Blessing Candidate Preparation

This is from a testimony given by Mrs. Betsy Jones to a Blessing Candidate Preparation workshop in Russia.

I know in these 25 years, God has come close to us. I think that when God has come the closest to us personally and to our family has been when we could follow True Parents' direction for our family. This is so important. When we talk about the change of blood lineage, when we talk about being engrafted into True Parents, what does that mean? Yes, sometimes it means crisis. When our children were very young was a time when all the wives were mobilized. That's not the time most people would want to go and think about the nation and the world. But the providential time table is a real thing. As blessed couples, when we can connect to that, we move. You will see. Your family will move leaps and bounds ahead. So when we were a young couple, even though we were fighting sometimes, Father said, "I want all the wives to go around the country." So actually when we said, "Bye, bye," is when we started to feel true love. It's a paradox. Isn't that a paradox? "Bye, bye. (I really feel something)"! Then when we are apart from each other and trying to do things for God and writing to each other and taking responsibility for each other, trying to take responsibility for something bigger than our family, God becomes so close. Our relationship became so close. It's the same with our children. That time when we went on witnessing conditions and left everybody behind, I can remember thinking: this is not the way to parent. But actually we have to find that balance and that heartistic unity with True Parents.

So I feel like Farley and I are here today by God's grace and True Parents' foundation and guidance to our family. I have to give testimony to my husband. He made a great effort. In his family, when he was five years old, his father left the family. So he never saw a family committed to each other. At times he had a hard time being committed to me. I had a hard time that he wasn't committed to me. I thought I could take that for granted. But he made an effort and he listened to me sometimes when I had an inspiration, when I could feel True Parents' heart. It's like a handkerchief. Sometimes God can't take the whole family at once. So He will pull one corner; you will hear God's voice in your family. Sometimes it's through the husband. He's trying to pull your family through your husband, and you know it. You can be the kind of wife that holds back: "Stay back here. Just take care of me." Or you can let that inspiration come into your family, and you make your offering as a family. Or sometimes Father tries to pull the wives, and the husband has to follow. Father says the hinge between the Messiah's family and the blessed couple is the wife's position. So that's why these ceremonies right from the very beginning focus on Eve. On the foundation of Eve's making unity with True Parents, the husbands should understand and support that. If this is the sweet persimmon tree, through the wife's unity with True Parents, a bud can be brought back to the bitter persimmon. So the husband's position is particularly to cut back on fallen desires. He should be like a tree that's been pruned and ready to receive that bud. It's a very cooperative activity. It's like riding in a canoe. If the canoe sinks or turns over, you are both responsible.

Many people will come in after trying to relate to their spouse for a little while and say, "He's like this," or "He's like that." But there are many reasons for your match. Maybe that's the perfect restorational spouse for you. You don't know what kind of ancestral problems you had. So whatever problem comes to you, you can say, "With this spouse, we will find the way to get through it, to overcome it." Some people think the solution is to change your spouse. That's not the solution. Even if you get married the second time, the same problem may come up, even sooner.

I was reading Psychology Today the other day on the train. There was an article on happiness that included a story from the Buddhist tradition, about a woman whose son had died. She had such a hard time accepting his death. And someone said, "Well, go see the teacher." And the medicine that the teacher prescribed was: "Go to every village and find one person who has not gone through the death of a parent, the loss of a spouse, the loss of a child, or some other major loss. You find one, and bring that person back to me. Put the child down and go." So the woman did as the teacher said. As she went from village to village she listened to one heart-breaking story after another and she did try to comfort those who had suffered. Through comforting others, she realized her grief had been healed.

You can probably learn many things from that kind of story if you think about it, but one thing that is very clear is that problems will come, crises will come, losses will come. Even when you try to accept your mate, sometimes you have to cry and give up something that you thought about yourself. Maybe you have some pride: Gee, I'm from Germany and now I'm blessed with someone from Thailand. This is totally different from what I am used to, and maybe even from what I wanted. So we must be like the mother who looked for medicine -- and realize that the real medicine is to change our viewpoint about ourselves and our situation.

