An Amazing Journey!

by Gregory B. Davis-Deer Park, NY

Greetings, brothers and sisters, fellow travelers and sojourners. I am always inspired to hear the "stories" from everyday experiences of people meeting God. It never ceases to amaze me, the variety of ways in which we are all connected to one another and how we discover those "connections" as our journey unfolds. With that thought in mind, I would like to share a recent encounter of mine.

At this time I am employed as a medical alert technician in service to the elderly community. My work takes me throughout the Queens and Long Island area from L.I.C. to Montauk. In my daily travels I am always trying to be sensitive and aware of how God might work "behind the scenes" with my clients. On a recent trip out to East Hampton I had the following experience:

I was called to install a system for an elderly gentleman who lived in a very nice cottage in a rural area, kind of an "artsy" place. It started out as a routine call: I went in, established some kind of rapport, and got to work. I sincerely try to think of myself as an ambassador of True Parents for all of the people I visit, but most of the time the communication is very limited due to the severity of illnesses I encounter. This call was typical. An older gentleman, well past his prime, possibly recovering from a stroke, sitting slumped in a wheelchair. There was very little give and take. I finished my job, specifically the installation of a personal emergency response system (PERS). I was packing my things, preparing to leave, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a faded old photograph and newspaper article. It was of a young, vigorous man, smiling, standing next to a huge fish! "Is that you?" I asked. "Yep," he said. A small grin was starting to creep across his face. My client (Peter) was coming back to life. He said, "You should've seen me back then; I was young and strong!"

I found out, after a few more minutes of animated conversation, that he used to be a boat captain. He ran a charter fishing boat off Montauk Point-and Freeport, twenty years ago. I started hearing that "Twilight Zone music" and felt really funny in the pit of my stomach. I caught my breath. "Freeport?" I asked in my usual direct, point- blank fashion, "Have you every heard of Rev. Moon?" "Heard of him? Why, heck, yeah! I used to take him out on my boat years ago-from Freeport!" he proclaimed proudly. I can still feel the chill that went up my spine at that moment. Could it be that this man was one of the earliest men to take Father out fishing in the very beginning of the fishing providence? It appeared to be so. I asked my new-found friend many questions about what it was like in those days with Rev. Moon out on the sea. He told me many heartfelt stories of how Father would talk to him personally like a son and how he would sit out on the back of the boat "just staring out at the sea." He said Rev. Moon was very kind and took care of him very well. "I remember him as a very good man." I could tell by the emotion in his voice that our conversation took him back to a better time in his life. He then asked a few questions of me: I told him that I had been following the teachings of Rev. Moon for over 20 years and had also had some very special personal experiences with him. I briefly shared with him some of the recent activities of True Parents around the world. There was a special feeling in the room at that moment, like the reunion of a long-lost father and son-like the meeting of two friends too long separated. I was grinning from ear to ear, my all-too-infrequent boyish grin which belies my years, and thinking to myself: thank you, God, for this call.

Peter was starting to tire, since he wasn't used to all this excitement. I looked deeply into his eyes and shook his hand warmly. He said to me that he was really glad we could share this conversation. I agreed and asked him if he would like me to visit him again. I told him I would bring him a picture of Rev. Moon which he could keep as a memento. He said he would like that very much. I left his home feeling very grateful to have met this man-and feeling very close to God.

A few days ago I visited him again and took a picture of True Parents and a copy of "True Parents and the Completed Testament Age" speech. He was happy to receive them and said he would try to read the speech. I left there thinking what an "amazing journey"! and was reminded once again that you never know whom you will meet or how God will touch someone-or you.

Ahmed's First Christmas

by Catherine Ladolcetta-Irvington, AL

It was getting close to Christmas and Top Garden School was filled with a joyful tension-a knowing that "something good is coming!"

Mee Young's third grade class was buzzing about the Christmas play. Who would be Mary and who Joseph? Who would be the Angel of God bringing the glad news of the newborn baby?

The door opened with a bang and in came a boy no one knew.

"This is Ahmed, class," said their teacher, Miss Claire, stepping into the room behind the small, dark-haired boy.

"Ahmed?" thought Mee Young to herself. "He must be a Blessed child to have a name like Ahmed."

"Hi, Ahmed." Mee Young smiled as she spoke to him. To her surprise, as she looked into his face, she saw anger and fear.

"Please sit down, class. Ahmed will be with us for several months while his father is here on business with I.O.E. Ahmed, you can sit in this desk." Miss Claire pointed to the desk in the middle of the front row. "Mee Young, will you sit by Unja for now and we'll sort things out at snacktime."

As Mee Young slipped into her seat beside Unja, Miss Claire smiled at Ahmed. He sat frowning down at the desk, biting his lip and clenching his hands in his lap. She could see that he was close to tears.

Ahmed knew the children's eyes were on him. He could feel their curiosity poking at him. He was afraid of these Christians and their too-friendly ways.

