The New Hope Farm Experience: A Testimony

by Shiva Chandra Neupane

I am from the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal. 1995 was a historical year for me. I came to New Hope Farm in Jardim, Brazil. When I arrived in Brazil I met True Parents at New Hope Farm. Rev. Zin Moon Kim introduced me in front of True Parents and I offered my simple bow. True Mother asked my name, where I was from, and received my gift of a traditional Nepalese wooden frame and some herbal tea. True Father was smiling. One night I had the opportunity to give testimony in front of True Parents and all members in New Hope Farm. I feel so grateful to have been given such an opportunity in my life.

I come from a Brahmin family which is the priestly class in Hinduism. My entire lineage are priests who worship at temple every day. None of my family members knew that I became a Unification Church member. I decided by myself to join. I heard a rumor that the Unification Church exists so I visited the center in Kathmandu in 1989. They told me, "The messiah is coming so we need to purify ourselves through him." Then I attended 7-day workshop in New Delhi, India. During the workshop I couldn't imagine a unified world, or that God is our father. I felt that Divine Principle is absolute science, logical, and that True Parents life is unique, not a written philosophy book. He brought new things such as the blessing. True Parents show the life example. However, I couldn't understand that he was the messiah right away.

Through Divine Principle I felt that I have to follow in order to recognize him, and I wanted to purify myself. Then I decided I needed to join the church. After that, the blessing was difficult for me because my culture can never accept another caste or a foreign woman to become my wife. True Father matched me to a Japanese sister. I began to think how to integrate and build a relationship with her in the context of my culture. It was so challenging for me. My parents did not believe that I was married to a foreign woman, looking at the blessing picture. They wanted to push me to marry within my own culture. It was very difficult to make a good relationship with my parents during that time.

In 1993 my spouse, Tsuneko Nishijima, received from True Father a three year mission to work in the Commonwealth of Independent States with W.F.W.P. So I also wanted to go to another country as a missionary. Finally, I was chosen to go to Brazil; I felt that God had saved my life.

I never before had lived in a foreign country. Nepalese people are very isolated. If they leave the country, they never come back because life in Nepal is very difficult due to poverty. I feel that I am chosen to work for God and True Parents even though I had visa problems and not even one dollar to pay the visa fee. I decided to go to Brazil with my faith and strong desire to work with True Parents to realize the Ideal World.

During the first year, 1995, New Hope Farm life was very interesting. We grew vegetables, built bamboo huts as sleeping quarters, and dug water wells. Every day we went to the field to dig and plant, irrigating by carrying baskets of water from the river. I had never before experienced group life with international brothers and sisters. We worked together and lived together, sometimes in very hot weather (40 degrees celsius) and heavy rain. We continued working in the field. New Hope Farm life felt like the labor camp. Through this experience I could understand True Parents way of life as a pioneer.

True Father visited the farm often, 1 or 2 weeks at a time. True Father especially loved fishing in the two rivers bordering the farm. True Father spoke to us many times at Sunday service, sometimes for 4 or 5 hours, explaining the New Hope Farm project. He said that without loving the soil, animals and plants, we could not love God. We needed to work hard with blood, sweat and tears to solve the world's problems.

President Yoon Sang Kim taught us fishing and boat riding. He taught us the Korean language every morning and evening. I learned fishing, boat riding and horse riding for the first time in my life. Actually, we were called by True Father as pioneers of the second 40 year course. True Father said, "We should be leaders of our nations." Many members left because of visa problems and the difficult farm life. We were a small family in the farm. We had many opportunities to share with True Parents: lunch, fishing and singing songs together. This was the great opportunity of New Hope Farm to be close to True Parents.

I feel that it is my destiny to be here. My ancestors prepared me to meet the messiah and receive such blessing. I had many spiritual experiences at the farm. My relatives who are in spiritual world came to meet me in my dream. Sometimes True Parents visited Nepal in my dream. Through this I felt the spiritual world supporting me and God's desire to train my heart to fulfill His will. I must grow and inherit heavenly tradition to transfer to my culture and society.

In August 1996, True Parents gave 29 ambulances to towns within a 200 kilometer radius of New Hope Farm. Father sent UTS graduates as missionaries. At the same time True Father asked President Kim to buy land. True Father wants to feed the world, initiate the hobby and tourist industries, and establish a new education system and heavenly culture to guide the second generation.

I understood True Parents heart through New Hope Farm. It is a great blessing for me and my country of Nepal. I need to have Father's heart, Father's mind and Father's motivation to become closer to Father with absolute dedication to end God's suffering. I need to bring His message to the world, especially to Hinduism. God created this world as one unity and harmony. God has given us freedom and responsibility to fulfill through our absolute faith, love and obedience. By uniting with God and True Parents' heart we can build the new Kingdom of Heaven in this place, New Hope Farm.

The Heart of Chungpyung

(A talk by Rev. Joong Hyun Pak at Region 2 Leaders meeting in NY, April 29, 1997)

America has been known for its service to the world, for its "volunteerism." It has given its armed forces, the Peace Corps, food, medical assistance and money to the world. We must help America maintain this heart of service and sacrifice for others. We must set an example, even in our personal spare time by freely offering any skills we have in service to churches and organizations. We must bring the spirit of true volunteerism back to America, the spirit of loving and living for the sake of others.

As we go door-to-door, family to family, in our volunteer efforts to reach people with our True Family Values message, we should encourage people to attend a church nearest to them. In this way we can help restore the family system in America.

Satan whispers in your ear: "10 years ago, you failed in the home church providence; why try again? Watch television instead." Twenty-four hours a day Satan talks to us this way, bringing the attitude of defeat. Continuously he confronts brothers and sisters this way. We have the responsibility to overcome this attitude.

In my last article "Disciple to Apostle," I explained how a disciple must become an apostle. A disciple receives training, support and care, always following a model, a teacher. Then the time comes when the disciple is ready for apostleship and becomes the trainer, the teacher and the model and leader. As apostles we are then self-managing, self-motivating.

What was the beginning history of Christianity? Pentecost! At St. Mark's house Pentecost occurred. This was the turning point. At that time the disciples fully understood that Jesus was truly the Son of God, truly a man of God, the messiah, the rejected messiah. They also realized that the spiritual world really exists, that the eternal life is waiting; that the physical life is only temporary and that the spirit lives forever; So from that point, without fear, without hesitation, the disciples absolutely followed the Holy Spirit. With self-motivation and self-realization, they now marched forward, as apostles, to the world. That's where Christianity began--at Pentecost.

Now we have Chungpyung. We receive amazing grace and support from Daemo-nim, centering on God and True Parents. It is like a modern-day Pentecost. Chungpyung is also like our monastery or temple. We go there to be renewed in spirit, to be changed, to be empowered. But as we come back, are we changed or are we our same old self? I observe that some come back changed but then in a very short time I think they become their old selves. So why do we go there? Because we are asked to? Because we want to be liberated from fallen nature and evil spirits? Because we want to receive healing power for our physical bodies? Yes, we can receive those benefits but we must be careful of our motivation.

Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ, through his spiritual power, healed many people. The blind were given sight, the deaf were made to hear. Many such healings occurred. He also rid them of evil spirits. The mentally ill were healed. All such miracles were performed for the people, but what were the results? Where were these people when Jesus was being crucified? They all ran away! So, should this be the reason we go to Chungpyung--just for the unburdening of evil spirits and physical healing? No. That is not the true meaning of Chungpyung. We go to learn true faith, true love and true obedience and devotion to God. We go to learn these traditions from Daemo-nim and Heung-Jin-nim. This is what Chungpyung is all about.

Chung shim il and Maan seung il, the calligraphy given to Daemo-nim for Chungpyung by True Father in South America December 15, 1996 means "if you inherit the heart of Chungpyung, you will always bring victory." What is the heart of Chungpyung? It is the heart that comes from God, True Parents, Heung-Jin-nim and Daemo-nim. It is the heart that can feel genuine love for people; the heart that can cry for people, cry for God, True Parents, Jesus, in their misery and loneliness; it is the heart that is willing to sacrifice for them; it is the heart that can repent to God, longing for his mercy and forgiveness. We have to inherit that heart.

How is Daemo-nim's life an example? She completely obeyed God and True Parents. She absolutely obeyed them, absolutely loved them and had absolute faith in them. That is Daemo-nim's whole life. She prayed for her daughter, True Mother. God said to her that her daughter was a specially chosen daughter and that she must take care of her. Daemo-nim, with her daughter, came down to South Korea as refugees having absolutely nothing, completely empty-handed. Daemo-nim worked as a housekeeper and cook, such humble work, to take care of her daughter. When her daughter was chosen as True Mother, she then prayed constantly for True Parents and True Family and for our blessed family community.

When Daemo-nim arrived in the spiritual world, she entered a most beautiful place, with a magnificent palace and gardens, above Paradise. The angels were there, everything. Even though she was given such a wondrous place to live, still she volunteered to come back and work with blessed couples, to help them cleanse and deepen their spiritual lives to enable them to live and witness more effectively for the Kingdom.

Even at Chungpyung Lake, working through her counterpart, Ms. Hyo Nam Kim who herself is so humble, Daemo-nim chooses to live in very small, very humble quarters, only being concerned with helping and healing people. Even though you may be a pure person, living a moral life in your blessing and in your mission, still you must inherit the spirit, heart and nature of True Parents, of Daemo-nim and Heung-Jin-nim.

This is the purpose of Chungpyung--to become empowered with the Holy Spirit, and the spirit of Daemo-nim and Heung-Jin-nim. How humble Daemo-nim is, sacrificing herself 24 hours a day so that others may inherit these divine blessings. We have our physical bodies to fulfill all this; Daemo-nim must work through the physical life of someone else.

In Korea, there has been a hurricane of Blessings--many, many thousands have come to the Blessing Festivals. Now thousands of couples in the Moon and Han clans have been blessed. Even though they have attained this success, Korea still is working very hard . They project they will reach 1.2 million couples. This miracle did not come about only because of members' hard work, but also because of Daemo-nim's victory. Many Korean members, even of the second generation, lacked faith in Chungpyung. They complained about it and did not have faith in the work being done there. But now attitudes have changed. Many have been cleansed, and their hearts and spirits renewed at Chungpyung. New hope has come for Korea. Daemo-nim's absolute true love, her faith and obedience to God and True Parents have made all this possible. She has practiced true love. We need Chungpyung.

Maybe we have already been to Chungpyung. Maybe we had much fallen nature removed from us, but if we did not inherit the right heart there, the deep sacrificial heart of love, the model life that is dedicated to God and True Parents and human history, then we need to go again.

I was one of the recipients of a service award from True Parents for 33 years of faithful work in the movement. I did not feel worthy to receive such an honor. Following that ceremony I, along with others, spent 47 days at Chungpyung Training Center, being given a very difficult course by Daemo-nim! I was grateful for it all, so grateful for all I learned from Daemo-nim during that time. I tearfully repented of so many things there and felt grateful to God and humbled before Him to be given this opportunity to learn more of His heart. Even though I had actually spent all those years in difficult pioneer work, still at Chungpyung I felt myself being cleansed of fallen nature. My physical health improved as well.

We must think of the person of Daemo-nim and learn from her. She did not graduate from any theological school. She did not have a Ph.D. She did not have the title "Reverend" or any other special qualification. She went to spiritual world entirely empty-handed. She did not even own a house. She chose to live this kind of humble life, only wanting to pray for others But God gave her almighty power. With that power and with such a humble spirit, she came to work on the Earth, to sacrifice even more for all of us, for you, for me. Who am I to receive such love? I am not worthy to receive from her. That is why I repented with so much weeping at Chungpyung.

What is the meaning of Chungpyung? The place of the Heart of God and True Parents. Who are True Parents? The ones who have given their own lives to love God and solve God's problems. Like crazy people, working, running, never stopping to think of themselves as they give everything to win back God's world. God was a miserable God. Satan became the master of the world. God was lonely and miserable, not a happy and joyful God. The ones who make God happy and joyful, this is who True Parents are. Totally dedicated to doing this their whole life long. Totally giving God their love, their faith and their obedience. This is the heart of Chungpyung.

What if we had this responsibility to accomplish, the responsibility to bring back honor to God? Could we do it? That's why we must be proud of True Parents and love True Parents, because this is what they have accomplished. True Parents are proud of God and love God. God, in return, is proud of True Parents and loves True Parents. So that when we say we are proud of True Parents and love True Parents, we are also saying we are proud of God and love God.

As I speak, we are having our meeting in this nice, large room in the National Headquarters building. We have offices here as well. Who made this building possible? True Parents did. They supported us this way. How much did we determine to work hard in gratitude for this, day and night? We have been so protected, physically, spiritually, financially by True Parents! We must ask ourselves: have we been dedicated in heart as Daemo-nim has been? Why can't some members break through? Again, if it takes returning to Chungpyung to make that breakthrough, then that's what we must do!

Father said if we follow the heart of Chungpyung we can gain the victory. That's true. We must follow that heart in New York in order to become victorious and lead the nation; we must follow that heart and unite with it. Even if you say that all the evil spirits are gone from you, if you are not careful they might return to you and you will fall back into your old habits. We must consciously make an effort everyday to maintain our renewed spirit and to inherit the deep heart of God and True Parents.

The Exposition of the Divine Principle says the following about evil spirits: We use good spirits as a general term for God, spirits on the side of God and good angels. The general term for Satan and spirits on his side is evil spirits. The work of good spirits and evil spirits, as in the case of good and evil acts generally, have a similar appearance at the outset but pursue contrary purposes. Over time, the works of a good spirit will increase a person's sense of peace and righteousness and even improve his health. The works of evil spirits, on the contrary, will gradually lead to an increase of anxiety, fear and selfishness and cause his health to deteriorate. ("The Work of Good Spirit and Evil Spirits," p. 71)

So we went to Chungpyung for this purpose. Originally, God and good spirits and good angels were to help us. Saints and sages were supposed to help us. After going to Chungpyung we inherit spiritual help, but if we are not united with Chungpyung, the angels cannot work with us. Many members are struggling now. Satan and his evil spirits are always ready to come back to make trouble.

