True Parents' History for Children |
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The Church Grows The three years between 1957 and 1960 were busy, indeed! Let the papers print their lies. Let the parents complain. Let the people sneer and mock. There was a great feeling among the members after their 40 days in the countryside. They had learned that, when they worked hard and were persecuted, they received energizing strength from Heavenly Father. There were even more 40 day conditions and the stories that the hardworking members had to tell would fill a book. Always, Father traveled around in his Jeep to visit his members and give them encouragement. More than once, he worked in the villages and made friends with the farmers and fishermen. In many towns, the Unification Church gained new members. At the Chongpadong Church, things were buzzing with activity, day and night. There were lectures and prayer meetings and meals and discussion groups. Many times the young women gathered to pray for the men who were out preaching. A choir was begun. A library was created with donated books. Clubs for students and clubs for women were established, and everyone was very busy. Mr. David S.C. Kim went to England to study and witness. Miss Young Oon Kim worked every day to translate the Divine Principle into English. She took a job as a typist at the American military base where she hoped to find someone who would help her get to America. One of her spiritual children she found there was Col. Bo Hi Pak. He was working as an aide-de-camp for some American officers. In January 1959, Father sent Young Oon Kim as the first missionary to the United States. Later in 1959, Mr. David S.C. Kim moved to the United States and became the second missionary. And soon came Col. Bo Hi Pak, working for his government but using the opportunity to find members in America. The Bride is Found In Korea, the Unification Church continued to struggle and grow. Father often talked with the members, sometimes taking them to mountain tops where he taught them more about the Divine Principle. During the three years before 1960, he talked to them often about the meaning of marriage. "The time is coming," he said, "when I will be blessed by God in holy marriage, and this will be the most important event in all the world. Then you will be blessed in marriage, too." This was always an interesting subject. "It will be a heavenly marriage," he explained. "And will be a heavenly banquet. The bride and groom will be the new Adam and Eve. They will be the true parents of all people. Then God's side can grow strong; and Satan's side will grow weaker and weaker." They listened carefully. His bride would be their real mother. They thought about it. Then the question formed in their minds, "Who will she be?" They looked around. Well, Teacher Moon is almost 40, so she will probably be a woman who is in her thirties. That way, she will be younger than he is, but not too young. This woman will be the mother of all of us, so she will surely be someone who is respected by everyone. Perhaps she will be one of the young women from Ehwa University. Yes, that makes sense. Those ladies are well educated, intelligent, and come from respected families. They are dedicated to God, and some are beautiful, as well. They are able to be leaders. As they entered the year of 1960, some older ladies who received messages from God came to Father. "We have received messages that your bride has arrived," they said to him. "Who is it?" he asked. "We didn't receive the name," they answered, "but it is clear she has arrived." Father listened but said nothing. He was waiting for a clear sign from God. In January, he announced to the members, "I have received that my engagement must take place by March 1, 1960. We will prepare everything now. Heavenly Father will show me before then who my bride will be." He would not choose one himself. The time drew nearer. The clothing and decorations were almost ready. But where was the bride? After awhile, one old woman went to Father privately. "I believe I should choose the bride for you," she said. He paused a moment. He never wanted to answer too hastily and risk missing God's voice. Was God speaking through her? But he felt clear. "No," he answered, "I cannot allow you to choose someone for me. Only God can do that." One day, Father went into one of the rooms of the church where the older ladies often gathered, about 40 of them. He paced back and forth silently. No one said anything. "Has anyone received any messages from God about my bride?" he asked finally. Oh, how each lady wished she could answer with a yes. Just then, a voice spoke softly, and a bit timidly, "A thousand pardons. I have received something." Everyone turned to look. Why, it was Mrs. Hong, the cook! She's not one of the leading prayer ladies. And, besides, she's too old to be his wife! Mrs. Hong had been receiving