The plane ride had been long and he and his father had slept very little. Ahmed's head was heavy and his stomach hurt a bit because he hadn't eaten any of the strange foods offered him at breakfast. He heard the teacher's words and understood most of them. His English classes in Saudi had prepared him well, but she spoke so fast and she had a funny accent, too. He fought his tiredness, but his eyes closed and he laid his head on his arms. As he slept, he dreamed of his mother's face. She was smiling at him and telling him something. He tried to listen. She was wearing a brilliant white gown and Ahmed lifted his face to look at her better.

"Don't worry, Ahmed, these are good people, they will be kind to you."

He cried out to her in his dream. "Why did you leave us? Why did you go away?" She didn't answer, but patted his arm lovingly and still smiling, she was gone.

Suddenly, Ahmed was awake. He sat up abruptly and, looking wildly around, he saw nothing he knew-no one-not one of his aunts or elder sisters was there as they had been all the time since his mother's death three months ago. He burst into frightened tears and buried his face in his arms again.

The children, who had been watching him sleep, leaned toward him. Daniel reached out a small, brown hand and patted his back. "It's O.K., Ahmed, don't worry. We'll take care of you."

"Yeah, we will," said Nathan, coming over to his desk. He bent his sandy blond head over Ahmed and spoke softly. "We like you; don't be sad."

Around the small classroom, children' heads bobbed in agreement. As Miss Claire looked around, she felt tears coming to her eyes. Mee Young and Shimmy, Unja and Daniel each had tears rolling down their faces or glittering in their eyes. "Look at them, they don't even know him and they are crying because he is so unhappy," she thought to herself.

Ahmed lifted his head as he heard their voices and slowly looked around. He was so tired and so lonely in this strange land where people smiled even when they didn't know him. And now, all these children, so kind-as his mother had told him in his dream-were crowding around him with friendliness in their eyes. He sniffed and wiped his arm across his nose. He looked around the group of anxious faces and tried to smile. In an instant, they all were laughing and talking and patting him on the back and telling him about soccer and lunch and the Christmas play.

Ahmed felt better. "Maybe it will be all right here," he thought. "I hope Waheba is not feeling as awful as this."

Waheba was Ahmed's nine-year-old sister. He knew she was sitting in another small classroom nearby. He'd looked in as he passed the open door and had seen only two children at desks and there was a third desk-empty.

"Empty for Waheba," he thought now. "She is fine," he told himself. "She is always fine, she has that way."

The children were getting out colorful boxes and, opening them, they took out all kinds of food. Ahmed was very hungry, but he had no lunchbox. A slender boy with black hair and narrow eyes shyly reached over and laid something white, wrapped in green, on his desk. A yellow square of paper lay beneath it.

"Here, have a rice ball," he said with a shy smile.

"Yeah, they're really good." It was the girl with short, dark hair and big greenish eyes who had given him her desk.

"Thank you." Ahmed picked up the funny-looking bundle and carefully sniffed it. He put it into his mouth whole and began to chew. It was good and he was so hungry! One by one, the children put a part of their lunch on the yellow paper napkin. He ate each one: a smoky bit of fish, a cup of pink yogurt with a tiny, white plastic spoon, a crunchy round thing with a slice of orange cheese on it. He didn't recognize anything by its shape and everything tasted a little different from anything he knew from home, but it all tasted good and he was so glad to eat.

"Oh! Nivena! My sister, is she O.K.?" he asked. Suddenly he had remembered his baby sister. She was four and she was here somewhere, too. He had a vague idea that she was in a different building to which she had gone with a lady who looked a lot like Miss Claire. Nivena had not spoken when they arrived this morning. She had not cried, but he knew she would need him because she was so young.

"May I see my sister, Nivena, please?" His voice was tight in his throat. He stood up straight and stiff-afraid he wouldn't be allowed to go to her.

"C'mon, Ahmed!" It was Mee Young again. "C'mon, you guys, let's go find Nivena!" They put the lunch boxes away in a flurry and Ahmed found himself running along a gray, cement-block walkway in the midst of his new classmates. As they rounded a corner, they slowed down a little and then stopped abruptly.

There, in the open gate, stood a tiny girl dressed all in black from her head to her toes.

"Ahmed!" she cried out, running to him. He caught her up in his arms and swung her around. She had been crying, he saw, tracing his finger over the streaks which ran down her round cheeks. But now she had stopped and she was smiling at him.

"I eat lunch." Her voice was not so tiny as she was herself. Her English was not so good as Ahmed's. "It good!" She hugged him around the neck and then struggled to get down. "I play now." She was pointing toward the swings which other children were pumping up and down across the bright blue sky.

"Do you want to swing, Nivena?" A girl nearly as tiny as she, with shoulder-length, honey-colored hair, took her hand, pulling her across the grass.

"Yes, yes! I swing!" The two little girls began to run. Ahmed watched in amazement as they stopped, and the American girl showed Nivena how to skip. They started off again, holding hands, tripping and stumbling a little and laughing together as they went.

"Is she O.K.?" Shimmy looked at Ahmed.