I've been touched many times by blessed couples who really understand Father's philosophy when he teaches us that our storehouse of suffering on earth is our warehouse of Blessing in the spirit world. One time my husband and I were fighting a lot, and True Parents took me aside and asked me, "Why do you fight with your husband?" I was prepared to say, "Well, I think it's because he's like this and like this." I was thinking that in my head before I said anything, but then I realized and I said to True Parents, "It's because I want him to be like me." And Father laughed. He thought that was a right-on answer. That's what we all do in a marriage situation: One says, "Come over here. Join my side." The other one tries to pull the other in the direction of "Do it like I do it. Think like I think."

The most amazing thing is that after 25 years you start to really enjoy the way the other one does things. It's amazing. Really, I just love the way my husband is. I can count on certain things, his character, his way. In the first year of marriage he thought he was going to die being blessed to someone like me. In his family everybody was very rational and logical. After one year of marriage, he said, "I'm going to write on your gravestone: Here lies Betsy. She never hid her feelings."

Big Brother's Biography

This is the second half of a series on computers and communications technology, and the promise-or menace-that they hold for us all.

Early on, computers were linked together with `dedicated' telephone or microwave lines. If any part of the chain broke, they were cut off. The Defense Department wanted a nuclear-war-proof method of communication, so in 1969 they funded the beginnings of the modern Internet.

The newborn Net soon passed into the hands of academia. At first it linked Universities worldwide, as well as the infamous `hacker' clubs of the 1980s. (Read The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling.)

Today's Internet spans a vast web of `nodes' and communication lines. All of its information is first broken down into small, discreet `packets,' then sent by the best available route. Each packet is acknowledged, and resent if needed. All of today's computer modems use this method. This also enables a fast modem to carry on several tasks at once.

In 1980 the best modems transmitted at around 19 bps. (Bytes per second.) 1994's top speed was 28.8 K bps. (K=kilo, or one thousand.) Many cities are now `covered' by inexpensive wireless 54K networks, enabling mobile linkups. Phone company digital ISDN lines are faster still. In a few year's time, 1M satellite and 10M `coaxial' cable modems should be available. (M=mega, or one million.) These will make possible the downloading of entire feature movies in just a few moments.

Today, thanks to commercial providers like America Online, millions have access to the Net. The brand-new World Wide Web has permeated American society within a single year!

Cyber Wars

Several years back, a hacker invented the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption system. It enables anyone with a desktop computer to encode their data so that no one, including the Feds, can read it. Naturally, considering the Net's roots, the Feds didn't like this.

The world's most powerful computers reside at the National Security Agency (NSA), where they try to break other nation's (and corporation's) codes, and invent better ones for themselves.

The Cold War still reverberates. The NSA's supercomputers can automatically `listen' to, and recognize, virtually any written or spoken word, in many languages. The NSA monitors thousands of phone and data lines at once, and they're currently seeking to expand this capacity to tens of millions of lines.

They say this will be aimed only at criminals and terrorists, and that they'll never listen in except at greatest need . . . However, as Unificationists know too well, anyone find themselves on a government `hit list.' One national talk show host whimsically urged his listeners to overload these automatic watchers by sprinkling their phone and modem conversations with ominous `keywords.' (Big Brother would love to ban talk shows too.)

PGP's suddenly-famous inventor barely escaped prosecution. The Feds now wish to ban PGP, and require inclusion of their own secretly- designed `Clipper Chips' in all communications devices. However, even before Clipper was introduced, hackers had already come up with several ways to defeat them.

This isn't all bad. The Feds need to catch the real bad guys, and they're going hi-tech too. The old Soviet KGB once employed a group of German hackers to steal American secrets. Furthermore, privacy, in and of itself, is often a mere screen for fallen activities. When seated at a computer, perhaps no one but God will be looking over your shoulder.

