True Parents' History for Children

Mrs. Hyun Sil Kang was a religious lady who met Father in Pusan. She attended a Presbyterian seminary that was very strict with its students. They were taught to follow the Bible exactly. They did not buy or sell anything on Sundays. They did not drink wine or eat rich foods.

One day, Mrs. Kang heard of a young man who was teaching "strange things" in the mountains of Pusan. She thought to herself, "The Bible speaks of many people who will try to trick others into losing their faith in the last days. Well, these are the last days. Could this be the big deceiver, the Anti-Christ, himself?"

Mrs. Kang couldn't get the idea of this young man out of her mind. She thought Satan must be deceiving him. She also thought of his eternal soul. "He is a child of God, too," she thought. "Someone should try to help him."

Every day, Mrs. Kang prayed three or four hours and read at least 30 pages of the Bible. Every day, she visited at least three homes to talk to the people about God. Perhaps she should save the soul of this young man on the mountain. She did not know how she would find him, but she had faith that God would lead her somehow.

On May 10, 1952, she got the inspiration to go out. As she walked around, she saw a middle-aged woman near a stream. This woman greeted her and asked, "Do you work somewhere?"

Mrs. Kang answered, "I am a missionary."

"I would like to invite you to come `home' with me."

She wasn't quite sure why she did it, but Mrs. Kang agreed to go. The woman by the stream was none other than Grandmother Oak, and she led Mrs. Kang straight to Father's little shack on the hill.

When Mrs. Kang saw the shabby hut where Father lived, she could not believe her eyes. It was so terrible that she wondered how anyone could live there without developing a resentful spirit. They went inside and sat down, and soon Father came in. Mrs. Oak introduced Mrs. Kang to a rather ragged young man, and she left them together.

Father took one look at her and said, "God has been giving you so much love for the last seven years."

Mrs. Kang was shocked. It was seven years ago that she had promised her life to God. How could he know that?

Then he said, "Today is a most special day, and you are very fortunate to be here." She could not know it then, but Father had just finished writing the original Divine Principle.

Father began teaching her about the "Last Days of the World" and the "Second Advent of the Messiah." He explained that the Messiah would not come on the clouds as she had been taught; but he would come as a physical man to their own Korea.

As Father spoke, Mrs. Kang thought to herself, "Well, that would certainly be nice, but the things he says are impossible."

Father told her that in 1950 Jesus had appeared in the skies of North Korea, and during the Korean War an airline pilot saw Jesus very clearly in the sky. The South Korean newspapers even printed articles about it.

Mrs. Kang was disturbed by Father's words, but she was even more disturbed by his shouting. He spoke with great force, even though the room was very small and she was the only person there. She leaned away from him, and still his booming voice annoyed her. When she looked into his face, she saw that his eyes shone brilliantly, and she wondered if something was wrong with him. Or maybe something was wrong with her! Oh, dear! Mrs. Kang didn't like having such scary thoughts. She thought, "I've got to get away from here!"

She stood up to go, but Father asked her to stay for dinner. She said no, but he insisted. Now Mrs. Kang felt even more frightened. Korean standards for conduct between men and women were very strict. She should not even be in the house alone with him, and now they were to have dinner together! But she did not know how to say no, and hoped that at least the meal would be good.

It was terrible! No rice at all; just barley, the cheap kind that the government gave out to refugees; sour kim-chee, and bean curd. Father asked her to pray. How could she pray over such an awful meal? Besides, she was exhausted. So Father prayed.

That prayer changed Mrs. Kang's life. Never had she heard of such love for God or such dedication to His work. Mrs. Kang realized the difference between her own selfish prayers and his simple offer of his life to God.

Mrs. Kang asked if she could come back, and Father answered with a smile that she would be welcome 24 hours a day. In a few days, she returned, and Father explained more things to her.

One day she was responsible to lead the service at her seminary. She told Father she had to leave early to prepare for it. However, he kept talking for so long that she barely made it back in time. She was sure that she would do a horrible job of presenting her program, because she had no time to prepare. Instead, it went splendidly, and everyone told her how inspiring her talk had been. Later, when she told Father about it, he said that since she had had no time to pray, he had prayed for her.

Still, it was not easy for Mrs. Kang to follow Father. She had so many doubts. But whenever she doubted him, she would feel separation from God, and sometimes she even felt pains in her chest and head. Then she would repent, and the pains would disappear.

One day, however, Mrs. Kang felt she could not go on. She went tell Father she had to leave him. He met her outside the shack and said to her, "You came to tell me you're leaving. But I beg of you, don't leave! I need you so desperately."

Mrs. Kang felt afraid. This man knew everything about her; she didn't even have private thoughts!

He continued, "No one would choose to go such a difficult way, not even I. But it's the way God is calling me. I can't help it. If anyone else were given this mission, I would help that person. Won't you help me?" Mrs. Kang's heart was softened. But many things still bothered her. For instance, why was Father so shabby? Why did he live in this ugly hut, disgraceful even for a refugee? Why couldn't he make money?

"Pray about it," he told her, reading her thoughts. "I tell you, someday, even western people will listen to The Divine Principle." She went home and asked God what to do. The answer came clearly, "This man's situation is just like Jesus 2,000 years ago. Jesus' disciples helped him. Now, you should help this man." She had to obey.

Soon afterwards, Mrs. Kang witnessed to a another missionary she had known. This lady had a dream. She saw three balls of light, then three Rose of Sharon flowers (the Korean national flower), then Jesus' face. Then she saw a mountain, a small refugee hut, and a young man coming to meet her.

Mrs. Kang told her that her dream meant that light comes from Korea, and that Jesus would appear in Korea. She then took the lady to meet Father. When the woman saw the hut, she realized that it was the same one she saw in her vision, and that Father was the young man.

Then, Father told the lady that the vision was not really for her, but for Mrs. Kang, to help her stop doubting so much.

That lady joined the church, and she later teased Mrs. Kang, "I am actually your spiritual mother, not your spiritual daughter, because it was my vision that saved you."

"Maybe so! Maybe so!" Mrs. Kang would laugh. She just knew she was glad she could serve Father; she was glad she was saved from doubt; and she was glad to be a woman who could help the Messiah while he was beginning his work on earth.