"Yes, she is O.K. We are all O.K. now." He turned and, with his first real smile, Ahmed asked, "Where is the soccer to be played?"

"All right, children, let's settle down!" The porch at Top Garden School was swimming in sunlight, and it was remarkably warm for the first week of December, even in southern Alabama.

Miss Claire tried again, "Children, let's quiet down so we can get this play organized!" The students found seats on the wooden benches on the porch and the talking subsided.

"Now, we have to decide who will be who!" Miss Claire smiled at all the hopeful faces. She knew that, among themselves, they had made some decisions concerning the parts in the traditional Christmas play.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"I do! I do!" Mee Young jumped up, almost shouting in her excitement. "Ahmed can be Joseph and Waheba can be Mary!" She looked around, her cheeks pink and her wide eyes sparkling.

"Oh, that's an interesting idea-what do you think, children?" Miss Claire was surprised because she knew that Mee Young wanted to be Mary even thought Mihee, as the oldest girl, would be a more likely choice.

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Mattias was grinning hopefully. He was the oldest boy in the school and he was right in thinking that he would probably be Joseph.

"What do you think, Mihee?" The third-grade teacher found that she did not know what to expect from her students.

Mihee sat still, her bright face thoughtful. Then she looked at Waheba and smiled her radiant smile.

"If you would like to be Mary, I think you would be great."

Waheba looked at her new best friend. "Is it really O.K., Mihee?" Her voice was hopeful and a little afraid. These Americans so easily gave what they had to her-still, she was a bit worried that, inside, Mihee might be sorry if she took the part. In her own country, people often hid their true feelings.

Mihee grinned, "Sure, it's O.K.! And it's be fun, too!"

A Summer at "One Heart Camp"

by Victoria Wilding-Vancouver, Canada

As the van drove across the dusty, pebbly road I could see people talking, hear children running, laughing, feel a carefree atmosphere. The van came to a stop. The bold, white sign read "One Heart Camp-Han Ma-um." This was new territory. We had driven three days from Vancouver, Canada and had finally arrived in Aetna Springs for the week-long summer camp, Aug. 18"24..

There were seven of us. Two friends, my father (driving), my younger brother, two younger sisters and myself. Everybody was stuck to the van like a magnet. However, I immediately recognized familiar faces and started to interact. That evening, we had our first evening service. During singing, voices sang to the ringing of guitar strings inside the large log cabin called the Social Hall. It felt like camp.

After our evening meeting, we were dismissed to a chaotic game of Capture the Flag. I felt helpless. Then somehow we regathered and were introduced to our groups. I was leader of G-3, with Hyo Sook Allen my assistant. Our members were Joleigh Davis, Jinae Linek, Josie Wells, Deanne Gowey, Youn-Soo Pine, Caroline Chen and S. H., all just out of 6th grade. It was my first group meeting. I was somewhat overwhelmed. But I managed to get my excited girls through self- introductions and closing prayer. At staff meeting I was one of only a few second generation, but never did I once have any feelings of backing off. I knew my responsibility and was determined to fulfill it.

The next morning, many people were late for morning exercise. Little or no punishment was given. Exercises were O.K. but after having attended the 70-day workshop in New York last summer, the standard seemed more than low. Morning service, given by Auntie Poppy Richie, was a beautiful story told from God's point of view about Aetna Springs. However, there was a general lack of spirit which was reflected in the singing. This carried on throughout the day and was to be seen in the doodling and talking during lectures, the lack of interest during discussion, and the "Yes! I'm free!" attitude during afternoon activities. Despite all the clamor around me, I carefully and with a desperate heart prepared for my evening testimony, which I was asked to give. My message was True Father's words "If you are determined, then God will work." I felt prepared and confident while giving my testimony and after it was over, could feel that giving my testimony was only a steeping tone for greater things in the near future. Perhaps with the respect I had gained by giving my testimony, I was able to conduct a productive group meeting, during which we came up with a skit topic. Our skit was a realistic situation in which a young Second Generation is confronted with dating. The young girl who is confronted, honestly explains about True Love and the Blessing. She is first teased but in the end gains the respect of her friend who has had a bad experience with dating. The title of our skit was "Let's be proud of and love our True Parents." The day ended well and the next one started better than the previous.

That morning, I was shocked by the amount of feedback I got about the lectures from my seemingly spaced out and unfocused group. But by the end of the day, during group meeting, it was really a struggle to keep the group on track to finish writing our skit script. We couldn't focus, we kept getting stuck on certain lines, people were wanting to do their own things. I felt extremely frustrated as I walked to staff meeting. After opening prayer, suddenly the silence was broken by the voice of Sangkyu Lee. He thought so far the workshop was horrible, parents were overprotective and the children were given too much freedom. The room was tense. I felt worried, because a line had been crossed. I felt confused-was this a good thing or a bad thing? I soon discovered it was good. The staff intensely poured out all of their feelings. We clarified our own standards and realized the children needed more discipline for their own good. We closed with representative, then unison, prayer. Everyone had tears in their eyes as one staff member cried out so desperately to Heavenly Father for forgiveness. That meeting marked a turning point in our workshop. I could not possibly go to sleep. I went outside and offered by deepest prayer ever. I shook with tears begging for forgiveness for not understanding Heavenly Father's Heart. I still felt so lacking but was determined to do my best as a representative of God and True Parents and take full responsibility to raise up my group members the most I could in the time I had left. The next day, the new positive spirit was first reflected in the success of "unity jumping-jacks."