Ordinary, uncoded modems have not escaped Federal eyes either. The increasing use of email has cut deeply into Post Office revenues. The Feds are coming up with a host of responses which sound good, like "universal access." In actuality, these proposals will place their sticky hands right back into the pie. They're talking about taxing Internet providers, and requiring `electronic stamps' for all email.

There are other, less recognized areas of the Internet, mainly involving business. These began with `dedicated phone lines' for airline reservations and banking computers. This spread to `personal' uses such as ATM machines, and recently, to ubiquitous `pay points' at grocery stores, gas stations, etc.

Satellites

In 1945, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke proposed the use of `geosynchronous communications satellites.' Today, dozens of these hover 22,000 above the equator, each `covering' a vast area of the Earth's surface. At first they were useful only as communications relays between gigantic `ground station' dishes. Later models broadcast one-way TV signals to large backyard dishes. Now there are powerful digital-signal models, which only need `pizza-plate sized' dishes, and carry hundreds of channels.

Even the old TV satellites were enough to give the willies to many dictatorial governments. Both Iran and Red China have attempted to ban all private dishes. They point to decadent programming like the Playboy Channel, (they might have a point there) but their real concern is certainly with CNN, Sky News and their brethren-'outside' versions of reality that might conflict with their `approved' one.

Here too the hackers get into the act. The huge corporations which launch and operate these billion-dollar satellites wish to extract every ounce of profit they can. Thus, users are often required to buy their dishes and circuitry, and then pay rent to use them. Thus, the `decoder box' black market. Signals are encrypted, the code is broken and bootleg boxes sold, then new software is issued and the cycle begins again. Special signals are sent which fry the illegal boxes, then the hackers build new ones.

There are already suitcase-sized satellite cellular phones, which enable one to place a call from anywhere, even the middle of the ocean. Soon these phones will be pocket-sized, and will include computer modems.

The Future

A currently popular ad uses the phrase "the future is here." The folks who best predicted today's `future' were early science fiction writers like Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and yes, Jack London. Some things were missed; spacemen were using slide rules, and computers were gigantic- and willfully malevolent.

Everyone's looking to the future more earnestly than ever. Who knows what today's sci-fi writers have right, and what they're totally missing? Pocket-sized cellular phones are here now. The World Wide Web is connected to `live' cameras all over the world, but these are more silly than ominous. Dick Tracy's `two way wrist TV' is only a few years off.

Many futurists paint a glowing picture of what technology and the Net will bring us. Saying it will place the world in our hands, and knit it into a Global Village.

The so-called `cypherpunks' are going much further, predicting that the Net will free us from all restraint, hide us from the Law, and eventually create a sort of benevolent anarchy.

Others see a darker picture, where technologies which began as useful tools may entrap us all-before most people even realize it. Examples abound.

Tiny, glass-covered computer-chip implants are now available for use in animals. These are easily checked, for they can be `read' through the skin with a handheld `wand.' Ranchers use them to `brand' prize cattle, while homeowners can identify lost pets. It's only a matter of time before they are used in human beings, perhaps for military or medical purposes.

Gossiping Christians used to say that UPC barcodes would be "the mark of the beast," but now it's going to be those discreet little chips. In fact, Big Brother needs no demonic influence to institute such things; the bureaucrats will push it on their own. And most of them will sincerely believe that it's for the public good! One of my favorite talk show hosts says "if Big Brother ever comes, it will be in the name of efficiency."

However, the tables can be turned! If these chip implants are promised to be foolproof, officials will rely heavily on them. A clever hacker could reprogram his chip to identify him as the Prince of Luxembourg, or anyone else, and he would stand an excellent chance of being believed.

Critics of the Bible have said that, if Jesus were to descend from the literal clouds, only a few people (upon our spherical Earth) would actually see him. Of course, the `heavenly' purpose of television and satellites is to bring the Good News to everyone on the planet.

True Father wishes to use the world-spanning Net to, at long last, make education truly universal. An lone African herdsman, beneath a tree in the midst of the vast savanna, could be as tied in as if he were walking the halls of Harvard.