If we have a good spirit and the angels are helping us, what will be the evidence? We will always be positive! And faithful and courageous and we will feel spiritual power. We will experience good health as well.

If we follow evil spirits, what happens? We become negative, selfish. lazy and in bad health We need to be careful ourselves and we need to educate others around us to always be careful.

Satan is always there to remind us of past failures so he can take away our confidence. "You will never be able to really bestow the grace of the Blessing" he will say, and "No need to try because it will never happen." Satan constantly whispers this sort of thing to us. We know this, but still we listen to him and allow a defeatist attitude to take hold of us. Especially when we allow negative thoughts to come in, that's when evil spirits can work within us most effectively.

What is the meaning of "having faith, absolute faith"? It means to completely believe in God's word and in the ones mediating His word. This is faith. What is "absolute love"? It is being willing to sacrifice and dedicate ourselves to others. What is "absolute obedience"? It means to be completely willing to follow, to act on God's word. We must possess these three if we expect to serve God on the Earth.

After Jesus left the Earth two thousand years ago, all the disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Prior to that, they complained, had fears and distrust, were selfish, ineffective and confused. But after Pentecost they changed completely and became joyful, peaceful, righteous, strong, hopeful. And with unselfishness they brought victory.

Before the Pentecost experience, St. Peter was a miserable person. But after Pentecost, he became a founding father of Christianity. Today, we need to overcome our fears, our negative minds. Some still distrust God, Not to love God and True Parents, and not to believe and obey God and True Parents, is the opposite of absolute love, faith and obedience. We must overcome all of this. We must put these three things into practice in order to fulfill our mission for God. Otherwise, it means we are not disciples and apostles. It means we have not graduated from Chungpyung Lake.

Let's think of the words from the Exposition of the Divine Principle concerning the aspects of human nature:

We find many cases where an aspect of human nature conventionally considered evil is, in fact, good if its purpose is directed toward the Will of God. Let us take the example of desire. Desire, which people often consider sinful, is actually God-given. Joy is the purpose of creation and joy can only be attained when desire is fulfilled. If we had no desire, we could never experience joy. If we had no desire, we would not have any aspiration to receive God's love, to live, to perform good deeds or to improve ourselves. Without desire, therefore, neither God's purpose of creation nor the providence of restoration could be fulfilled, An orderly, harmonious and flourishing human society would be impossible. (p. 70)

The Exposition of the Divine Principle clearly says what good human nature is. It is a divine nature. When we have a strong desire, and if we practice good works, then joy and happiness results. A joyful world is the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth is a joyful world.

America has become very materialistic. We must make this into the Kingdom of Heaven, not the opposite. Jesus said "where is the Kingdom of Heaven? It is within you, within your heart." We can make our personal life very joyful. Do drugs and alcohol make the heart joyful? No. Only by practicing God's will. If we follow Satan's will, unhappiness and sadness will follow.

Recently, in Washington, DC, True Father gave us some very important words: "What is the secret of the success of my life? Investment. Invest yourself, even below the zero level, even to the miserable lowest level; then you will be successful."

Father wears humble clothes. Sometimes Father does not even wear socks. I have often seen him without socks. Barefoot. True Father chooses to live a most humble, simple life.

Let us invest ourselves as True Parents have. No more excuses. Problems of every kind always exist, but we must forget our problems and move forward.

We do not want to feel accused by those who will say to us: "You were living at that most historical time, 1997, but you spaced out, complained, and did not help God" How miserable.

Several of us visited the Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, Egypt this year. Who founded the Coptic Church? St. Mark. St. Mark is a very historical person. When Jesus visited Jerusalem he had no house, so he stayed at St. Mark's house. Just imagine! Mark's mother's name was Mary and his uncle was Barnabas. The "last supper" was at held at St. Mark's house. When Jesus returned after Pentecost it was to St. Mark's house. Mark was assistant to St. Peter and St. Paul. These leaders worked hard and sacrificed. The two leaders, St. Peter and St. Paul, were sacrificed, martyred and then St. Mark went to Alexandria, Egypt and pioneered the Christian Church. There, he wrote the Gospel of Mark

The Coptic Orthodox Church is so proud of St. Mark and the traditions and teachings which are attributed to him. In Cairo they have their "Vatican"

and the crypt where the shrine of St. Mark is, his burial place, and a box which they say contain his relics. So Coptic members love to go before this box and kiss it and touch it, praying with so much love and respect.

At this most historical period of history we must be crazy people, not just working in offices and businesses, but reaching out. This is our priority this year. As we work, especially in Washington, DC and New York City, our modern-day Rome and all our cities at this time, it has great historical meaning. Will our future generations be proud, wanting to touch our "sacred boxes of relics?" Or will we let this great time pass us by? What is our destiny?

So let us work very hard for these great Blessings of Marriage so that many people will gain this benefit, solidify their marriages, and help build the nation and the world.

The Gradual Transformation of UTS

by Gareth Davies-Barrytown, NY

The New Year always brings makeovers, clean-ups and, hopefully, transformations. The latest phase of the Student Life Campaign has brought a complete transformation of the large room in the academic wing which has recently served as the Junior Study Room but which was originally a chapel.

This room and its occupants have suffered greatly in recent years as dampness and decay caused the paint to flake from the walls and ceiling and the 20-year-old carpet took on the pallor of the nearly dead. The tattered and torn furniture only added to the cold, cheerless atmosphere.

Initial restoration efforts only unveiled the greater horrors of asbestos and lead paint so workmen decked out like astronauts were called in to cart them away.

All those rebirth pains are behind us now and the room looks wonderful. Once again, the costs of redecorating and re-furnishing this room have been paid for by donations and special thanks are due to the UTS Class of 1996 whose members presented the new carpet as their class gift. With the completion of the Junior Study Room, all of the study rooms have now been fully redecorated and newly furnished and all of the senior study rooms have new windows.

Good-bye Old Gym!

A total of 40 volunteers made short work of the old gym floor on March 12. The entire floor has been removed and a local engineering company will now track the origin of the standing water which had caused the old floor to become thoroughly decayed.

Many thanks to those alumni/ae who have responded to the request for financial support for this and other projects related to this year's Student Life Campaign at UTS.

Taking my Parents to the Blessing

Michael Yakawich
May, 1997
Billings, MT

As my parents received the Blessing of their marriage on March 30, 1997, my wife and I were flooded by many memories of the past 18 years. During the ceremony, my mother was moved to tears. She explained later that "the ceremony was very nice." The past years have presented tough and uncertain times between my parents and myself. Nevertheless, I can sincerely state that it was due to my association with the Unification Movement which brought me to a closer appreciation and a deeper love for my parents.