The singing was stronger, more united. My father participated in our group lecture discussion, enriching it and making it more relevant. In arts and crafts, very principled discussions were held. But everyone dispersed for afternoon activities, and energy seemed shooting in all directions. An attempt to start an evening game of "Fruit Basket" failed. Everyone was dismissed. It was like a herd of wild cows had just burst through closed gates. My group was on the verge of being out of control. I took initiative. I was in charge. I took responsibility. "Hana, dul, set, net, shimjung tongil" (one, two, three, four, heart unity). A force pushed these words out of my stomach as our whole group ran around the campsite in two lines. "I can't run," "Everyone's staring at us," "We look so stupid"-these complaints came from my group, but I kept on leading, warning them to be quiet or we would keep on running. When we were finished I told them the importance of uniting with the central figure and we proceeded to have prayer meeting, then speech-giving preparation. As I watched them prepare their speeches seriously and in silence, I felt I had done the right thing by disciplining them. With this new attitude we managed to rearrange all the tables and seats for lectures the next day in ten minutes. However, the concept of uniting with the central figure still had not sunk in. A few of my members had taken off while we were still rearranging. So we all did "unity squats" and pushups together as punishment. This brought more unity and respect and the day ended with a successful skit practice. We shared our successes and experiences that day during staff meeting. Afterwards I stayed behind and talked to Hyun Jin Onni, a Second Generation from Germany. It was like Heavenly Father spoke to me through her. She told me about True Father and how his whole life is a true sacrifice to save this world. She told me the importance of the Heavenly tradition and standard. She told me how we are now living in a time when God's side and Satan's side are fighting an intense spiritual battle. We must win the victory for Heavenly Father's side. We both had tears on our cheeks. And that night I prayed again to Heavenly Father that although I myself was so lacking, he could forgive me and work through me. The next morning all the people in our room went to morning exercise ten minutes early and ran as punishment for going to sleep late. We were setting an example and I felt grateful to Heavenly Father.

That day I was asked to be the new leader of morning exercise. I knew the vital role morning exercise played in setting the spirit for the entire day and was more grateful to Heavenly Father. That evening we had speech practice. Everyone was to present their speeches in front of their groups. The results varied but on the whole they were very good. Everyone had been given the advice not to read their speech. I had eaten a quick dinner to prepare my speech at the Holy Ground. I had 30 minutes. I prayed and I feel it was thanks to Heavenly Father's help that I was able to write a whole speech on the Four Great Realms of Heart. When it was my turn to present, I knew I must leave what I wrote and speak from my heart. I did, and my speech was powerful and effective. I thanked Heavenly Father for speaking through me.

That night I let Hyo Sook Allen, my group assistant, go to staff meeting, and I took responsibility to put everyone to bed. By 10pm everyone was to have their areas clean and be ready for bed. Despite many reminders of the task at hand, all that was done was talking. At 10pm there was still talking. So everyone was sent by me out on the porch. We all did "unity squats"-forty, plus 21 more for the additional talking after 10pm. Suddenly we were all in a solemn mood. Everyone remained silent as I inspected each person's area. Lights went out when all was clean. Not forgetting to keep the standards I had set, I cleaned my area, then proceeded to Holy Ground. There I prayed, keeping in mind the importance of setting a heavenly, united atmosphere at morning exercises the next morning.

Morning came, I woke up early and prepared my heart to lead as a representative of God and True Parents. Morning exercise started. First I straightened the lines, then we warmed up for running. When we ran, we ran in unison shouting "Hana, dul, set, net, shimjung tongil!" We then started our 21 "unity jumping-jacks." After our first try, we did "unity squats." After our second try we did pushups. After our third try we ran. This was the limit. We had pushed all the way. But we had maintained our unity. I praised everyone for a great job. I could've praised them much more, but thanks to Heavenly Father, that was accomplished during morning service. I felt a happy atmosphere that morning. All the compliments I received I gave immediately to Heavenly Father. All the positive criticism I received I took seriously and used it to improve the next exercise.