So, which will it be: true world liberation or crushing tyranny? Ultimately, the hearts of everyone; Feds, Scientists and Hackers, will have to change. That's the only way to be sure that Big Brother -or his Nanny State sister- won't end up crushing us all. The Principle, and all knowledge, can now flow freely throughout the world. In that vast unfolding future, who knows what possibilities await us!

Beyond the Dream: Black & White Sisterhood

by Cheryl Roth and Heather Thalheimer-Boston, MA

"Dreams don't become reality unless we give them legs," spoke Dr. Deborah Harris, the keynote speaker. As our legs carried us across the bridge of racial harmony, we began to see a new reality. All eyes were filled with tears, hearts pounding, embracing, clutching one another we knew the walls of resentment and fear were beginning to crumble.

The reality: each of us harbors prejudice within from learned concepts, bad experiences and ancestral resentment. Our hearts are blocked from seeing and feeling the greater reality.

The greater reality: by examining our inner selves, then opening our hearts to one another, we began the process of healing which will allow us to see and know the goodness, truth and beauty within each individual, culture and race.

This was the inner content of the African-American/Caucasian sisterhood ceremony held in Boston two Sundays after Easter. As is fitting of the month of April, our hearts and spirits were resurrected through this day's events.

After a few words of welcome by our co-emcees to the African-American women, the Caucasian women entered the ballroom. The room quickly became a-buzz with friendly greetings and warm embraces.

More welcoming remarks were given by a representative of the Women's Commission from the Mayor's office. Letters of welcome from First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Governor Weld were read. After this impressive beginning, our spirits were lifted even higher by two beautiful anthems-"America the Beautiful" sung by Mrs. Paulette Wiesinger, and "Lift Every Voice" sung by Mrs. Kim St. Luce.

Representatives from the African American and Caucasian communities exchanged greetings and flowers. Each gave a very moving and personal speech, different in character, allowing us to see from different perspectives what needs to be restored.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Deborah Harris, is a well-respected educator and professional orator from Tampa, Florida. However, at the beginning of her talk she confessed that she could not approach this as an orator, but had to go deep into her soul to confront her own barriers of racial prejudice. She spoke from her heart of her need for healing and acceptance. She expressed deep gratitude that God had allowed her and everyone there to participate in this internal journey and external ceremony.

Through exposing her own feelings and experiences in her lifelong search for racial equality and harmony, she led us into deep reflection. She challenged us to experience healing through confronting the internal issues. Her own sense of dignity, knowledge and experience gave us encouragement. She empowered us by reminding us of the value and power God gave to women at the time of creation.

To make a lasting impression she demonstrated to us how external appearances can be deceptive-by removing her jacket and shoes to reveal a tattered blouse and holes in her stockings. She asked us not to cover up who we are to deal with each other heart to heart. The content of our character is what should lead us to accept each other, not the color of our skin or the way we dress or the position we hold.

Nothing could have been more appropriate to prepare the atmosphere for the bridge ceremony than this speech. Everyone in the room crossed the bridge, including some children, bringing tears of joy and hope to every eye. We could feel our example taking substance in the future generations through the children's pairs. After the bridge crossing we read our sisterhood pledge together and exchanged corsages and personal information. Our emotions were given expression through songs from Cantor Sheila Cline and powerful soul music by Cynthia Miles Gray.

The main program ended at about 3pm as we floated out of the room on clouds of exhilaration to attend the Luncheon. For an hour we ate and shared informally with one another.

Participants lingered long after the celebratory music finished, sister not wanting to leave sister.

The great triumph of this event continued to unfold in the days and weeks following the program. Our WFWP office phone was a-buzz with calls of thanks from participants. The only complaint was we hadn't enough tissues on hand!

A week after the event one participant recounted with joy the four phone conversations she'd had with her sister.

A quiet revolution has begun, a revolution of the heart towards true love, a love that knows no cultural, ethnic or color bias. Let us all share in this new world "beyond the dream."

