the floor into a puddle of mud, and weeds grew rapidly beside the church, so pulling them on my knees in the scorching heat was exhausting. I had many complaints in the beginning. I compared our church to the neat, clean churches where fellow missionaries serve, and thoughts like "Why is our church like this?" crossed my mind.

However, God resolved these issues through the beautiful unity of our members. On community cleaning days, everyone gladly took on whatever tasks they could handle. The grandmothers arranged the curtains, the students worked up a sweat pulling weeds, and others swept away fallen leaves. To keep rainwater from rushing into the church, God sent capable helpers who built a drainage system in the front yard.

God always provides the right people precisely when they are needed. I still remember the first rainy Sabbath after the drainage was finished. Rain drummed loudly on the tin roof, yet the water flowed away from the church, and our floor stayed dry.

Those early days were hard, but caring for the church side by side with the believers God sent us brought a joy I can’t fully describe. The heat, the mud, and the weeds were the very things that brought us together. Through them I came to see that a church is not defined by its walls or floors, but by the people who gather and care for it.

Today, our little church in New Loon sits in the middle of God’s own garden, with trees all around and a big blue sky for a ceiling. I wouldn’t trade this dirt-floor church for any polished chapel in the world. Just weeks ago, we celebrated its first anniversary. Twelve months ago, this was an empty lot. Now a happy congregation worships together every Sabbath. Who did that? Not us. It was God, every bit of it. To Him be all the glory.

Name: Bang, Minhee | 66th Batch | 1000MM

Hometown: South Korea

Mission Field: New Loon, Asuncion, Davao Del Norte