I was born in Indonesia, but I was studying economics at the University of California at Berkeley in 1962 when I received a letter from a fellow foreign student, Peter Koch, inviting me to a small pioneer center of the Unified Family. Peter had sent out letters to all the foreign students there, stating that he had an important message for their countries. In response to that letter, I called him, stating that I would like to see him at a later time as I was in the midst of preparing for my oral examination for my doctoral degree in economics. However, when he told me that the message had something to do with a “new revelation,” I consented to see him that Thursday evening.
At that meeting in an apartment above a Chinese restaurant in Berkeley, I met Miss Young Oon Kim and some of the early members. After the Divine Principle reading session, I was so inspired that I stayed in the apartment until 4:00 a.m. to ask Peter many questions. This conversation gave me a good idea of what the movement was all about. That experience led me to investigate the claims of the Divine Principle by visiting churches and spiritual groups in the San Francisco Bay area, including the Golden Gate Spiritualist Church. After I faithfully attended the Thursday-evening Divine Principle reading sessions for two or three months, Miss Kim asked me to become a member. I responded by signing membership in December 1962. In the process of studying the Divine Principle, I found that it gave me the best interpretation of Scripture and a good explanation of life itself. It integrated science and religion, faith and reason, through the Principles of Creation. For example, I could see that the double-entry bookkeeping system of modern accounting bears resemblance to the Principles of Creation.
Later on, I was told that out of about 1900 letters Peter had sent out to foreign students at the University of California at Berkeley, about 25 responded to his invitation; however, I was the only one who joined.
From Tribute: Reflections from the Early Years, NY: HSA-UWC, 2011, 27-28.