After we had moved into our new church, it was time to complete the renovations by putting wallpaper on the walls. We had to put up wallpaper in both the main sanctuary and the cultural center, but the wallpaper and labor costs ranged from $1000 to $1100, which was beyond our budget.
Before ,when we were deciding which building to move our church to, we were introduced to another person that could do the job at an estimated fee of $550, which was about half the original cost we calculated.The person who was introduced to us was a member from church, and he was an elder. He used to put up wallpaper for houses but was not doing so anymore, and since he had leftover wallpaper from before, he just estimated the labor cost and nothing else.
Wow! Surely, God knew our dire financial situation and connected us with him so that we could do things in an affordable way.
Putting up wallpaper is the very final stage of all construction work and we were at this stage, having almost finished the renovations for the church, which had gone on for about three weeks. At that time, he brought another worker who was also an elder. Since the first elder could not come in the afternoon, the elder who was newly introduced had to do the job alone at that time. We heard that one could quickly measure and cut wallpaper into the right sizes by using an electronic device, but even when we looked around, there was no such machine. Actually, everything was done by hand.
The elder did the job while smiling brightly and praising God. Although it took rather a long time, he was working while asking the Lord to give him strength and wisdom. I was convinced that God does not simply entrust the temple that He will dwell in to just anyone, but that He finds an appropriate counterpart who will put up the wallpaper in a way that matches His thoughts and heart.
This is something the second elder said while working:
“Putting up wallpaper is the last work to be done. The one who does it must cover all the mistakes that the architects and electricians have made. This applies to people as well.” These were words that definitely stemmed from his 30 years of experience. When I asked why he decided to come to church, he said that he was influenced by his parents who were already attending church and one of his sons who was a pastor. He was from a family whose faith was deeply rooted in Heaven.
Although the job wasn’t done with the latest and best technology, after the elder finished, he prayed to God and said, “I have done today’s work well.” As he was leaving, he looked so beautiful. Thanks to him, we can now have service in a temple with white walls. I was even more thankful to the Trinity who utilizes people with every kind of talent and ability for the Heavens.
During the entire two days while we were putting up the wallpaper, it rained, so the ground was totally covered with water.
The rain that covers the entire world also covers the dirtiness of the world and all of creation, and it even cleanses them. I was able to gain a deep realization through the work of putting up wallpaper. I realized that there are so many things to realize and learn during the course of my life.