Angola (Excerpts from talks given by Vice President Cabuço at three different locations in Japan during his visit from June 17 to 19)
Last October, Masaaki-sama suggested to us to start a cleanup volunteer project in Africa. He suggested to do it not just as a physical cleanup, but as religious activity that is linked to the salvation of the heart. After receiving this guidance, members are now carrying out the cleanup volunteer project in Angola.
Our cleanup volunteer project is not just about making places clean and contributing to society. We do it with the purpose of practicing our faith and conveying the will of God, and with the belief that God will be at work and that the salvation of God will be prepared.
At times, nearly 200 people gather for the cleanups. In addition to cleaning, we also hand out the Church leaflet “Who We Are,” distributing 50,000 to 100,000 leaflets.
One day, when we were cleaning up the area around a river in the city of Luanda, about 20 members of a nearby Christian church saw us and joined us in the cleanup. At another time, about 80 people from three Christian churches joined us, which led to those 80 people later attending a service of World Church of Messiah.
I feel that they must have felt something, were drawn to World Church of Messiah, and were pulled into it. Our thoughts are important after all. I think it is important to approach everything with the thought that people can feel God and our faith through our voices and our posture. Without the belief that Kyoshu-sama is the one who inherits the true divine work of Meishu-sama and the true will of Meishu-sama, no matter what we do, it will be meaningless.
Portugal
“The Launch of World Church of Messiah Bible Distribution Project” was published to the world on February 16 of this year. In order to respond to Kyoshu-sama and Masaaki-sama, who conveyed to us Meishu-sama’s wish of placing Bibles in prisons, World Church of Messiah Portugal, with strong determination, decided to create a team consisting of three members led by President Fernando to move this project forward.
First, the team researched the prison facilities within Portugal, and then through the Ministry of Justice, sent emails to all 47 facilities to inquire about donating Bibles. From 21 facilities, they received messages of appreciation along with a reply that they would like to accept the Bible donation and add it to their library. By late June, they had donated the Almeida Revista e Corrigida (ARC) version of the Bible, which is recommended by World Church of Messiah, to all 21 facilities.
In Portugal, members are encouraged to keep a Bible in their homes. In addition, at the study sessions held in various locations every Monday, they study the “Meishu-sama and the Bible” series published in Glory. Currently, approximately 75% of all members already own a Bible, and a Bible can be found in every church location.
When we think about the idea of working in concert with Christianity, we recognize that without Kyoshu-sama and Masaaki-sama, we would not have been able to realize that we had been ignoring Meishu-sama’s will for many years, and we would not have repented. With this feeling of great repentance, World Church of Messiah Portugal is determined to continue its efforts in order to reach as many people as possible with the Bible.