When my folks first heard of my joining the Unification community, they were surprised and alarmed. There is no hiding the fact that much persecution and bias was spread and that these influenced my family. It wasn't easy for many people to accept my new faith and lifestyle as a missionary. Nevertheless, the years of contact through letters and phone calls, when miles separated us, and visits in later years, have helped dispel many misconceptions.

No son could have better parents. Their dedication to the Catholic Church was and continues to be an inspiration to my wife and me. In fact, we send our children to Catholic school. That framework of a family life and role model is what they set for all of the nine children they brought into this world.

How did this journey lead to today and to sharing the Blessing with them? I can only give great credit to them for all their love, patience and parenting. They have welcomed many Unification missionaries to their home. There was always a hot meal and a warm conversation available. Making sure that each fund-raiser or itinerant missionary traveling through with me or alone would be well-fed and taken care of has always been my mother's standard. Of course, there would be plenty of room for questions and comments about their own life of faith.

In 1979 when I joined, my father's words still remain embedded in my heart. He said, "When times are difficult, don't give up. Evaluate and maybe try another position, but don't be a quitter." Since arriving back in Montana on assignment from Rev. Moon to pastor the state activities, my father and I have shared many exciting experiences. In 1993 we traveled to Seattle to hear Rev. Moon speak. During the United to Serve America programs, he traveled with me to his hometown, Roundup, Montana, to introduce me to his the mayor and other friends of his. In 1995 he traveled to Alaska to attend another talk by Rev. Moon and later to do some deep-sea fishing for halibut with church members. Later that year, he traveled to Billings to hear Rev. Moon's son give a public talk.

As a soldier during WW2 in the Pacific, a teamster by profession and a wonderful father and grandfather, he has been a source of honor and pride for me. As an artist, he had painted a watercolor which was presented to Rev. and Mrs. Moon in Seattle on one occasion. Later, he painted some pictures for special awards presented to mayors in Montana under the United to Serve America project.

Through the years I have worked on various fundraising projects for the church. Both my parents as well as other family members are impressed by the hard work and effort which goes into fundraising with flowers, pictures and other items. My dad, in fact, traveled with me one day as I fund-raised with flowers. He never forgets how some good contributors would honk their car and have me pull over to the side of the road. Now finding me, they would be so happy to get some flowers from me. Having shared such experiences with my dad, they are good memories we continue to bring up and discuss.

In conclusion, this is my way of saying how proud I am of my parents. They have treated members of the Unification movement with kindness. Even parents of members have been embraced by them, welcomed to their home and encouraged to share honestly and freely with them. They remain faithful to the Catholic Church as they love and respect others of different faiths. And I am brought back to the Blessing photo of my parents with my wife and five children. We have indeed gone through many emotions and experiences over the years. Yet the heart of parent and child remained intact and true. Their openness and willingness to come and receive the Blessing from my wife and me over their marriage of 50 years is that testament.

Seung Hwa Ceremony of Dr. Sang Hun Lee

by Christopher Ching-Poughkeepsie, NY

On March 22, 1997, Dr. Sang Hun Lee passed away at Joong Ang Hospital in Seoul, Korea at the age of 84. He was attending the Ninth Annual Unification Thought Symposium, held March 19-23, 1997 at the Hotel Lotte in Seoul. Dr. Lee was the keynote speaker at the Symposium. He had also attended the welcoming dinner banquet on the occasion of our True Parents' triumphant return to Korea, held several days earlier on March 19 in the Lotte. Due to this strenuous schedule, he became ill, was admitted to the hospital and passed away around 3am on March 22.

His Seung Hwa ceremony, under the auspices of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, was held on March 24, 1997. Many representatives of the church movement and businesses attended the ceremony. The Won Jeun ceremony was performed by the church dignitaries at the 36 Blessed Couples Won Jeun site, located at Juk Sun-myun, Pajugun, Kyonggido province.

His contribution to our church movement was enormous. Born in 1914, he became a medical doctor after attending Severance Medical School in Seoul, Korea. While practicing medicine, he continued to search for absolute truth, the solution to fundamental human problems and the essence of the universe. He struggled with many questions until he met our True Father. Finally, he and his wife received the Blessing in the 36 Couple Blessing in 1961. He served as president of the International Federation for Victory Over Communism for many years, teaching about the inevitable downfall of communism and a new value system to overcome Marxism-Leninism.

Since 1972, Dr. Lee has served as the president of the Unification Thought Institute of Korea. During this time, he developed and systematized Unification Principles into the philosophical framework called Unification Thought. He trained many Unification intellectuals and church leaders, including UTS graduate Ph.D.'s. They will continue his influence on the worldwide academic community for many years to come.

He has written many books and articles in Korean, Japanese and English editions. Among his most important works are Essentials of Unification Thought, The End of Communism, Establishment of a New Value System and A New Critique of Communism. Dr. Lee was the president of the Unification Thought Institute of Korea and the chairman of the Family Federation for Unification and World Peace of Thailand.

Translated and edited from the April 1997 issue of Tongil Segye monthly.

Science and Religion - Man vs. Machine

It started off being irritating. It quickly got irritating and insulting.

It started with the lady of gracious voice reading the morning news on the classical radio station-I like to be gently eased back to reality by my clock alarm first thing in the morning.

She was, for her, exhilarated as she announced: the machine had lost; the human had won. World Champion Garry Kasparov had beaten Deep Blue in the first match of their tournament.

The announcer's tone radiated pride that the human had beaten off the silicon challenge; the computer had not yet trampled all human dignity. Man could still hold up his head before Machine.

I groused my exasperation with her perspective to her unheeding ears as I dressed.

But worse was to come.

For breakfast with The New York Times was a dalliance with indigestion-for now, not only was there the irritating perspective of the radio, there was an added note of insult. This is what had me reaching for the antacid:

"Garry will survive this one," said Frederick Friedel, who is Mr. Kasparov's adviser on computers. Still, Mr. Friedel believes a champion's defeat by a machine is inevitable and, at least metaphorically, cataclysmic. The computer's eventual triumph in chess, he said, will be among just the first intellectual functions in which man's superiority is usurped. "It's going to happen, by the year 2005 or 2010, and we've got to come to grips with it," Mr. Friedel said. "We humans are pathetic, aren't we? We're best at nothing on the planet, except intelligence, and now, even that . . ." (NYT May 4, 1997)

I was fuming at this point: why was the press "spinning" the facts to make the human race look bad, pathetic even.

For to say that this is a Man vs. Machine competition is nonsense. It makes for great headlines-I couldn't resist it myself-but it is nonsense.

It would make as much sense to focus on Garry's fingers and proclaim: Thumb-and-Forefinger Duo Beat Computer.

Man vs. Machine is nonsense because both sides of the chess match were being driven by human intelligence: Garry's mind ran his side of the competition: the minds of Deep Blue's designers ran the other.

Kasparov was not challenging a machine: he was confronting a concatenation of human ingenuity and invention that includes electricity, silicon chips, operating systems and clever programs.

