In the early 1980s, True Father had to face accusations from the New York District Attorney. After a long court case, Father had to go to Danbury prison on July 20, 1984. That day is like today in my memory. So many church members came to East Garden. Father gathered all his older children and spoke to them about what was going to happen. The small children asked Father, “Where are you going?” He answered, “Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. Study hard. Don’t fight with each other.” Many members were in tears. Father and Reverend Kamiyama left in a car to go to prison. Father worked as a “servant of servants,” mopping the floor, washing dishes, cleaning the toilet. Every day Father washed the dirty mops by hand.
Sometimes there were threats against Father. Many nights Mother couldn’t sleep, worrying about him. Sometimes she asked me to stay at night in her room. She waited for a phone call from True Father each morning. She was in tears when she heard Father’s voice.
Once in a while, Father was able to visit East Garden for twenty-four hours. He would go to his room right away without speaking to anyone. He wanted to change out of his prison uniform, take a shower and shave, and put on regular clothes. Then he came down to the living room, singing, with a big smile. He never wanted to show that he had been in prison that day. Then he met with leaders and with his children. During these times, I went up to Father’s bathroom. I would see the undershirt Father had been wearing. Many times, it had a hole in it. The socks also had holes in them. When I saw these miserable clothes, I couldn’t help crying. Mother said we should keep these for history.
From I Am in This Place, p. 85.