That day we had a lecture on success. Then we had a test. Someone later commented how beautiful it was to see everyone humble themselves to the truth and take the test with such sincere hearts wanting to get the highest mark they could. In the afternoon, our group took two hours to practice our skit. We practiced it over and over, striving for perfection. Near the end of our dress rehearsals everyone was hot, tired and fed up, but somehow we pulled through. The evening program began. Most skits were good. They were educational, original and interesting. However, some didn't meet the criteria of having a sound moral. After three hours of entertainment, we all gathered around the Holy Ground to pray. We held hands and tears flowed as I thought how each of us gathered there was such an important tool for Heavenly Father to build His Kingdom on Earth. After praying, our group gathered for a short meeting. I praised my members for doing their best on the skit and told them from the bottom of my heart that I loved them so much. We had a group hug, then closed with prayer. At staff meeting the skits were immediately brought up. There seemed to be a conflict between the First Generation and Second Generation. Criticism was swallowed though, and tongues were held. We were able to unite and thus open a new door to a bright future of working together. It was our last staff meeting, but a good one. After meeting, I went to Holy Ground to pray. Coyotes were howling, it was dark and I was uncomfortable. But my personal comfort was something I knew I must sacrifice for the sake of the workshop. My feeling of lack was constant during my prayer, as was my begging for forgiveness. However, I prayed for the sake of the workshop that tomorrow's morning exercise could be in God's hands.

Sleeping only a couple of hours, I awoke with plenty of energy to lead exercises. I knew I must let the last exercises end on the highest note. I took caution in what I did and said. We first greeted Heavenly Father, True Parents and each other with a loud "Good morning!" In straight lines we then did warm-up exercises. We ran a short run, but re-ran it in total unity and organization. We then did ten "unity jumping-jacks." Heavenly Father crowned us with success on our third try. "Yay!" Everyone was happy, and I was ever so deeply grateful to Heavenly Father. Excitement was in the air. It was the last day of Camp One Heart. Excitement possessed many of us that morning, blowing away our focus. Testimonies given during the closing ceremonies heartistically pulled us back together, though. We all even felt the sting of sadness as we sang our last song, "I'll Never Leave You Anymore." But three cheers of "mansei" proclaimed nothing but determination and hope for the future.

Heavenly Father taught me so much during this workshop. He taught me through hard training always to want to go the path of suffering, always to unite with the central figure, to obey God's Heavenly Law and in this way only receive His blessing, and most of all to live for the sake of others always.

This time, people flocked to our van as we were about to leave. After showering people with hugs and good-byes, I jumped into the van and we started to pull out. The striking scene of Camp One Heart as we were leaving, appeared in front of my eyes for a few seconds. Then it disappeared; the memory did not. And certainly my gratitude for my experience there will last forever.

A Desire from the Heart Fulfilled

by Jerry Tamayo-Kyonggi Do, Korea

Steve and I were blessed in 1982. For me to receive the blessing was in itself a miracle! I believe this because for me to be blessed, someone would have to sacrifice their ability to have a child, because I was not able to conceive one. My blessing was given to me through a volunteer spirit. Father had Dr. Pak explain to a group of brothers about my situation and asked if someone could volunteer to be blessed to me. Steve without any hesitation ran forward with his whole heart and mind willing to receive me for his eternal mate. To this day I thank Heavenly Father for my husband and I thank my husband for his sacrifice. In 1987 another blessing was given to us and that was an offering of a blessed child. We were approached by a blessed couple which knew my husband and our circumstances. They eagerly offered to bear a child for us. It was a dream come true. Through the nine months, we were able to talk with, pray with and become close to the birth family. We went through many emotions and experiences together. I could touch her belly and speak to my child inside her; she allowed me to experience the pregnancy with her as much as I was able to. In Sept. 1988 we became the proud parents of a baby boy. At his birth I held his birth mother in my arms and told her, "You have not only given birth to our son but you have given birth to me; to are the substantiation of my God. Thank you with all my heart." And even these words did not express everything I felt that day and every day since. Being given the blessing to create the four position foundation in our family once must have satisfied our desire to be parents. And Sung Min is a very loving and bright boy filled with heart and creativity, and he brings us and our Heavenly Father so much joy beyond a parent's dream. Also, we not only see Sung Min as our son but truly as a gift to us of Heavenly Father's trust in us to raise His son. Yet, inside our parental minds we long so desperately for another child. And this is crazy, for how can I even begin to presume that someone would once again want to share their womb with me and help me to conceive again? Yet, I can't help myself but to reach out in desperation one more time to see if that someone is there who could do so. Sung Min also always asks, "Mom, isn't there someone who would like to help us and give us another child?" He too longs so much for a brother or sister. Sung Min has talked about it so often that I finally decided to try this method to let people know our longing with hope that perhaps someone will respond. Please realize that I know the incredible sacrifice I am asking someone to make. I am not writing this article without this understanding. I am writing out of a deep desire to add more love to our family and to have a sibling for Sung Min. I know there are families who raise just one child and are unable to have more. My family may be such a family. But maybe not?

Our present mission, which we hope to continue in for a long time to come, is here in Korea. We manage the care and education of the blessed children who come here to study Korean at our Sun Hwa Arts School (Little Angels) founded by our True Parents. In this program are children who have graduated 6th grade and who have qualified after applying and passing an exam and interview taken in America and European countries. The goal of the program is for children to learn Koran and to deep and develop a more serious spiritual life. In actuality this program was created by Father in order for our children to learn Korean, Korean culture and Father's heart, as well as to be able to know the founding spirit of our movement and to broaden their western minds with eastern understanding. Here our blessed children discover how truly awesome it is to be a blessed child, and prepare to become world leaders. It's a fantastic program and it gets better all the time! Steve and I have been here for two years but we made a minimum commitment of 15 years when we applied. With God's blessing we will be able to fulfill it.

