Dear brothers and sisters,
Thank
you all for your warm heartfelt wishes on our blessing. We are about
to embark on a new life journey and I must confess I am still in a
state of the bliss. I am eternally grateful to God and True Parents
for allowing me to start a new life with such a wonderful sister. You
are probably wondering about how it all happened…
About
ten months ago, Rev.Peter Kim approached me with a ”shocking”
news. He told me that True Parents were actively seeking a potential
candidate to be my new wife. They have decided it is the time for me
to receive a new blessing and to embark on a new chapter in my life.
It’s been almost 16 years since Unjin nim left me and I must
admit it has not been an easy path since the separation. I am truly
blessed to have such wonderful daughters Shinyeon and Shinji who
despite my inadequacy as a parent became extraordinarily mature and
beautiful ladies. My youngest daughter Shinji has just graduated from
high school and will be attending a college this fall. When I heard
the True Parents desire I also humbly acknowledged their wisdom that
it was the time for me to start a new life.
I would like to
share with you a couple of letters that Rev. Matsuzaki and my
daughter Shinji wrote. These letters will give you a glimpse of how
it all transpired…
Rev. Matsuzaki introduced a special lady to me about a half year ago and he wrote this letter to Rev. Peter Kim to report to True Parents:
Dear Dr. Peter Kim,
It’s been a while since I’ve talk to you. I pray that your health is getting better. I do miss your gentle loving heart and character. The last time I saw you were in Hawaii.
I have something very important matter to report to you regarding Jin Hun nim’ssituation.
I have a long standing relationship with him over 30 years. I had a close relationship with Tiger Park and his family, and I have met him on many occasions during those years.
Last September, he came to Japan and requested my help to meet and support a possible matching situation with a Japanese sister. And I witnessed his earnest and sincerest efforts to reach out to her for the matching even doing three 7 day fasting and I was there when his request was not accepted and how it broke his heart. He was devastated and broken-hearted. I, on behalf of Jin Hun nim, made continuous efforts to reach out to her. He did not give up and also I did not give up on her until now.
I came to Vegas originally to attend and join Kook Jin nim’s gun show in January of this year. I was a gun shop owner 40 years ago in Japan to manage “yewa” air rifles which Father manufactured. I sold more than anyone else during those years, and I always loved guns. I was more than happy to learn and support Kook Jin nim’s show in Vegas.
During my stay in Vegas in January, Jin Hun nim came for a brief visit to spend time with me as we have done so on occasions in the past. One night, I was awakened by a verystrong spiritual call at 2:30 AM, and decided to take bath and cold shower. Then, a very powerful revelation and inspiration suddenly overwhelmed me regarding Jin Hun nim’s marriage situation. The insight which strongly struck me was that there is a sister who is a perfect match for him and that I should Introduce her to him. It was so powerful a sensation that I could not help but tell him right away about this sister.
Her name is Kiwa Hirai, a daughter of 1800 couple Mr.& Mrs.Hirai. Her father and mother come from a very strong Christian background which is very unusual for a Japanese family. Kiwa san came to Hawaii as a missionary twice for about 6 months and I was able to witness what kind of sister Kiwa san was during that time. Her beautiful love and selfless dedication toward others showed how a genuinely wonderful, faithful daughter of God she was.
I was the senior pastor in Hawaii taking care of the missionaries, often counseling about marriage and blessing matters, as well as the frontline activities. I found out that Kiwa san was blessed in Korea in 2000. From the beginning she had much difficulty with the blessing, and the second generation department leader at the time recommended that they should be separated. Even though she wanted to remain faithful to the blessing, the matching simply did not work. Too make a long story short; I believe the broken matching was not really her fault. Rather, I believe she was a victim. I discussed her situation with her parents and promised that I will do my best to find a good match for her including my sons as candidates. Realizing how precious a daughter of God she was and after having a serious contemplation I actually did offer both of my sons to her and her family. But for some mysterious reasons, the matching never took place. However, during the process, I came to know Kiwa san and her family intimately.
Around 3:00 AM January 29th, I immediately called Kiwa san’s parents and asked if they have found any blessing candidate for her. I found out that Kiwa san was still a single and was doing a volunteer work in Chungpyung nursery. She was engaged in a very special spiritual condition asking God for a good blessing candidate. She was doing 50 bows and a prayer condition every single day for a whole year. Because she wanted to remain “pure” before God, she kept her purity and resisted many temptations all these years. For her, the purity was her utmost importance in her life of faith and for the blessed marriage.
