Buzz. My phone vibrated.

“Sister, I have arrived. I am downstairs.”

“Oh, we might have a new friend tonight,” I told everyone as I exited the warmth and chatter of the Rivers’ apartment to meet her. Only two days prior, I received a text message from a good friend in South Sinim asking if we could connect with Chen.

Downstairs on a motorbike, I saw a pale, white young girl of 22. I tried some friendly small talk to break the ice as Chen shyly tried to hide behind her black bangs. I can’t blame her. This was our first meeting, and it was her first time attending an Adventist church. 

While we were singing, I could hear what sounded like Chen crying, but maybe it just a runny nose. After a short Bible study and eating together, her guarded walls were relaxing enough to share some of her thoughts and talk to those in the gathering.

After everyone left, she asked to talk with me and unfolded how she came to God.

Back in December she had never even heard of a Bible or knew about God. But then a cult caught her interest by talking about the end times. Ironically, the Church of Mother God is an off-shoot of the Adventist church and has developed a reputation for being very caring and personal. The allure of the cult is infamous for this reason, and the nation’s government has banned it for being so influential among the youth.

Through Chen’s curiosity and the cultists’  friendliness, they pulled her in. As Chen studied the Bible with them, she also began her own search for God in the Bible and on the Internet. Although she knew little about the Bible, she believed God was good. But as she went further into the cult, she felt like they were brainwashing her. How could they believe Jesus returned as a Korean man who divorced his wife and left his two children? On top of that, they believe he died, and now his second wife has become “Mother God.”

The cult damaged Chen’s relations with her family. Neverthless, she managed to leave the Church of Mother God, saying that though the members were extremely kind, their beliefs ruined any trust and faith she could have in good people. Chen wondered if she were crazy and no longer felt she could trust herself. In tears, she cried out to God.

Chen came across a TikTok video of someone teaching the Bible. She reached out to the creator, an Adventist gentleman from central Sinim. He then connected to my friend in the south, asking if she knew anyone in north Sinim.

Chen told me how, when I had invited her to the vespers, she was afraid of coming because she did not want to trust anyone. But she felt something impressing her Friday morning when she woke up. She wanted to go. She was willing to trust someone.

My heart broke to hear the many distortions of God’s character this poor girl had witnessed. The cult uses many spiritual manipulations to keep adherents afraid of stepping away.

Since then, Chen comes to our vespers, continues to be in awe of our church service, and eagerly joins in Bible studies every Sabbath. Please pray that she heals from the spiritual wounds she endured from the cult and comes to a true knowledge and picture of the Father God in the Bible.

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