Are We All Going to Get Burned?

by Rev. James Stephens

Jim Stephens is the former Director of ICC Conferences in Korea. He is now living with his wife, Hiromi, and 5 children in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois. This article appeared in the local newspaper, The Pantagraph, in a weekly column titled "From The Pulpit" on May 11, 1996.

Most new denominations or new religions that have any staying power teach "new truth" when compared to the traditional religious doctrines of the day. For the adherents of this new "truth", the new doctrine makes more sense to them, answers their long-standing questions, or seems to be a better guide for their daily lives. Conversion to something new and different is not an easy process so it must be significantly attractive. Typically there is a charismatic leader and the eventual followers are made up of either "searchers" or people who have given up on the traditional doctrines.

This is for the most part true of my church. My background was very much oriented to the practical world. I got my degree in engineering from Northwestern University. Like many in college during the Vietnam war, I was a "searcher", wanting peace in the world, and disillusioned with traditional churches.

Traveling to California after graduation, I encountered the Unification teachings, founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, whose own background was engineering. What I heard over the next ten days made a lot of sense to me.

As a matter of fact, it still does. One of the things that pleases me the most about my faith is that it is very practical and highly applicable to daily life. It is also deeply profound and personal in the relationship that I have developed with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

I cannot expect any of you readers to accept the Unification teachings because they definitely fall into this controversial "new truth" area. However, I would like to offer some of our insights on the Last Days for your consideration.

At the outset, let me assure you that the two necessary ingredients for interpreting the Bible are present. First is the Holy Spirit. Rev. Sun Myung Moon is a person who has had the Holy Spirit from a very young age. Second is a Biblical foundation. His teachings are based on countless hours of study of the Bible. Eyewitnesses testify to at least three of his Bibles that fell apart from use. These teachings have changed the lives of millions all over the world, in every race, every culture, every religion, every language and every country. I believe this is because the Unification Teachings are understandable through basic universal common sense. This is not a shallow doctrine.

What's going to happen to us in the Last Days?

The Bible predicts disastrous events in the Last Days. Unificationism, however, teaches there will not be a supernatural end of the world. The cataclysmic events of the Bible are not to be taken literally. The kingdom of heaven and peace on earth will be established in this world in the Last Days by people of living faith.

So how do Unification teachings interpret the scriptures predicting doom? Matt. 24:29 says, "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken..." Rev. Moon found the Bible verse for interpreting this scripture in Gen. 37:9-10, the interpretation of

Joseph's dream. "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me...his father rebuked him and said, 'What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?'" In this story the sun, moon and stars symbolized the father, mother and the children.

So what does this mean for the Last Days? The "sun" of the Bible is of course Jesus. The "moon" which reflects the light of the sun is either the Holy Spirit or else the Bible itself. And the "stars" are the children of the "sun" and the "moon". This is the Christians.

If we look at the history of America, there is no time in the past when there was so little of Jesus and the Bible in public institutions as there is today. Look at our government, our educational system, our judicial system, the media. Do you see the "sun" (Jesus) and the "moon" (Bible) in our public institutions? Have any "stars" (Christians) fallen from heaven? You bet they have. James Baker and Jimmy Swaggert to name a couple. Christians as a whole have about the same rate of divorce, adultery, abortions and others sins as the general population. Have we, the "stars", fallen from heaven? You decide.

Many are expecting Christ to return in the literal sky on literal clouds. Rev. Moon was guided by the Holy Spirit to Hebrews 12:1. It says, "...we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles..." A cloud of witnesses in this verse is a great number of people. Unificationism says that in the Last Days, there will be a great cloud of witnesses (i.e. believers in Christ) that effectively change the world through active faith.

What "earth" will be destroyed? In the Bible, "heaven" and "earth" can be either literal or symbolic. Jesus said in John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." Jesus was not denying his birth on earth and claiming he came down from the sky. He was saying his origins were in God in heaven and in spirit. The "earth" that Jesus came down to was the world of evil. This "earth" (the evil world) is what he intends to destroy, not the literal earth (i.e. the soil).