She had a keen sense of hope that God will give a special sign for her blessing before her birthday which was January 30. But, no sign appeared. Then, suddenly I called her parents from Las Vegas just 5 hours prior to her birthday. Of course, I knew nothing about her conditions and her wish before her birthday. I told her parents that I would like to introduce a very faithful and wonderful Korean man from New York as a possible blessing match for her and asked them to keep this man as a no.1 candidate. Later I found out that she began receiving many matching offers soon after her birthday with complete and full matching information, not like my mysterious candidate from NY. However, just because she felt deep in her heart that the sign from God for her future spouse should appear PRIOR to her birthday, without hesitation, she has decided to follow ONLY my recommendation. I did not tell her and her mother any information about my candidate’s age, name and etc. I have just requested them to trust me and simply come to Las Vegas. I did not reveal anything about Jin Hun nim. They did not ask ANYTHING and I COULD NOT say ANYTHING. I have tried to reveal to them many times but my lips were SEALED tight and I have no other way but to leave everything to GOD and TRUE PARENTS’ HAND. It was truly an act of faith and it was indeed very very spiritual and mysterious. They were truly faithful to God and True Parents and they trusted me enough to come to Vegas without asking further questions.
I told and asked Jin Hun nim to come to Vegas to meet Kiwa san and her mother. I also did not reveal much about her to him. Initially he was hesitating about it but he decided to come for the “date” meeting. I think he was going through difficult times because of the fact that his first attempt at matching in last September did not work out. I think he was broken hearted and lost confidence somewhat. I knew his coming to Vegas was also an act of faith.
From the moment they first met, I can honestly say that it was one of the most moving experiences I have had in my 46 years of church life. As you might have expected, she was totally shocked by my introduction of Jin Hun nim. She and her mother were expecting“maybe 3 years older man as maximum age difference”, but they never expected someone who was so much older. He also had two grown up children of college age! And yet she was very calm and began the process of digesting the situation that was appearing before her. I believe her sincere faithful preparation gave her such a strong foundation that she was able to overcome the big age gap and other possible difficulties. It was a beautiful sight to behold and I felt like I was in a movie scenario for a powerful drama. She later confessed that she wanted to meet someone whom she can deeply respect and whom she can proudly testify to the children in the future how wonderful their father is. She had many possible offers for the blessing, but she found that this aspect of the respectful character was always lacking in the previous suitors. She wanted her children to love and respect their father deeply. Kiwa san immediately saw the personality and qualities in Jinhun nim which she can respect and admire.
She saw that he also had a quality of humility. Even though Jin Hun nim was much older,he never imposed himself as an authoritative figure or forced the respect from her. He was genuinely nice and humble to her. He was a bit nervous in the beginning, but soon, they were communicating with each other wholeheartedly. In fact, she really wanted to soften and mend his years of broken heart situation if she could. It was truly a beautifulsight. On so many occasions I had to make extra efforts to withhold tears while I was witnessing such pure and sincere heart of making effort to live for each other.
For few days we did sightseeing and enjoyed shows. We visited Grand Canyon, saw Cirque du Soleil, Ka show, and went to many wonderful places in Vegas. Dr. Yang and Mimi san were very helpful and kind. Both were going out of the way to support them. Although True Parents were here at the same time, we felt that it should be kept private matter for awhile. We did not know yet, if they were going to make the final commitment to each other.
On the third day, by the beautiful lotus fountain in Wynn hotel, both Kiwa san and Jin Hun nim finally promised and pledged to each other for the marriage blessing. I was so movedand relieved by their commitment that I spontaneously conducted special ceremony praying for them and then asking them to bow to God, True Parents, and to each other. We were all in tears of joy and inspiration.
Dear Dr. Peter Kim, I am only a humble servant whose only desire is to lesson God’s and True Parent’s pain and suffering. If there is any small possibility to carry and/or take down the cross off our beloved True Parents, I would do it without any hesitation. I have felt so strongly and believed from the bottom of my heart that God has prepared such a precious daughter Kiwa san for Jin Hun nim. I truly believe that it was meant to be this way. They truly are meant to be with each other!
I have so much more to share, but this is a simple brief report about Jin Hun nim’smysterious encounter. When I have heard that our Beloved True Parents have begun to seek a new wife for him and that fact alone was more than enough to move me profoundly to do anything I could do to help Jin Hun nim find a possible life partner. So, here it is… This is how the matching took place. They are really happy with each other already, and I believe I have done my duty bringing them together. I was simply a small instrument in this matching process, and I really hope this will bring joy to our True Parents.
Dear Dr. Peter Kim, please allow and support this situation and guide me as to how to follow up with this joyful situation. I humbly submit my report and request your guidance.
Most Sincerely,
Hiroshi Matsuzaki (UTS ’77)
Former Senior Pastor, Hawaii region.
President, Federation of Island Nation for World Peace
Also, my daughter Shinji wrote this on her blog (Please do not tell her that I sometimes secretly read her blog. Actually she is becoming a quite a power blogger posting poems and prose). A little dramatic but she honestly expressed her feeling
Anonymous asked a question to Shinji: ”Tell us a beautiful story.”