Please feel free to contact us at any time of day or night. Following is our address, home phone number and Fax:

Steve and Jerry Tamayo, Sun Hwa Dormitory, Sutaek Dong 437, Kuri City, Kyonggi Do, South Korea, 471-030.

Hm: 011-82-346-65-3797 Fax: 011-82-2-456-5744

September 1996

Youth Federation for World Peace holds Seminar on Sexual Purity in Accra, Ghana

by Bismarck Bamfo-Accra, Ghana

After the victory of ten thousand couples blessing, 1995 (95% were previously married couples through interfaith activities), we had the opportunity to receive our True Parents for the first time in the history of our nation-Ghana.

In their meeting with the president of Ghana, True Parents encouraged him to quickly introduce moral and spiritual education in the nation, especially among the youth. True Parents said that when a nation starts to develop economically, in most cases the important aspects- the development of moral and ethical values-are often ignored. True Parents further explained that religious education should be based on logic in order to satisfy the inner desire of modern man.

As guided by True Parents, our target should be the creation of a movement for sexual purity. The movement should also be able to protect the youth from alcoholism, drugs and smoking. With such a movement, we can provide method, direction and the goal of world unification by tackling the above issues realistically and logically through the teachings and blessing of our True Parents.

As part of this goal and to fulfill the goal of 10,000 young elites in our nation for the Blessing '97, Youth Federation for World Peace was established. The main problem facing our nation is the spread of HIV/AIDS, STDs and teenage pregnancy. In 1986, we had only 42 people who had AIDS. Today, we have over half a million people infected with the HIV virus.

Government officials have lost hope and do not know what to do with the problems affecting young people. Even though religious people are preaching loudly on radio and TV, they are powerless when it comes to the issues in question. Where is the hope then? Who is going to guide our nation and world as we prepare to enter the 21st century? It is you and I, centered on True Parents' thoughts and blessing.

Despite being influenced greatly by Western culture, the majority of Ghanaian youth do associate with some churches or religion. Most of them have been entrenched in their churches and hardly listen to the teachings of other denominations or religions.

On Apr. 29, we decided to organize our first seminar on May 25, 1996 at the British Council Hall. We had no funds at all, yet we felt the seminar was for a good cause, and under all circumstances it should take place. What was our motivation and purpose? Our motivation was very clear: first, to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, STDs and teenage pregnancy across the nation by exposing the selfish attitude of condom promoters, and the limitations of condoms themselves. Second, to awaken the public, let them know the truth and have hope through the YFWP presentation.

To achieve this goal, we invited all the media groups in the nation (newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, etc.) to attend. We further invited the National AIDS/STDs Control Program (NACP) representative, the minister of education and the minister of health to present papers. We also invited representatives from the rest of the government ministries.

Moreover, the mainline churches, Christian council, Catholic secretariat, Ahmadiyya Movement, Federation of Moslem council and the general public, including students, were invited. Why did we invite such a broad spectrum of people? We had a questionnaire on which we intended to draw a resolution requiring the participation of these people on the agenda.

Simultaneously, as we were inviting people, some specific companies and organizations were given letters to sponsor our seminar either in totality or partly. The initial responses were all negative. Through our determination, prayers and support from brothers and sisters, we were sure that the tides would surely change at the appropriate time.

We paid for the hall on May 10, 1995. From May 15, we started receiving responses from the media that they could not donate money; however, they could advertise on our behalf (before and after) on the radio, TV and in newspapers. Four days before the seminar, it started appearing in the newspapers, TV and radio. Our budget for the seminar 1,200,000 cedis (approximately $900). Even though we couldn't receive funds, almost all the required logistics were handled by other people and companies. Therefore we only incurred a small amount of debt.

The Day of the Seminar

The day before the seminar, we had to check and confirm with the media, paper presenters, sponsors, etc. In the morning, everything seemed fine. Beginning at 9am the weather changed. It rained the whole day and we felt it was already a victory for the seminar.

On the day of the seminar, we went to the British Council Hall very early, around 8:30am, to put up our banners and a few things together. To our surprise, the British and French governments together with a beer company in Ghana were sponsoring a youth conference also on the issue of AIDS at the same hall. We felt it was really Satan. Why was it satanic? First, the only TV station had to cancel our appointment to cover our program for the sake of this particular conference because they paid a huge amount of money for coverage. Second, the content of their presentation (as we sat in and listened) was dedicated toward the promotion of condoms.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Heavenly Father had to intervene; only 62 participants including their staff, the media and our members who were present at the time of their conference. After their conference (which ended at 12noon), they started to drink alcohol and the same evening they had all night get-together, dancing and drinking. Can you imagine what went on during and after their get-together? Only God knows.