a series of revelations, but she had told no one. The latest one was a dream, but it was such a vivid dream, it seemed real. In this dream, a bird came down from heaven. Another bird flew up from the earth. In the sky they flew together and became one. Then she noticed that the eyes of the bird from heaven looked just like Father's eyes. And when she looked at the bird from earth, she was amazed to see that its face looked like her daughter, Hak Ja Han! When she woke up, she had felt so joyful that, without thinking of her dignity, she just jumped up and danced around the room. "At last! At last! The world shall have true parents," she sang. "We are their children! We are their children!" From that moment, she felt that her daughter was really her mother. Every day after that, she not only bowed toward Father's room, but she bowed also in the direction of her daughter back in Chun Chon. "Yes?" Father's voice brought her back to the present. "What did you receive, Soon-Ae?" Mrs. Hong looked a bit embarrassed. Maybe she was wrong for speaking up. But she stood up and bowed. "I have received several revelations about my daughter," she said. The other women looked at each other, puzzled. They didn't remember any daughter. A few of them remembered a school girl visiting a few years earlier. That's all. "Who is your daughter?" asked Father, looking at her intently, seeming to peer into her very soul. "Her name is Hak Ja Han," she replied. "She is living with my brother in Chun Chon." Father paused only a moment before replying, "I would like to talk to her." That very day, a note was written and sent to Hak Ja Han: "You shall hereby prepare for a heavenly engagement and forthcoming wedding." It was the first of February. The Bride Arrives The next Sunday, the 17 year old Hak Ja Han arrived at Chongpadong Church. (She had just turned 18 by the Korean way of counting birthdays.) Her mother walked in with her and they sat down on the floor to wait for the service to begin. Throughout the service, Mrs. Hong stole glances at her daughter. "How grown up she looks today," she thought. "She doesn't look like just a girl anymore." Everything in the church seemed brighter that day. Mrs. Hong noticed other members looking at her daughter. Most of them did not remember Hak Ja Han's visit four years earlier. Then, Mrs. Hong saw something else. Moon Sonseng-nim was looking at her daughter, also. In fact, his eyes were on her throughout most of his speech that day. Mrs. Hong's eyes moved from Father to her daughter. Was she embarrassed? It was obvious she knew Father was watching her, but her face was serene. She looked as if she had been expecting this moment all her life and that there was some kind of silent communication going on between them. When the service was over, Father walked over to the two of them, and gazed at Hak Ja Han for a long while. Then Father turned to Mrs. Hong and said, "Please bring your daughter upstairs. I would like to speak with her." They followed him up the narrow stairs and into his little room. They were barely seated on the floor when he began asking her questions. "What does your name mean?" "Gentle crane," she answered. "Where were you born?" "Pyung Yang province." He was born in that very same province! "When were you born?" "January 6, 1943." He was born on January 6, also! (There is a saying in Korea that, if a husband and wife have the same birthday, they are already special people and their marriage is blessed by heaven.) "What religion were your parents?" "Both were Christian." So were his. "Do you read very much?" "I read about the lives of the saints when I'm not studying for school." "Who is your family? How did you hear about Divine Principle? Have you studied it? Do you pray? What do you pray about? What is the most important part of the Principle to you?" The questions kept coming. Mrs. Hong watched her daughter. She was so young and had not participated in Unification Church life very much. "Oh dear," she thought, "maybe I should have stayed at home and prepared her better." She was soon reassured, however. Hak Ja Han continued to answer the questions very well. Although the meeting went on for about nine hours, she didn't look uncomfortable at all. Late that evening, Father ended the meeting. "Now I will get you a tutor," he said. "And then we will meet again." The Bride Makes Herself Ready It was soon arranged for Hak Ja Han to live with Mrs. Won Bok Choi in a little house near the church. Ever since she had left Ehwa University. Mrs. Choi had been a very close disciple of Father's. He relied on her for many things. Her heart was deep and she was just a lovely, lovely person. Her job as tutor was to prepare this teenaged girl to become the true mother of all the universe. Every day, they spent long hours going over the Divine Principle. Mrs. Choi explained to her the importance of the heavenly bride, the importance