Thomas Mooney and Rita Hollywood
November 1987
At the CARP Convention, Rev. Won Pil Kim walks stalwartly with Hyo Jin Nim at the front of the march to the Berlin Wall.
Love Conquers All – a Testimony to Won Pil Kim
Thomas Mooney
After the speeches and banner waving, and the shouting of slogans and cheers of victory from our brothers and sisters, the throngs of people at the Wall slowly began to disappear. Only the technicians remained to pack away microphones and loud speakers.
The shouts and jeers died down as the crowd dispersed past the armored police, who seemed to be keeping a vigilant eye on the communists hanging around the square where we had just finished our rally protesting the Berlin Wall.
I could hear the brothers and sisters speaking enthusiastically of our next rally. "The Philippines!" exclaimed one brother. "Moscow!" said another excitedly. As I watched everyone return home, someone called out to me, "You'd best go back to the hostel, Tom. It's all over here' "Okay:' I said, but I didn't really want to leave. I kept thinking about how happy Heavenly Father must be feeling about our victory in Berlin. I sensed that what just happened here was going to change the course of history. I felt how proud Heavenly Father and our True Parents must be of our sincerity of heart and determination to unite the German people, East and West.
Shouting Abusive Questions
As I began to head back, I noticed a group of communists bunched together in a circle on the far side of the square. A few of their faces looked familiar to my eyes and to my painful back; I had been pushed off a small platform during the rally. As I started walking toward them to see what was going on, I was joined by Ray, a brother from my center.
I pointed toward the crowd, which seemed to be growing. "I'm going over there. When Ray and I reached the group, we saw President Won Pil Kim and Mr. Masatoshi Abe. President Kim was walking around the edge of the crowd. I jumped up to get a better view, and I saw that in the very middle of the group was one of our German brothers, who seemed to be getting questions thrown at him from all angles. The communists' questions were quite abusive, and this brother was having a tough time, although he seemed to be weathering the storm pretty well.
Being a Londoner, I found it difficult to understand what they were saying, but I could tell a lot by the expressions on people's faces. Suddenly, to my surprise I saw President Kim's white cap pressing through the crowd with President Kim underneath it. He made his way to the center. I found myself also pushing my way through, and I squeezed up to his shoulder. I stood there by him and his interpreter and tried to stop people from shoving our brothers back.
The crowd was relentless in their heckling. President Kim tried to silence them with a wave of his arm so he could say a few words. Eventually one guy, who seemed to be the leader, agreed to give himself and President Kim 10 minutes each to speak. But while President Kim was doing his best to express his feelings through his interpreter, everyone kept on shouting.
"Gosh," I thought. "If only they knew who it was they were addressing, or rather, shouting at!" The leader of the group could not manage to even make himself heard, so finally he yelled out, "Be quiet!" 'At last',' I thought, "the speakers can have a discussion:'
The barrage of noise suddenly stopped. I was relieved because I had already lost my voice in trying to get them to stop shouting. As President Kim began to speak, I prayed internally for the communists and their ancestors, that they might receive God's love through his words.
Embracing the Communists
I could easily relate President Kim's situation to Jesus' in front of the mocking crowd, as he tried to express God's heart to them. I also realized that this communist ideology had been able to grow because of the failure to accept Father. I was profoundly moved by President Kim's attitude towards these people who seemed so arrogant. He was unchanging, always smiling and trying to embrace these wayward children of God. He sympathized with their frustrations with capitalism and the failure of democracy. Then he explained, in a very clear way, the cause of the problems, the effects, and the solution.
Whenever the communists made a valid point, President Kim agreed with them and gave them a friendly pat on the back. It started raining heavily, so President Kim took an umbrella and covered the head of the person he was talking to so he wouldn't get wet. He was always thinking of the other person and giving of himself unselfishly.
I never once saw President Kim contradict or argue or overreact; he just gave the simple, plain truth. It was incredibly effective. After each explanation he would listen attentively to the next person's question. The change in the people's faces was noticeable. While President Kim sincerely answered their questions, they started to calm down. As time passed, many of them left, no doubt with much to dwell on and think seriously about.