As the IBM web site proudly proclaims, "The latest iteration of the Deep Blue computer is a 32-node IBM RS/6000 SP high-performance computer, which utilizes the new Power Two Super Chip processors (P2SC). Each node of the SP employs a single microchannel card containing 8 dedicated VLSI chess processors, for a total of 256 processors working in tandem. Deep Blue's programming code is written in C and runs under the AIX operating system. The net result is a scalable, highly parallel system capable of calculating 100-200 billions moves within three minutes.... "

I see nothing to call pathetic here-super-sophisticated or highly-evolved seem to be better terms-for all this is the product of human ingenuity. Computers did not originate electricity, solid-state electronics, operating systems, the C programming language, etc. It was human beings; supposedly pathetic human beings, no less.

This chess competition is not Man vs. Machine, rather it is actually Man using traditional methods of playing chess vs. Man using brute-force calculational methods of playing chess.

So why the media hoopla focusing on great machines and threatened human beings?

Well I suppose it is very difficult for media people to think of humans in "child-of-God" terms when they are dealing with "Dad Strangles Daughter" and "Wife Chops Up Husband" all day. After a while it must get them down; they are probably hoping that something better will come along to replace us poor, defective humans.

Could the improved being be the computer? They are certainly fast; while Garry contemplates his three moves in one second the computer has examined 199,999,997 more of them.

But speed is not that important. We would think no more, no less of the Mona Lisa as an expression of artistic talent if it had taken twenty years to paint it rather than a few weeks. Do we think any less of God's creative genius because He took almost twenty-billion years to create the universe rather than just seven days?

No, just because computers are faster at certain things than humans holds out no hope that they will be better than us. This, as we know, will only be accomplished by religion and it's mission to re-creation Man.

Meanwhile, I have a suggestion: God certainly went to a lot of trouble-and it is not over yet-to create something that was His equal-in capacity if not in magnitude.

We have inherited this impulse, not just in the desire to create children (for which we can take only some of the credit) but in the impulse to create machines that can do what we can do (for which we can, collectively, take almost all of the credit).

I definitely would have not have been so irritated if the chess match had been proclaimed as Man vs. Mechanical Child of Man. This would have been much more satisfying.

Salvation by the Family Together

We all have heard of salvation by faith alone. From the viewpoint of marriage and family, we should change the punctuation to "salvation by faith, alone." The man who sparked world-changing events by that slogan, Fr. Luther, awoke to it during his "tower experience" in which he was alone. He connected his heart to Jesus, who died alone. The monks in the Egyptian desert fought Satan alone. Martin Luther himself was a monk.

The Greek word, "monos" means alone, single. From that root we derive words such as monologue: one speaker; monolithic: one solid mass; monopoly: one seller; monotheism: one God, and monotony: the boredom of being alone.

Consider the words: monastery, monastic, monk. Those define an environment which is at the root of the Christian presence in the world. We fight Satan alone, and meet God alone, like Moses on the mountain, and we find in the moment of our rebirth that we are not alone! Before I loved or knew Him, He fully knew and loved me.

But this solitary path was the way it had to be, because the purpose of history was to recreate one man, one solitary Adam, the Messiah. Thus, all religions are created through single men: Abraham, Confucius, Buddha, Zoroaster, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed (PBUH). Yes, Mohammed was married, but he alone is the Prophet of the final religion: "There is only one God and Mohammed is His prophet."

What is the purpose or goal of that one man, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, Christ? Were those single men totally fulfilled by starting world religions? In truth, one man seeks something even more important than a world religion: a relationship of true love with one woman. God created one man, Adam, and then declared that it was not good for that man to be alone. Then He created the woman, and He said that the image of God is male and female.

So we should think about one more "mono" word: monogamy: one spouse. This takes us to the stage beyond "salvation by faith, alone." That next stage is: salvation by the family together. The establishment of salvation by the family together is the great accomplishment of the Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon. Every viable culture has been based on the family, so in a sense this is nothing new. What is new is to take marriage and family beyond the realm of sex and power (the curse of the Fall) to the realm of complete and absolute good, blessed by God. Reverend Moon set the conditions by which God can be completely present on the Earth in the family. We are created to meet God in our parents, in our spouse, in our children. Hence we can be transmitters of God's true love to each other within the family.

This means that when a husband and wife come together to create a child, they are indeed the instruments of God; they are the image and body of God. When the child sees his parents, in fact he sees God. And in our brothers and sisters we meet God; we know this from 2,000 years of Christianity. And in our children, we meet God. Every parent knows this. How many times have you arrived home burned out, washed out, drained and depleted, only to be resurrected by your children's love? They don't know they are saving you; they are just being what God created them to be: instruments of His love. Salvation is no longer by faith alone; it is by the family together.

Streets of New York

What can unite the streets of New York? Walking down Fifth Avenue, we see wealthy entrepreneurs. We see unemployable youth. We see first century pharisees and seventh century Muslims. We see Asian boys and girls dressed like rap stars, embracing and kissing. What can unite us? Christianity cannot do so. This multi-cultural society would have pushed Christianity to the sidelines had not Christianity relegated itself there of its own accord. You see, Christianity, though completely focused on the problem and salvation of the individual, was never able to resolve the inner contradiction of the individual, between mind and body. This expanded to the conflict between faith and science, church and state, flesh and spirit; reason and revelation; secular and sacred; Christ and culture. All the religions have the same problem: the conflict of fundamentalism and modernism plagues Judaism and Islam.

Christianity has done the world a great service by creating the American democracy and the ideal of "classical liberalism." This is, at best, a level playing field upon which the world's peoples can meet. Christianity did this by proclaiming for twenty centuries that we all are equal as individuals before God, and therefore we are equal before man. But today, the instruments which have leveled the playing field are grinding us all into the dust. For what is the individual by himself? Dust. A meaningless insect. According to existential philosophy, we as individuals create ourselves and our world, but it all leads to nothing but despair. Existentialist philosophy originated in Kierkegaard (a Lutheran), whose primary category was: the Individual.

In the world of the individual, relationships between individuals are negotiable. In other words, they are up for grabs. The absolute definition of the family and society is unresolved. But when the family and society are undefined, so too, finally, is the status of the individual.

Greek philosophy is one precursor of this worldview: the fundamental reality, so said the Greeks, is the atom, the "thing," the individual. The relationships between these "atoms" is secondary. Therefore, my being a man is absolute; my relationship to another individual, my wife, is secondary. Hence divorce is a possibility; it does not affect my fundamental being in the world.

Unificationism is saying that the relationships are primary, and the thing as an individual entity is secondary. For example, what is my identity? I am a man; let's begin with that. But what Reverend Moon is saying is that I cannot be a man outside of a relationship with a woman! How might we comprehend that? Well, at a dinner with a large group of scholars last night, he put it this way: the term "up" presupposes "down." In other words, if you say something is "up," you are saying it is above something else which is "down." So "down" automatically comes into existence. Similarly, "right" presupposes "left," and "front" presupposes "back." Therefore, "up" cannot exist without "down," nor right without left or front without back. In the same way, he said, man presupposes woman.