The weapon of choice for Jesus is truth. Truth is the power he uses to change the world. It is referred to in the Bible by many symbols such as fire, sword, breath, tongue, hammer and lightning. In the Last Days it is the Spirit of Truth that comes bringing new truth that will change the world (John 16:12-13, I Cor. 13: 9-12, I John 3:2) Ephes. 6:16-17 speaks of "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Jesus said, "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled." (Luke 12:49) In Jer. 23:29 it says, "Is not my word like fire," declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces." Hosea 6:5 says "my judgments flashed like lightning upon you." II Thess. 2:8 says "the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth..." In the Last Days people and things will be burned up; the earth will be shaken; people will be thrown into the fire. Unificationism teaches these are not literal but testifying to the power of truth.

All the supernatural events have explanations in terms of spiritual warfare and things that will be taking place in the minds and hearts of people in the Last Days. Take heart, peace on earth for all is coming.

Rev. Moon has revealed hundreds and hundreds of such discoveries as these in the Bible. Copies of the basic study guide are available at no charge by writing to me at P.O. Box 1802, Bloomington, IL 61702.

Rev. James Stephens is pastor of the Unification Church in Bloomington.

Annual Lecture Contest at UTS

by Gareth Davies-Barrytown, NY

Given the task of explaining the decision of the judges of this year's Divine Principle Lecture Contest at the seminary, Dr. Dietrich Seidel spoke of the need for balance between a precise knowledge of the Divine Principle and the ability to effectively communicate that knowledge to a diverse audience. The three prize winners, he said, were the ones who best succeeded in maintaining that balance.

Once again, the audience was treated to a cosmopolitan array of contestants, with two Africans, two Japanese, one Filipino, one Hungarian, one Englishwoman and a French Canadian. These eight were selected from an original field of 16 entrants.

There are many ways of presenting the Divine Principle, as our Founder has dramatically illustrated, and these finalists covered the full range of possibilities, from the calm, persuasive tones of Rachel Carter, who lectured on the invisible substantial world, to the dramatic, impassioned presentation of Victor Nyarko whose high-energy assault on the question of where Christ will come again almost took the first prize.

Eventually, however, it would be Sandor Vamos of Hungary who captured the honors. Lecturing on the last days and the present days, Sandor effectively combined personal testimony with a clear presentation of the Divine Principle content. Victor Nyarko was given second place with Rachel Carter taking third.

An African Folk Tale

by David Iversen-8 years old

Once upon a time there lived a cheetah named Atar. Atar lived in beautiful grasslands. One day, Atar was hunting and he saw an antelope. He caught it and ate part of it. There was another cheetah whose name was Kano and he just missed a deer. Atar said, "Do you want some antelope?" "Yes, please," said Kano, and he ate the rest.

The next day Kano was hunting and he caught a wolf. Atar tried to catch a hyena. Kano saw that Atar missed the hyena, so before Kano ate he said to Atar, "Do you want some wolf?" Atar said, "Yes, please," but while Atar was eating, he realized that he should have offered the meat to Kano first. After Atar shared the meat, he realized that he should have offered the best to Kano the day before.

Moral

The best teachers teach by example.

Also, one should give the first and the best to others.

Africa! Purposely a Loser?

by Massimo Trombin-Rome, Italy

This article was published in the Italy IRFF magazine "Senza Frontiere" and given as part of a series of talks by Massimo Trombin in the public schools of Italy.

The International Relief Friendship Foundation is a non-governmental organization (N.G.O.) dedicated to relief activities, addressing such problems as poverty, malnutrition and disease. Its purpose is to make a positive contribution to social changes and towards more harmonious and balanced progress. One important condition to fulfill this program and purpose is to inform people concerning the roots of problems and to look for potential long-lasting solutions.