Meanwhile the Ministry of Youth and Sports was organizing fundraising football match between local teams, South African team and Ghanaian playing in Europe. Under all these circumstances we felt God and True Parents were on our side and therefore we must win victory. We quickly arranged the hall, putting up our banner, testing the sound system, our slide projector, etc. In the meantime, invitees were coming in their numbers. In all, we had 292 participants who attended.

The Education and Health Ministers who were to speak did not come. Their assistants came to present their papers. Representatives from the National AIDS/STDs control program presented their view on the subject after presenting our viewpoint, exposing the shortcomings of condoms and providing participants the need to SAVE SEX until the right time.

The hall was emotionally and spiritually charged and the NACP representative was confused and had nothing to offer. The open forum was very exciting as people were "shooting missiles" at the NACP representative. Before we closed, we drew up a resolution which was the climax of the whole event. Everyone felt the seminar was extraordinary and wished it to be organized in all the schools. It was total victory for God and True Parents.

Follow-up and Future Plans

After the seminar, we continue to receive phone calls, people requesting to become members of YFWP. In addition, two other organizations have registered with us to become cooperative members. Those willing to become members have to follow YFWP aims and objectives. This includes abstaining from illicit sex and refraining from alcohol, drugs, smoking and behaviors which would tarnish their future leadership qualities. Through YFWP and AIDS campaigns, we feel the process of purifying society has already started.

In the meantime, effort is being made to follow-up to provide further education (moral, ethical and Divine Principle). The ministry of education is also discussing how we can be sponsored to reach out to all schools, colleges and universities to share with them. Through this mission, we hope to save the nation, because the future of every nation depends on the youth. Second, we are also inviting serious ones to workshop, ultimately to become candidates for Blessing '97.

Meanwhile we have only one slide projector and a set of slides on Richard Panzer's Free Teens, HIV/AIDS/STDs, and Pregnancy Prevention. To reach out and fulfill our goal, we will appeal to members to assist us with these logistics: one or two slide projectors, a screen, slides on Unification Thought (theory of original human nature; axiology; education; ethics; art and history). Formerly socialist nation, CAUSA slides will also be helpful to clear the minds of those who are still insisting on socialism.

Contributions can be sent to:

Bismarck Bamfo
National Chairman
Youth Federation for World Peace-Ghana
P.O. Box 11626, Accra-North, Ghana

UTS Library Provides a Key to Father's Words in English

by Tom Bowers-Barrytown, NY

Have you ever tried to find out what Rev. Moon has said on some topic? In the past this has been very difficult. Things are changing. The UTS Library is developing a full-text database of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's speeches in English. The big news is that the Library is inviting you to send in your requests for quotes from Rev. Moon's speeches. Please use our service in preparation for your sermons and for your personal study.

If you would like the UTS Library staff to make a search for you, just think of a word or group of words that Rev. Moon might have used in a speech and the UTS Library staff will search its database for those words. To make a search request just call or write. Please explain what you want to use the quotes for so that we can choose the best quotes to serve your purpose. We will try to find up to ten quotes for you on your topic and send them to you. There is no charge for this service, but a donation to the library would be appreciated.

The picture that accompanies this article shows what the search screen looks like. In this example the search words were "parental heart". The search pulled up 30 speeches with these words next to each other. You can see the excerpt from one of the speeches in which "parental heart" appears. The software we use for this purpose has some limitations, but we will do our best to find excerpts from speeches related to the words you give us.

Any donations for searches will go to fund some aspect of the Library's speech project. One aspect of the speech project is to create this database of speeches. At the moment there are approximately 600 speeches in the database and it is growing as we continue our efforts to scan speeches given in the past and add recent speeches. We are also transcribing speeches from the 70's which have not been available in print before.

UTS Library
10 Dock Rd.
Barrytown, NY 12507
Phone 914-752-3020.
Fax 914-758-2156

True Parents' Words to Europeans in the USA

by Sebastian Huemer-Albany, NY

European members of the greater Hudson Valley area conducted their annual meeting at UTS shortly after the conclusion of the 20th annual graduation ceremony and banquet on June 23. About 20 members from Great Britain, France, Italy, Holland, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Germany and Austria and their spouses gathered to hear Dr. Guido Lombardi, Dr. Dietrich Seidel and Mrs. Gertrud Koch speak on Europeans in the USA.

Dr. Lombardi (Italy) has been privileged to report regularly on his involvement with Italians on both sides of the Atlantic to True Parents. Rev. Moon had asked him a few years ago what he was doing for Italy and then suggested that he accomplish Tribal Messiahship from his home base in the USA where our movement has a greater foundation. Access to high-level people is much easier in the US than in Europe. Father told him to join the largest local ethnic organizations and become a bridge between the US and his home country.

Dr. Lombardi discovered that the Italian-Americans have great interest in what's going on in the homeland. On the other hand, he was able to impress some of the political contacts from overseas by facilitating audiences with high-level US government officials. Following Father's example he spends 90% of his energy on the education of leaders. "Shock treatment" was the term Father used to advise Guido how to educate his newfound friends: Don't be afraid to say what's right!