Another illustration: draw a "C." Is "C" concave or convex? Well, it depends upon your perspective. If you look at it from its right, it is convex; it is protruding. If you look at it from its left, it is convex; it is sunken.

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from the left -- -- -- -- --> C < -- -- -- -- from the right

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And of course, the existence of the left side presupposes the existence of the right side; when one comes into being, the other automatically comes into being. Reverend Moon asked the professors, what defines a man as a man, a woman as a woman? They offered no answers, and he told them, the sex organs. Now let's look at the diagram again, with two terms added:

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woman (concave) C man (convex)

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Do you "get the picture"? The point is not to reduce man and woman to their sex organs, but to make the extremely important observation that man and woman exist together or not at all; that man needs woman, and woman needs man; that we were created for each other, and that we are constituent parts of a greater whole, i.e. a greater unitary reality. Through marriage, we participate in the greater unitary reality; we participate in God.

Space

The "up-down, left-right, front-back" illustration tells us something very simple: we live in a three-dimensional world. The world of three dimensions is one space, one world, composed of these dimensions, these partner directions. What is the "space" in which man and woman exist? That space is "love." Because physical space exists, up-down, right-left and front-back exist. Analogously, because love exists, man-woman exist. (Note: the atmosphere, or "space" in the spirit world, we are told, is love. When you have love, you can "travel" everywhere; i.e. move through "space.")

To create the world from nothing else than the individual is like creating space out of nothing else than "up." This will lead to social problems. Namely, all the "downs" will protest that the world is structured around "up." They will try to bring "up" down, and try to make themselves into "up." (Is that what is called being "uppity"?)

Because we think in terms of the individual, we begin to compare some individuals with others, or classes of individuals with other classes. For example, many cultures seem to believe that men are better than women. The ancient Romans apparently did; they had no qualms about destroying girl babies. We hear the contemporary Chinese, compelled by the state to limit families to one child, prefer boys to the extent that they destroy the girls. In the West, this surfaces, doesn't it, in the form of radical feminism, a movement expressing the desire of women to become men. (I wonder if it would not be more correctly called "masculinism," if, as the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Feminism, on the other hand, seems more accurately to describe what is happening to a lot of us men.)

Ups and Downs

But if we recognize that relationship is the primary category, we come to a completely different way of looking at the world. For example, the relationship between up and down may be described as distance, or space. The higher the "up" and lower the "down," the more space there is, and the more identity there is to the up and down. I would not use the terms, up and down, to describe the relationship of two books on the same shelf, even if one happens to be set on a piece of paper which is .01 inch thick. But I would say, "please get me the book up there," if the book is on the top shelf, and "down there" if the book is on the bottom shelf. That is, if there is a relatively small distance, we don't even use the terms, up and down.

Up and down take on more meaning in terms of beauty. Among the most beautiful scenes are those of the Matterhorn set amid the surrounding alpine valleys. Why is it so beautiful? because the peak is so "up." I've never seen a photo just of the top ten feet of the Matterhorn. Why? because the "up" would be missing because all the "down" is missing. The Matterhorn is beautiful because you can get the photos which include the up and down in one view. It's the same thing with Chinese paintings: the high mountains and little people down at the river in the valley. When they are in one view, you can see their relationship. It's the relationship which is beautiful; it is the space created by the high "up-ness" and the low "down."

So, is one of the two "better" than the other? Is "up" better than "down"? Well, it is true that what gets the publicity is the "up" side, the statistics record the up, how high Matterhorn is. And what climbers from around the world do is try to climb to the top. But this is a very limited sort of superiority had by that peak. After all, no one on earth would dream of living there. If it's so great, how come nobody wants to stay there? We all want to live in the valley, in the "down" side, sleeping on down pillows.

This is one reason Renaissance art is considered beautiful, and medieval art not. Medieval art had no "front and back." The Renaissance artists discovered perspective; they could create the illusion of front and back, of nearness and distance, of space. Voila! It is beautiful. Beauty is perceived when we see the two parts of the polarity being the most distinct from each other and at the same time forming a unified body. This is a natural event: the higher the mountain, the lower the adjacent valley is automatically: but the point is that the mountain and valley be in the same picture, i.e., the same space.

Christ and Sinners, Men and Women

I was on a plane once, on a long flight and there was a group of friends getting a little tipsy. Well, extremely tipsy. One woman was more or less dancing in the aisles, and she was declaring, "I am from France, where the men are men and the women love it." As bawdy as that is, it leads to my concluding point.

The more different men and women are from each other, the more clear is their identity as individuals and the more beautiful is the love which they create. By "different from each other," I mean the more masculine is the man, and more feminine the woman, but they have to be in the same picture, the same space. The space, as I put it above, is love. That means, they have to be in love. The more distinct they are, maintaining love, the more powerful and beautiful is the relationship. Let us apply this insight to our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins. This act is the greatest act of love in history, because through it, all human beings can enter into a relationship of love with Jesus. That is, he made himself available to everyone, no matter how great a sinner we might be (i.e., no matter how different from Jesus we might be and how closed off to love). Jesus said that the man who owes $10,000 will be far more grateful for forgiveness of the debt than the man who owes $10. Similarly, he said, the prostitute whose sins are forgiven will be far more grateful than the Pharisee. Why? Because there is a greater distance between the good character of Christ and the evil character of the repentant sinner. There is more distance between the creditor and the debtor who owes $10,000 than between the creditor and the debtor who owes $10. The more wicked the sinner whom Christ loves despite their sin, the greater is proven to be Christ's love, because it is covering a greater distance; it is creating one space which can include greater distance.

The case of man and woman is different: we are not dealing with love for us as a universe of individuals who are different by virtue of their sin, but with my love for one person who is different from me by virtue of her representing the "other half of God." This, when it is achieved in perfection, is a greater love than that of Christ for the sinner. Why? because Christ and the sinner are, finally, like each other. Once we are reborn and have our sin completely removed, "we shall be like him." Being male or female is irrelevant here (Gal 4). Therefore, Christ's love for the sinner is spectacular only as long as we remain sinners!

On the other hand, man and woman are eternally distinct beings. Therefore, marriage is eternal and love is eternal. Further, that which makes us different from each other is good; it is not evil, as in the case of Christ and the sinner. Husband-wife love is part of the natural order of creation; Christ's love for the sinner is a result of the fall.

Now, this side of el Dorado, we need to be Christ-like to create a great marriage, and marriage, conversely, can be a means by which God teaches us to become Christ-like. But this is because of the hardness of our hearts, as Jesus said, and from the beginning, it was not so (Mt 19).

This turns out to be a preamble to what I wanted to talk about, salvation through the family. All I can say on this last line is: now is the era of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, beyond the category of the individual, to the category of marriage and family. The gateway is the Blessing of marriage.

Resurrection in Central Africa

by Joy Pople

I went to the Republic of Central Africa in August 1991 as part of an international exchange program proposed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. I found the movement there in a time of transition, preparing to move from a village to a more centrally-located place in the capital, Bangui. A few young, single members live communally, while the great majority of members are families who gather regularly for worship and study in their homes.