Today, the African continent is made up of 54 nations: some follow a democratic type of system, others are controlled by military power or an elite group which has found its most refined expression in the one- party system. Some states, like Sudan, are controlled by an Islamic regime. Consequently, one can see the great variety and differences in the political, social, cultural and economic contexts in the continent. In the last few years, for example, we have witnessed radical social change, such as the fall of apartheid in South Africa with the birth of a new, steadier social system which has drawn the international economic interest of investors; or the collapse of Nigeria, once considered the country with the highest economic potential and now branded as an at-risk nation exporting crime and corruption. The world could witness the genocide of the Rwandan population, reminding us of the massacre by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia or the holocaust in Europe. Such situations have been going on since 1993 and it is now expanding into Burundi. Think about the conflicts of power in Somalia, where speaking of a Somali nation sounds almost ridiculous. Here we saw the clear failure of international involvement which could neither bring nor propose any solution to the civil war.

Then, what are the causes allowing such a dangerous and unsteady situation to arise on the African continent? Let's identify some of them.

From 1980 to 1990 in Africa, the per-capita income was 1.2%, whereas in Asia, in the same period, it was 6.2%. One of the consequences was that, from 1990, 24 out of the 36 poorest nations in the world have been located on the African continent. Humanitarian agencies were found to be the main recipient and beneficiary in the "African situation." In Somalia alone, in 1992, $2.6 billion was spent, yet the investment needed to rebuild this nation will be much higher ($10 billion at least) and more complicated.

According to a UNDP report, today there are nine nations seriously at risk, whose explosion might cause further impoverishment and destabilization for the continent. The tragic aspect of such a situation is that the method and mechanics leading to war, genocide and tyranny in these territories never change and are familiar to the nations and organizations which could act in time to prevent and avoid useless suffering and abuses. For instance, in Nigeria a local newspaper published a list of key people to be liquidated in Rwanda; this list had been exposed before the active slaughter began, thus showing that the massacre had been planned in advance.

Here is what happens when these nations explode: the number of refugees and displaced people increases, foreigners escape, the international community makes its humanitarian effort, "advertising" is broadcast through the media headed by CNN reports. Then the event fades away, blood flows no more, the explosions cease and so the "crisis" falls into oblivion, leaving people's consciences and joining the archives of the African crises. All this, till the eruption of a new "crisis". I think all of us have witnessed such phenomena. The solution lies in the word PREVENTION. The type of message which is launched is absolutely inconceivable: These crises are as inevitable as the seasons in the course of the year. Those of us in the West in particular generally have such an idea about African historical reality.

What we need, instead, is research assisted by humanitarian and educational aids, as well as a definite, long-term solution. This cannot be accomplished by NGO's or good intentions, but by an international policy which takes into account the actions and investments of Africans in particular, the people who really want to solve their problems at the root. It cannot be the responsibility of the United Nations, FAO or EEC, Japan or USA to help or solve the African crises. This is the responsibility of African leaders and governments. The worldwide community can help and provide stimulation, but the initiative must come from the African people themselves; if they have no intention to act in this direction-preventing and solving by constructive actions for the public good-any external effort to achieve all this will be to no avail.

What are the roots of the problem? Racism, tribalism, the national boundaries established by the old colonial systems, and economic and ideological imperialism. In fact, we can still witness the consequences of communist imperialism in many African areas. But the point is that today, Africa is ruled only by Africans and therefore it is they who determine the socio-economic policies connected to such causes. At the same time, we can see the example of Mandela, who understands that workable, concrete solutions do exist.

One of the deepest causes of such conflicts stems from the centralization of power, causing the tribal center-associated group to thrive, while the other groups struggle through poverty and alienation. The oligarchies manage to get control over all development sectors, often clashing with the policies established by the World Bank or IMF. At the same time, these policies often do not take into account local situations, especially of minority ethnic groups, but are only grounded on the Western concept of development, giving rise to further tensions, failures and misunderstandings. For example, from 1981 to 1991, $25 billion has been spent for the economy of 29 African countries but only six of them have registered an increase. It is evident that the World Bank must change its intervention system.

