Mother of Peace: Episode 58
Mother of Peace: And God Shall Wipe Away All Tears from Their Eyes
A Memoir by Hak Ja Han Moon
Chapter 10: The Challenge Of Realizing A Heavenly World, pg 285-288
Prior to the 1990s, two groups of Korean immigrants living in Japan shunned each other over ideological differences. They coalesced into two organizations, Mindan, the pro-democracy Korean Residents Union in Japan, and Chongryon, the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. The fact that citizens belonging to the same “Korean people” separate themselves from each other like water and oil was a great shame. As we engaged in Victory Over Communism activities, we forged ties even with Chongryon and invited its members to visit South Korea. Initially they viewed us with suspicion, but when they saw the sincerity of our offer, they joined the tours. Many among them eventually distanced themselves from communism. In the summer of 2018, at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, we held the Rally of Hope and Resolve to Advance God’s Providence in Heavenly Japan, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Japanese movement. During my address, I called Japan and Korea to go forward hand in hand for the sake of the future. I exhorted the two nations to unite in heart and complete the Korea-Japan undersea tunnel linking the two nations and the world through the International Peace Highway.
Since the 1960s, I have visited Japan whenever possible to meet members, share personal stories and encourage missionaries. I have spoken publicly at hundreds of gatherings in various cities, including Tokyo, Nagoya, and Hokkaido, sharing God’s word.
Nagano, which once hosted the Winter Olympics, is a Japanese city that has touched me in a special way. The Nagano Unification Church initially consisted of a small church with a few dozen members. Through my constant encouragement, the church grew steadily. Next to the beautiful, cozy church building is a small training center that they named “Hwarang.” The local members gave this name in honor of the noble spirit that guided elite young leaders of Korea’s Silla Dynasty. Moved by the members’ dedication, I visited the church, encouraged the members and asked them to bring God’s will to fruition there. I also planted an apple tree in their backyard, and when I visited the church again a few years later, the tree had grown magnificently and was bearing delicious apples. Just like the apple tree, the words I have sown in Japan have multiplied and are now bearing many beautiful fruits.
I blessed Japan to now arise as “Heavenly Japan,” a Japan in which society and culture are reborn. Tens of thousands of Japanese men and women have found new life in the bosom of God through True Parents. Every year, many of them cross the Korea Strait to visit the homeland of their faith. This convergence of members makes our HJ Cheonwon campus a bridge of harmony between two former enemy nations.
My heart is especially with Japan during natural disasters and other difficult times. During the great earthquake of Tohoku, the Kumamoto earthquakes and the floods in Okayama Prefecture, countless lives were lost and the damage was overwhelming. When such calamities occur, I offer my condolences and wholehearted support. In the context of God’s global providence, True Parents blessed Japan as the mother nation. A mother gives everything to her children unconditionally. Just as a mother goes without sleep to take care of her children, Japan is walking the path of sacrifice with the heart of a mother for the sake of the world.
Love and service in South America
“We are probably worse off than Africa,” lamented many of the locals in South America to whom I talked. “Even though we have many resources and so-called democratic institutions, our lives are very poor.”
The continent of South America, like Africa, has a history of grief, exploitation and poverty. It was occupied for over 300 years by powerful European countries that subjugated its peoples and appropriated its gold, silver and other resources. Moreover, the Europeans introduced foreign diseases that decimated native populations that had no immunity to those germs.
In the early nineteenth century, South American countries fought for and finally attained their independence, and many sought to establish democracies. But too often, governments became riddled with corruption, and later communist and fascist movements arose and used people’s resentments to prop up harsh dictatorships.
All of this meant that untold millions of people suffered and died through human cruelty. The first thing I did whenever I got off an airplane in South America was offer a prayer to liberate and comfort the anguish of those people in the spirit world.
Despite their miserable hardships, I have seen that the South American people lead decent and honest lives, working hard for even a little improvement. They also have a very strong faith in God. Much of the continent is rich with potential, as natural resources are abundant and the weather is temperate. Moreover, South America is a gift from God in that it possesses large areas of unspoiled nature. Anyone who goes to South America will feel a deep affinity for the vast land, abundant natural beauty, and the kind and pleasant people.
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In South America, my husband and I offered continual prayer and devotions, which we call jeongseong. My husband’s visit to five Latin American nations in 1965 were the first footsteps of the Unification Church on that continent. In the decades that followed, our missionaries established foundations throughout Central and South America, building churches, witnessing and increasing our membership, working for healthy marriages and families, and connecting these nations to global efforts for peace and reconciliation. Most South Americans are Catholic, while Protestantism is growing there as well. As with other peoples of the world, Latin Americans are open to exploring new pathways of relating to God, and we spread the Divine Principle teachings with all our heart.
The most influential project we invested in there was the educational project we named CAUSA. Father Moon and I created CAUSA in the 1980s because Marxist revolutionaries in Central and South America were gaining influence. For a time, it seemed the entire continent might become communist. We knew that if Mexico became communist, the United States would have to withdraw its troops from around the world to protect its southern border. This withdrawal of US troops would have allowed communism’s evil influence to spread in many countries, including South Korea and Japan.
The CAUSA lectures provided a clear critique and counterproposal to communism to thousands of leaders and young people in Latin America and elsewhere in the world. Through this educational series, many former and current national leaders rejected communism’s ideology and deceitful calls for revolution.
My husband and I conducted the “True Parents and the Completed Testament Age” speaking tour of six Latin American nations in 1993, and the “True Family and I” speaking tour of 17 Latin American nations in 1995. During those tours, we met the presidents of eight nations. Each one of them thanked my husband and me for halting the advance of communism in their country. On that foundation, we created economic projects to connect Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, with the aim of bringing South America together as one family of nations.