Dr. Lombardi's advice to the group was twofold: first, reach out to people and don't wait till they come to support you. And second, don't worry about money. The key to both of them is to find and ask the right person, namely your "John the Baptist" both here and overseas. Your JtB will help you find both good references and adequate resources.

With comparatively little outreach activities he is now more than ever in touch with his tribe of Lombardis in northern Italy. Dr. Lombardi has the help of one Italian-American friend who supplies him with a fully-furnished office on Fifth Avenue in NYC, from where he runs his nonprofit organization connected with Tribal Messiahs in Italy. In this way, he can be informed about Italian VIPs' US travel plans. A newsletter every two months keeps up with the stages of the "bridge- building" process.

Dr. Dietrich Seidel (Austria) reported that he had received his own brand of shock treatment from Rev. Moon in 1994 when he was challenged either to become the president of Austria or the president of an Austrian university. A short time later, Dr. Seidel was able to meet the Austrian ambassador. As professor of theology at UTS he's been invited to various conferences in Europe to present papers on how to make the Kingdom of Heaven a reality, with special attention to the establishment of ideal families. He has received useful input with regard to diplomatic skills from Mr. Rudolf Meyer, an 18-year veteran missionary in former, war-torn Yugoslavia. Mr. Rudolf Meyer is currently director of public relations at European headquarters and faced with the challenge of legally setting straight Rev. Moon's record with the German government.

At their home in Red Hook, NY and the local adult education center, Dr. Seidel and his wife Elisabeth (France) have been teaching German and French to interested Americans. One of their students, the son of a WWII casualty, wanted to learn French to visit the place where his father died and to connect with the people who are tending his father's grave.

Dr. Seidel concluded his talk by recounting Father's hope for an International European Association to grow out of UTS, and for UTS alumni to be the catalysts of positive change in Europe. Networking through newsletters, E-mail, the Internet and other traditional means of communication would help to encourage the building of "ethnic churches" as Father calls them, not buildings, but associations of people with common roots.

Mrs. Gertrud Koch (Germany), wife of the late Mr. Peter Koch, the first Unification missionary to Europe, talked to us about her experiences with students at the Little Angels Boarding School where she worked for several years. She now serves with the Blessed Family Department.

Echoing Dr. Lombardi's account, Mrs. Koch shared the excitement that Mr. Abdel Mesbah, originally of Morocco, created recently. To accomplish his bridge building, Abdel and his wife Gertraud, from Austria, started ARMEC, the Association for the Research of Middle Eastern Culture, and after one year's existence, pulled together a celebration which counted ambassadors, a local congresswoman, the media and a celebrated Middle Eastern folk musician among its 150 participants.

Since Mrs. Koch's husband ascended to the spirit world in 1984, she has been keenly interested in any developments concerning spiritual support from there. She reported that Daemonim Hong, True Mother's mother, discovered while still living on earth that literally thousands of spirits are part and parcel of our daily lives and that they are even more attracted to those who harbor a greater portion of the brightness and warmth of God's love. This causes people and families with a strong core of goodness to be afflicted with many peculiar troubles. (Detailed accounts of Daemonim Hong's current work are available from various sources.) A key to the success of Daemonim's liberation work (from spirit world through a medium on earth) is the opportunity which liberated spirits have to receive complete education and care regarding their purpose in that world. This is in contrast to former liberation ceremonies, in which they didn't have the benefit of being taken care of by Heung Jin Nim and Daemonim, who are continuing True Parents' work in the spiritual work.

Angels play a major role in this process and are even made available to people on earth whose line of work takes place on the national level or higher. For example, Mrs. Nora Spurgin, national president of WFWP in the USA, when facing heavy responsibilities to be accomplished by an extremely limited number of people, delegated the tasks at hand to various bands of angels as well. A key person (JtB) was found and doors quickly opened to working relationships with world-level figures.

Mrs. Koch exhorted us to mature and take responsibility for our lives, or as Peter Koch would have said, "to become a reasonable person." The fact is that we literally are on stage, no matter how private we deem our actions. With the "spiritual video cameras" rolling, there is no place for us to hide.

Mrs. Koch recalled her deep respect for her husband, but regretting misunderstanding him on occasion, which was compounded by her quickness to speak out. She urged us to love each other as husband and wife and to control our bodies.

She recounted her times in Korea listening to True Father speaking without translation, when often her heart would be filled to the brim and she in turn wanted to thank him. She knew deep inside of herself that he spiritually received her gratitude. True Father, she said, would want to give everything to us if we were ready to receive it.

Mrs. Koch had many experiences which confirmed for her that everything Father did was for our best. She has been hoping and praying for the appearance of the "St. Paul's" of our day and age who can maximize Father' work.

All participants in this annual meeting were looking forward to putting the above words to good use in their Tribal Messiah missions. For more information concerning Europeans in this area, please feel free to contact the Seidels at 914-758-4137.