Lenga had come from his native Zaire about a year earlier, and is giving spiritual and practical guidance to the Unification Church members. Lenga speaks about his hopes that the move will signal a new beginning. He plans a seven-day workshop to present the highlights of Rev. Moon's teachings to inaugurate the new center of activities. Even if only two people can attend, it will take place.

The move is not going to be simple. The landlord in the village presents a letter from the power company demanding immediate payment on a large overdue bill. Christine packs her belongings and announces that life here is too hard. I sit in the main room and try to pray. Later Christine comes out with a brighter face and says she doesn't know what came over her earlier, and she resolves to persevere.

Papa Luis was supposed to have arrived at 8:00 with his truck, but the hours go by with no sight of him. Two brothers go down to the market to hire a passing farm truck. Children come running behind the truck. Curious faces poke through the door.

Off goes the truck with the first load. People climb upon the porch, poke into the wooden slats on the windows, and shout out to each other. Dozens of people enter the house and wander from room to room. The sky fills with storm clouds. Finally at 2:00 Papa Luis arrives. I help load it with kitchen items. A mob pours in the front door as we leave by the kitchen door. We squeeze into the pick-up truck. The rain begins before we reach Bangui.

Giselle and Tshimpsa remain behind for the final cleaning. When they arrive in the city later, they report that the owner's wife came by after the truck left, chased off the spectators, and apologized for her husband's behavior.

"Really we were living in the middle of hell," Lenga reflects. For years people believed that the church leaders had lots of money and probably many valuables stashed away. To little avail Lenga would explain that the local church receives no outside funding and has to be self-sufficient. Today the public could view every item removed from the house, none of it luxurious.

The spirit of the new house is tranquil. Even the heavy rain is comforting. We sit on the living room floor by the window and reflect on the events of the day. Sunday

At midnight, we have a blessing prayer for the house, followed by a two-hour prayer vigil. I barely remember hitting the pillow.

The next day I sweep, wash the floors, and sweep again. Finally m spirit feels settled. Over dinner I remark about Lenga's large brilliantly-colored reproduction of the painting, "Christ Knocking at Heart's Door," and ask him to tell me about his relationship with Jesus. Lenga looks a bit surprised at my question about Jesus, since the meal conversation had focused on the move and plans for the upcoming seminar. He has had many visions of Jesus, he explains, ever since he was young, and he has always felt very close to Jesus. His understanding of Jesus had been based not so much on theological concepts but on this personal relationship. When he heard Rev. Moon's teaching and understood its significance, he could understand that Jesus came as a true Adam. Lenga links that feeling for the role of Adam, as God's true son, the visible manifestation of God's heart and ideal, with Jesus and True Parents.

All day long, people have been arriving for the seminar which begins this evening. Supper is prepared, rice pudding with baguettes. We eat in silence, the atmosphere one of calm anticipation. Monday

Christine, Gilberte and I wake up around 5:00. The roosters are having some sort of convocation, and further sleep is impossible.

The furniture is rearranged for breakfast, and we wait for Lenga to join us. Lenga uses his long arms and his whole body to build his themes. His French is eloquent and easy to understand. Sometimes he pauses a moment before a key word, to see if anyone in the audience knows it. God has revealed Himself to humankind according to people's spiritual level and ability to respond. Lenga compares the law of Moses' time with the Jesus' teaching of the higher law of love. He talks about the need for a logical explanation of God and His ways, so that the highest elements of religion and science can unite to counter human ignorance. We need internal truth, such as an understanding of the purpose of life, as well as external truths about the functioning of the universe. I take careful notes, seeking to improve my French.

Tshimpsa beckons to me. We visit a Muslim woman who looks at me suspiciously and very soon extends her hand in a good-bye gesture. Tshimpsa and she talk in Sango, and after we leave Tshimpsa explains that he told her about Rev. Moon's concern to explain God's nature and heart in a way that can have meaning to people of all the world's religions, thus helping to break down barriers that lead to mistrust and wars. Today, however, no opening was found in the barriers of race, religion and nationality between her and me.

Back to the center. The lecture is over and the two teams of seminar participants are reviewing their notes.

The second lecture, on the Principle of Creation, is illustrated with a series of 12 intricately-drawn cloth charts, and the seminar participants take notes. Lenga emphasizes that God is a God of heart, and that we as His children need to develop our hearts and be responsible people; our level of spiritual development is reflected in the degree of responsibility we take for the people and things around us.

Some of the participants write slowly, and after the lecture I help hold up charts for participants to finish copying. Workshop lectures, followed by question periods and review of charts, last two and a half to three hours. Group discussion follows the morning and afternoon lectures. During breaks participants check each others' notebooks to make sure they missed nothing. Each team also has cleaning and dish washing responsibilities.

Tshimpsa gives the evening lecture on the human fall, which originated from a perversion of love in the first human family, separating people from God's love, life and lineage. Tshimpsa spices his lectures with pithy examples from daily life. A short prayer ends the evening session. Tuesday

Lenga, Christian and I are alone at the breakfast table. I talk about how difficult it has been for me to reconcile the teachings of the Principle with my heritage as an evangelical Christian.

Christian gives the lectures today on the mission of the Messiah and Tshimpsa the lecture on Christology. Afterwards I go to the sisters' room to pray. I begin to realize more deeply the meaning of the Principle's teaching about salvation. At age 14, I experienced Jesus saving me from fear and opening the way for me to experience God through the things of the creation. This was truly a rebirth. At age 18, a renewal experience with the Holy Spirit began a period of learning the basics of the life of faith: prayer, witnessing, fasting, teaching, creating a community of faith. But a sexual assault that I did not know how to protect myself against cut off the special closeness I felt to Jesus during those years.

In the past, each time I came across the phrase "the limit of salvation by the cross" I would cringe. In prayer today I could finally see and accept that limit.

When I heard the Principle at age 23, what struck me most deeply was the explanation of the human fall and how Satan destroyed God's ideal by a misuse of love. The Principle teaches a clear standard for living a chaste life, and it taught me the basics of how to make offerings that God could accept and how to re-create my heart through uniting with an Abel-type figure. I experienced rebirth through the Blessing ceremonies. True Parents have saved me from an isolated way of life, enabled me to start developing the heart of a wife and mother, and pushed me to become a substantial offering on ever larger levels. Over the years I have struggled in each of these areas, trying to rise to meet new challenges, even in Africa. Thus, True Parents have brought me substantial salvation, both spiritual and physical, on the foundation of the spiritual salvation through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I can be grateful to each one who played a part in opening the way for me to connect with God as His daughter. Wednesday

After the morning lecture I walk to the cathedral to pray. I had come to Africa as part of an international witnessing effort, but when I look inside myself that motivation has often been absent. During my years in Mexico, no matter how difficult circumstances were, we were always trying to reach out to new people and share our faith with them. However, when I returned to the United States to recover from a long illness and join my husband, I found the situation of our movement confusing, and for years I focused on nurturing church members rather than trying to reach out to others. One may travel half way around the world but not escape one's inner reality.