In the final analysis, the people capable of bringing welfare to Africa, through long-term programs linked to the territory and local cultures, are basically the farmers. Unfortunately, even if 90% of their income is in foreign currency, they are entirely excluded from political and economic realities, and are often completely controlled by state policies and the interests of a few people. Only when there is a decentralization of territories and markets as well as basic socio-economic information in the rural world will a process of potential stability begin in Africa. African people must also look to discover their own progress formula attuned to their cultures and roots. Today, only 13 African nations have a democratic system. The strong-man system is generally used by leaders to run Africa. As a result, endless civil wars break out, fueled by all kinds of interests and arms-traders. Moreover, there is no African institution capable of intervening to begin a process of reconciliation. The Organization of African Unity is more formal than operative and lacks true direction. As a consequence, conflict situations, which could be solved in the beginning, burst into never-ending bloody wars. The work necessary for these countries is, as one can imagine, great. Evidently, what Africa needs is young, motivated leaders longing to establish true solutions.

In this sense, an interesting testimony comes from the southern African countries where, in order to face the new drought-provoked food crisis, they have formed an active coalition, planning funds and joint efforts without waiting for international relief-intervention, but engaging in the search for practical strategies without having to depend on external aid.

Massimo Trombin is the executive director of I.R.F.F. Italy.

A Diamond In Father's Crown

When Father announced this important meeting, through prayer I received that there was some providential meaning and if we failed to accomplish this, I felt it would be terrible for America. A was desperate to accomplish this.

I had been working with a wonderful group through the Women's Federation for World Peace for the past four months. Because I was very active, they even asked me to become a member of their board of directors. The group was doing very valuable work helping to turn around first time offenders. I thought that they would be a perfect nominee for an award.

Initially, they accepted. Then they changed their minds when they discovered that Rev. Moon would be speaking at the awards banquet. I was asked to come to a meeting at their office. At this meeting they told me that they would not go because of Rev. Moon and that they no longer wanted to have anything to do with me because of my religion.

Even though I have worked with the church for almost twenty years, I still felt as if I had been stabbed in the heart with a knife. I had labored for them so diligently, and they were the people who had asked me to be on their board. It was extremely painful.

I felt that I had to vindicate Father. I showed them three color pamphlets detailing Father's vast accomplishments. I shared with them about True Father and how much he has been misunderstood. Still they were afraid that if they worked with me no one else would want to work with them.

After testifying strongly to Father's goodness, I told them "No matter what you do or say, I will still love you and support you. One day you will be honored to work with a `Moonie'." They all felt so ashamed they couldn't even hold up their heads and look at me.

My heart was broken. I had hoped so much that they could experience the blessing of coming to this event. There were only a few days remaining. How could I discover a nominee in such a short time?

I went to the ocean and prayed, "Please, God, take this pain, this hurt, and this persecution. Turn it into a `Diamond in father's Crown of Glory.' Please help me to find some noble serving person whom you feel deserves recognition." For almost two hours, I prayed in desperation.

When I went home, I called Richard Sapp, a fellow member of the selection committee. He responded to the situation immediately. We contacted Lenny Theisen, another committee member, called some other people, and by that evening we had a wonderful candidate. She was the founder of a school and home for unwed mother's and had raised over 45 children. She had even worked on the same reservations where I had worked in south Dakota. I knew that she and her husband were the prepared people that I had prayed to find.

I was privileged to travel with Caroline and her husband to the event in Washington. They received a special award recognizing them among all the other 150 candidates for their great service. That evening at the banquet, Caroline cried as she expressed her gratitude for the award. She was so humble and beautiful. I looked to see Father's tender face as she was speaking. He was nodding in agreement.

Father was happy and so was I. Because of the prompt response of Richard Sapp and Lenny Theisen and our united effort, God was able to turn a difficult situation into a "Diamond in Father's Crown." The pain in my heart was healed. To see Father happy made it all worthwhile.