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Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8)

Part  1. My Life Testimony

Hello! My name is John Rhee from Guadalajara UBF. My parents, M. Timothy and Hannah Rhee, were sent as missionaries to Mexico. My father went first, and then my mother, sister and I joined him in 1985. We went first to Mexico City, but in 1992 we moved to Guadalajara with some other coworkers to pioneer the University of Guadalajara.

When I was a child, I did not have any personal conviction in serving the ministry. It was not until I was in junior high school that I started to have interest in it. I attended a Christian school, so I heard some inspiring messages there. Also, through the example of missionary life of my parents, I wanted to serve God's ministry. I made a vow to God that I would become his servant if he was always with me.

However, when I was in high school I started to have a rebellious spirit. I was not going to a Christian school any more, and I started hanging out with guys and girls. Then I started looking at my friends more than serving God. In those days, however, in spite of having fun, I felt very empty inside of me.

When I finished high school, God showed me that he did not forget me. He saw me and called me to become a shepherd. I was very thankful to God for forgiving my sins, and calling me to live a new life. But I did not know that his calling was just the beginning of a journey. When I began receiving shepherd training, I had to learn to leave all the worldly things I loved. Itwas  hard for me. It was so hard, that when I realized that I could not do it, I was about to leave my house and UBF. I felt I did not deserve to be called a shepherd; I was not a good example to others. I was helping no one. However, God moved my heart during an Ester conference through a message based on John 8, with the words, "...neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin." I was moved and was thankful to God for loving me so much. After the conference, through the study of the book of Isaiah 6, I decided to live according to God's will. I decided to say always, 'Here I am. Send me!' to the Lord. I prayed to serve the campus mission wholeheartedly.

When I look back, I realize that God has trained me in many ways, but he also blessed me in many ways. I thank God that he trained me to become a fellowship leader at Guadalajara UBF and to cowork with M. Timothy Rhee. I thank God that guided me to marry M.Goheun Park from Uruguay, the most beautiful and brilliant woman in the world. I thank God for letting me participate in his work in Mexico, Latin America, and world mission.

Part 2.  A Brief Introduction of Guadalajara UBF

Guadalajara UBF was pioneered in 1992 by M. Timothy and M. Hannah Rhee along with seven coworkers from Mexico City. Guadalajara is known as the second most important city in Mexico due to its population, economy, and cultural background. Mariachi music and Tequila are strongly associated with Guadalajara which are originated in the nearby towns. Also Guadalajara UBF is known because of UBF’s own conference site, “Inspiration Center.” Its auditorium has capacity for more than 600 people. Now three missionary families and six shepherd families are working together in the ministry to serve University of Guadalajara. Seven years ago M. Jorge Antonio and Isabel were sent to Dominican Republic to pioneer the University of Santo Domingo.

Guadalajara UBF celebrated its 20th anniversary this February. We pray God may use us as an Antioch church in this generation. Now we are preparing the Easter Bible conference and we pray for 120 attendants from Guadalajara and 150 in total.

Guadalajara UBF prayer topics are:

a. 150 attendance to SWS

b. 120 one to one Bible studies each week

c. Establish 1,000 Bible teachers in our generation

d. Send out 1,000 missionaries by 2041

One Word: “Here I am. Send me!”