of the True Mother and what she must be like and what she must do. To her amazement, Hak Ja Han understood these things easily. Mrs. Choi discovered that she had been praying and studying every day and had already learned many of the answers. She had kept herself pure. Even her thoughts were pure. She had focused on her studies at school and on spiritual things. She loved God. She didn't talk very much, but she had a sense about what was right, and then just did it. During this time of tutoring, Mrs. Choi attended meetings at the church. One night, Father unexpectedly turned to her and said, "Hak Ja Han, please sing for us." Mrs. Choi felt tense. In the back of the room, Mrs. Hong felt tense. Hak Ja stood up. Her red and yellow Korean chogori seemed to be the centerpiece of the room, and her face the centerpiece of love. She sang a folk song-a love song, really: When spring comes, mountains and fields, valleys and river banks are decorated with azaleas. My mind, too, is blooming like the azaleas. When you come and pluck the flowers, Don't leave me alone; pluck mine, too. "Is she too bold for singing such a song to Moon Sonseng nim?" wondered Mrs. Choi uneasily. But Hak Ja Han seemed confident, and she appeared to enjoy singing. Father appeared to enjoy listening. After the service, Father asked them to come up to his room. He asked Hak Ja Han more questions about the Divine Principle and about herself. Then, handing her a pad of paper, he asked her to draw a picture. She skillfully drew a picture of hills and trees and mountains, with one person in it. Again Father looked pleased. "Tomorrow morning, please come here again," he said. The next day, Father took her on a long walk. They went to the mountains together and talked all day. He asked more questions. He explained things to her about the Divine Principle and about his own life. She was a very good student. The Engagement Ceremony When the engagement was announced for March 1 (by the lunar calendar), it was like a big earthquake had hit. Almost everyone was shocked. Of course, they had seen Father talking to this teenager, and they had thought she must be someone special-but WIFE? "Impossible!" they gasped. "He's 40; and she's only 18!" "She's too young to be our Mother. How can we bow down to her? How can SHE lead US?" "She hasn't even gone out witnessing or anything." "And her mother has been in the church only four years! They are just spiritual babies!" Some of the women had hoped they might be chosen, so it was hard now to be cheerful. Some were just plain jealous. It seemed that March 1 came in a twinkling, but-miracle of miracles- they were prepared. The decorations were beautiful and everything was clean and bright. Just a small group of Father's closest followers attended this important ceremony. Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han were dressed in beautiful new Korean clothes. Father said a long tearful prayer as he thanked Heavenly Father for preparing such a woman. After his prayer, he explained to everyone the meaning of the ceremony. Turning then to Hak Ja Han, he said, "Please say a few words to everyone." Everyone leaned forward. What would this quiet girl say on such an important occasion? Perhaps she would be so frightened she would not know what to say or even break down in tears. She stood up and looked at them briefly. Lowering her eyes, she said simply, "I don't have the kind of foundation you have. I know that. But I am being asked to take this role, and I promise you that all my life I will do my very best. I pledge to do whatever I am asked. But," she paused and glanced around the room at these older more experienced members, "I need your help. Without your support, I cannot fulfill this mission." She bowed to them and bowed to Father, and she sat down quietly. The members were touched by her words. Some of the women began to cry. They saw that she really understood her role-to be True Mother to all people. They saw that she was willing to take responsibility for the position of all women. And even though she was younger than any of them, she was willing to dedicate her life for them. There was special food for everyone then, and joyfully they shared. Entertainment followed the meal, as Father asked each one to sing. At one point, as one member was singing, Father suddenly got up and started dancing. Happily and with a free spirit, he swayed to the music. Immediately, without any prompting, Hak Ja Han got up and began swaying to the music, too. She looked so natural, and she followed him perfectly, as if she had been dancing with him all her life. Again, everyone was amazed. Many of them had been with their Teacher for five years or more, but they knew they could never have been so confident and natural. It was clear that God Himself had taught her. The heavens were singing a new song that night. |
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