My father has been alone for fifteen years and in love for even longer. Today, sitting across the table at a small restaurant with dark wooden panels, he looked into his glass and told me, quietly, “You know, I’ll always love your mother. Genuinely. Truly. I always will.” He had just gotten home from California where he had spent the week and I had never seen him happier, more at peace with himself — and I didn’t understand why. When I got home from school he told me to pick a restaurant, any restaurant. I’ll drive you across the world. Put on your favorite dress. I have something to talk to you about. And for the first time in fifteen years since their divorce he told me that he wanted to make peace with her — that, for the sake of my sister and me, he wanted to coexist. And it broke my heart and I didn’t understand what had happened, what had occurred in the week span that I hadn’t seen him, that made him turn so quickly into a father who forgave instead of held onto burning coals.
My father has been alone for fifteen years and has been waiting to die since I was born. He gave up his entire life — his high-paying job, his family, his love — for my sister and I. He could’ve left us the same way my mother had but he didn’t, he couldn’t. If he had we would’ve ended up in orphanages or being passed back and forth between nannies. Last time my father went to California he met a man who was once his father’s closest friend (the man who sat at my grandfather’s bedside for weeks holding his hand while his life slipped out of him like a crippled ghost.) Every so often my father and he would get together and play golf in different cities — and that trip, the man who thought of my father as his brother, as his son, realized that he could help him, that he could make my father less lonely, more happy.
At that moment, halfway across the country in Japan was a woman who had suffered through an abusive marriage and lived alone and suffering for thirteen years. Beautiful and kind, she had all the suitors that a woman could ask for. (Even the aforementioned friend-of-my-father offered his sons up to her because he couldn’t find anyone more perfect and worthy) but she declined, one after another. None of them were faithful enough. None of them had a heart compatible with hers. It had been years since she had been in a marriage but she was still broken, shaken up by how badly someone could treat her. But still, she had faith in finding someone.
One night in early January in prayer she asked Someone for a sign, any sign. She wanted to find someone prior to her birthday, which happened to fall on the thirtieth of January. She wanted a sign that it would work out, that it could happen, that she could regain faith in relationships and the sanctity of marriage. She would listen, she said.
On January 29, at eleven p.m., the friend of my father’s called her and asked if she was interested in meeting someone, a man from New York who happens to be my father.
She took the sign.
The past week my father spent in California with her, re-meeting her, falling for her. He never told me a single thing, only said that he was there for business, never mentioning that he might possibly come back with a woman. Today for the first time in seventeen years I saw my father cry over a woman that gave him all the hope that he thought his old wife took from him. He regained faith in the idea that there were kind people out there — that there were genuine folk remaining. They had both suffered through a terrible marriage, a terrible divorce, and long expanses of loneliness — and they found in each other a same heart, broken and raw around the edges, still healing, always bruised. At dinner he told me that she had written him a letter the last night they were together.
“I want to lessen your suffering,” she had written. “I want to make you happy, and I want you to be happy, with me.” And he had cried. That was all he ever wanted to hear, all he never knew he wanted to hear, and for the first time in years he let himself feel something for someone. He let himself be vulnerable. He fell in love with her.
He came home this morning and told me that he wanted to make everything right. I had been so worried about him. After graduation I didn’t know what he was going to do being alone. He was already depressed, near suicidal, and I couldn’t face him living alone without any company. But now he has someone, he has a someone, a beautiful someone who’s young and kind and who doesn’t even mind that he’s a little torn around the edges.
Today in an empty restaurant with nosy waitresses I cried of happiness for the first time and I hugged my father and gave him my blessing. He’s getting married in July.
Well…. On the July 7th in Tokyo, by the grace of God and True Parents, Japan church conducted a special blessing ceremony for Kiwa san and me. It was most wonderful event most beautifully conducted far beyond our expectation. Rev. Song Yongsuk, representing True Parents, officiated the blessing event at the well-known Happo-En wedding venue. Rev. Peter Kim, President Kajikuri, Rev. Oyamada, Rev. Sudo, Rev. Otah, Rev. Otsuka, Rev. Tokuno and many other guests came to celebrate and congratulate our blessing. President Kajikuri who despite being bed ridden in a hospital due to the kidney cancer, against the doctor’s direction, came to the event and gave a moving congratulatory remark, inspiring all of us. You can see the attached photos and see how wonderful the event was. It was for me an awe inspiring event!
Kiwa and I are eternally grateful to God and True Parents for showering us with such an amazing blessing. We are truly indebted to Japan church for providing us with such an incredible wedding ceremony. I know the only way for me to repay them is to live an exemplary life in the eyes of God, True Parents and all the brothers and sisters who have expressed their heartfelt warm wishes. Thank you all so much!
I
will send more photos for your viewing later. We are
planning to hold a wedding event here in NY as well
sometime in the fall. Of course, you are all invited
to come and celebrate our wedding with us. As soon as
the date and the venue are set, we will let you
know.
Thank you and God bless,
ITPN
Jinhun Park and Kiwa Hirai
(UTS ’93)