I take a wrong turn on the way back from the cathedral, and by the time I return lunch has already been served. Lenga, Tshimpsa, Christian, and Cisseki are seated at the table waiting for me. The day we left the village, Lenga spent a long time in his room meeting with people, and the rest of us waited for him to eat breakfast. Such attentiveness brings us closer in heart.

There are 14 participants in the workshop, seven from the Zairian village across the river and the other seven from near Bangui. More would have come, but they didn't have the $12.00 to contribute towards food costs. The cost of living is high in Bangui and meals are very simple. Papa Nunu brings a large stalk of bananas, Papa Luis two hens, and Papa Dominic a pig.

Tonight Christian gives the lecture comparing Moses' course and Jesus' course. He gives it by memory, skipping no detail. It's nearly midnight when the day's schedule ends.

Today our son Jason starts school. I wonder what he is experiencing. Thursday

A short canoe ride with Lenga across the river to the Zairian village of Zongo to visit members there. After a long wait at the immigration post, our papers are stamped and we walk through the village to meet Gertrude. She shows us around their compound, which includes an enclosure for goats, which they raise for income. Members operate a small restaurant to earn money for rent and food. With the current inflation crisis, Zairian currency is worth less each day, and just to survive is becoming a challenge. Lenga offers advice both practical and spiritual. Friday

Tshimpsa and I visit a family and Tshimpsa talks to the mother about being open to new ways in which God might be speaking today. He tells a story about a Zairian pastor who received a revelation that Jesus would come to her house on a certain day at noon. The woman cleaned the house and yard and prepared food with a joyful heart, anticipating the great blessing of Jesus' presence. The clock marked the passing time, 11:30, 11:45, 11:55. Exactly at noon there was a knock at the gate. She opened it and saw a humble beggar, dressed in rags, leaning on a cane.

I don't have anything for you," she answered sharply. "Please leave."

"But can't you spare even a morsel of bread?" the beggar pleaded.

"No, I'm expecting somebody important and I don't have time." Finally the beggar left.

The woman returned to the house to wait for Jesus. 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 no Jesus. Finally a spiritualist friend of hers came by and said, "I heard that Jesus was coming to your house today. How come you didn't welcome him in?"

"What?" the pastor asked. "I prepared and he never came."

She thought for a long time and finally realized the significance of the knock at her door. Alas, she had not recognized Jesus.

In the evening, Lenga speaks on prayer. Afterwards we each seek a spot in the courtyard for individual prayer. During the night I wake up and continue the prayer. Saturday

Each morning I have been leading a Bible study on Joshua's course, and the final chapter of Joshua contains a call for each family to decide the course to follow. This passage stirs the heart of Joseph, an Apostolic pastor attending the seminar. Yesterday he asked that we cease calling him "Pastor Joseph," explaining that what he has learned this week surpasses what he gained from four years of theological study. "Just call me Joseph," he requests.

Another student in the front row, Mama Leontine, came at the urging of her husband, Papa Luis. A devout Catholic, she had a hard time understanding her husband's interest in the Unification movement, and she went back home on Sunday, shortly after her husband brought her to the workshop. He insisted that she return. Mama Leontine is not used to sitting in classes and taking lecture notes, and she is often the last to finish copying the words. Everyone waits for her with good humor. Each day her face becomes brighter, especially during the singing.

Seminar participants create new rhythmic and echo patterns each day to accompany the hymns. Harmonies are invented, phrases repeated, a high voice introduces the first couple of words of each new verse. By the end of the seminar it is impossible to stay in one place while singing.

The seminar participants come from backgrounds ranging from Catholic to Apostolic to Muslim, but by workshop's end we are bound together by songs, if nothing else. We sing the holy songs of our church, folk songs, and beloved Christian hymns, including the French translations of some of my childhood favorites, "The Love of God" and "How Great Thou Art." I copy down in my notebook the words to a hauntingly beautiful hymn in Lingala, the language of Zaire: "Nzambe Aponi Yo."

In almost every talk to members, Lenga constantly emphasizes, "Nous avons le grand privilege de..." or "por la grace de Dieu...." With these constant reminders of God's grace upon us and the privilege we have of living at this time, it's easy to live with a grateful heart.

I walk back to the airline office to reconfirm my flight. Is it possible that in two days I will be leaving?

I eat a quick breakfast. Lenga asked me to give the morning's lecture on the path of returning to God, passing through the stages of servant of servant and servant, to adopted child and true child. I'm tired afterwards, but I arrange fresh flowers for tomorrow. Lenga gives a lecture on "The Messiah and Me." Tshimpsa gives some history about the development of our worldwide movement. Finally comes supper and an evening of songs and testimonies. I sing "Country Roads" with the heart of longing for my hometown among the hills of western Virginia. Sunday

We get up at 4:30 am to prepare for early prayer. A couple of the workshop participants join us. Around 9:00 the courtyard starts to fill with people arriving for service. I gave the sermon. Afterwards Lenga said I had rambled a lot and I should have had somebody translate my halting French into Sango, because many in the audience couldn't understand me.

After the service, Lenga asks all the leaders to join us for a trip to a prayer ground on the hill overlooking the city. Because of the difficult situation in the nation over the past few years, members have not visited the prayer site as a group for the eight years. However, with the recent promise of elections, the winds of change fill the air, and Lenga decides it's time to revisit it.

Fifteen people squeeze into the seats and back of Papa Luis' ever-handy truck. I'm perched on the gear box in front, between Papa Luis and Lenga. We jostle down the eroded and pot-holed streets ("How do you recognize a drunk driver?" goes a local joke. "Someone who drives in a straight line.") There are butterflies every couple of feet on either side of the road. The air is wondrously cool and fresh.

We climb above the tree and trample down a small clearing around its base. From here Bangui looks green and peaceful. We pray together, forming a chain around the tree. I step down to the tree and put my arms on it. It's a baobab tree, firmly rooted in the soil. My eyes go up and up, until I finally see the first side branches.

Back at the center, the seminar participants are writing down answers to 12 questions covering the main themes presented in the past seven days. The participants receive certificates of completion. I have my camera ready to capture Papa Luis greeting his wife after she receives her certificate. Each of the participants receives a boiled plantain as a farewell gift. Reluctantly they leave.

The butterfly artist, Papa Expedit, appears, with Papa Dominic. They bring me a package of intricate village scenes, animals, flowers, and profiles of women, created with butterfly wings. The night is still. Monday

I sort through my things in preparation for departure. I select small gifts for the brothers and sisters.

At dinner, Christian describes visiting his guest who returned home from the workshop Sunday afternoon and immediately started sweeping the house and the ground surrounding it, as he had been doing daily during the workshop. His father was surprised and the neighbors were impressed. His father asked him about the week, and the son showed him his carefully-written lecture notes. The father remarked, "This looks very good. I want to attend the next workshop." Christian is beaming as he gives the report.

We remark that during the past week we have seen resurrection take place, not just in theory but in reality.