There were a few stubborn ones remaining who had been there from the beginning -- two and a half hours before. These were the really defiant ones. I could see they didn't want to be defeated by this small Korean man. Their leader also stayed with them. When they began shouting again, President Kim said to the leader, "You must educate your people to have self-control," patting him on the shoulder and giving him a warm smile. One by one, President Kim listened patiently to each person's question. If any person persisted strongly on a particular point, President Kim himself would go over to him, pull him into the center and give him the opportunity to express his grievance. After about ten minutes of give and take, that person would quietly disappear out of view, probably realizing he had no basis for argument.
"Natural Subjugation"
The leader, by this time having seen all his friends crumble before him, began to study President Kim, as if he were looking for something in particular. I felt he must be wondering: What kind of person is this? And where does he get all his education, all his knowledge? I sensed very strongly that they all felt a special aura around President Kim.
As the last ones left, some apologized for having to go, saying they had other appointments. President Kim shook their hands, and before they left he insisted on having a photograph taken. Afterwards he exchanged addresses with them.
I couldn't believe my eyes. These communists had been after blood, but President Kim just melted their hearts. It was "natural subjugation" In the end they all looked like a bunch of kids having a good time.
When all the goodbyes had ended, Ray and I wanted to make sure that President Kim and Mr. Abe left safely. As they began to walk away, President Kim turned around and shook our hands, He told us to return to the hostel together. His interpreter, accustomed to repeating whatever he said, echoed the sentiment: "Yes, go home together" They smiled and then departed.
The Wall -- with a view into East Berlin.
The Wall Is Within Me
Rita Hollywood
For several weeks before going to the CARP Convention in Berlin, I asked Heavenly Father to give me a life-changing experience there. And He did. I never imagined it could be so deep.
One of the most profound moments I had was at the Berlin Wall. While everybody was singing, inside I felt something was not right, so I knelt down in the dirt by the Wall to pray. As I prayed my tears flowed freely. I realized that this wall is not just separating a nation; the wall is within me, and the way to win the other side is within me. I knew I had to break down the wall within myself.
At that point I felt I had to go out and talk to the communists who were opposing us on this side of the Wall. Looking up, I could see all our members together in a group singing.
Then I saw a line of police protecting us. Outside this line were the communists. I knew that if I made them my enemies, then there must be a wall in my own heart. So I...rent out to try to talk to them. I am not that brave, for I did feel fear, but I realized that as long as that fear is there and I do not challenge it, the wall will remain.
Without Any Barriers
I was walking holding the banner saying, "Only through God can we find true freedom:' I felt it was especially meant for me to hold. As I shouted "Die Mauer muss weg!" ("The Wall must go!") I knew at one point I was shouting this to myself. The wall within me must go, so I can become free to love all people, because God loves them without any barriers. The wall in my heart must be broken.
As I began talking to the communists in my broken German, I felt how precious Father's tradition is. By witnessing directly on the street, I felt I could really love the people. Before the church, when I lived in Germany for a year, speaking to the people had been really hard for me. But this time I felt so much love for the German people that I felt like embracing them. This is because of Father's teaching and his deep love. Father's words are so powerful. I talked to a few of them about the meaning of the family and how we are all part of one family. If someone in the family suffers, then everyone else also suffers. Even they could not argue about this. I was glad to have a chance to talk to one person in particular, who had been opposing us every day. He looked mean and tough, but actually he didn't have a bad heart after all.
I even sang "Arirang" along with everyone and shouted "Mansei!" right in the midst of the communists. They were angry but could not stop me. By doing this so freely, I could break down another barrier within myself.
When Father talks of bringing about the unification of the Fatherland, it really means creating unity within myself, between my mind and body, between God and myself, and among all the nations of the world. The road that goes to Moscow begins right here within me. If I can conquer myself, then I can conquer Moscow. God already has the plan. I always wondered how we were going to do this, go to Moscow. Now I realize it will be through working on this side, through winning people's hearts right here.
I feel this rally marked a new beginning, a new start for me. Going to Berlin was truly historical for all of us, far more than we can yet perceive.