Mother of Peace: Episode 68
Mother of Peace: And God Shall Wipe Away All Tears from Their Eyes
A Memoir by Hak Ja Han Moon
Chapter 11: The Restoration Of Canaan In Heaven And On Earth, pg 331-335
The Heavenly Unified World in Oceania
I wanted multiple generations of the True Family to take the lead in the 2019 model course of national restoration, so they could inherit this realm of victory and help prepare the gift of seven restored nations for Heavenly Parent and True Father. So I invited my family members to guide two Rallies of Hope as special emissaries, representing the heavenly world and the earthly world. The families of Moon Hyo-jin (Moon Yeon-ah) and Moon Heung-jin (Moon Hoon-sook) oversaw the events in Palau, and Moon Sun-jin and Park In-sup led the events in the Dominican Republic.
* * *
Palau lies in the western Pacific Ocean. It is made up of 340 beautiful islands that bring to mind God’s original creation. My husband and I first visited Palau in 2005 to establish a branch of the Universal Peace Federation. I returned there in 2006 with some of my children and spoke to a large gathering.
When it came time to plan a “First Ladies Summit” in 2019, we decided that Palau would be the ideal hostess nation. Palau places the mother at the center of the family, society and traditional culture. The presidents and first ladies of Palau have actively supported our movement since 1992. I was particularly touched when Palau’s first lady came to Korea to pay her respects when my husband ascended in 2012. Considering how providentially appropriate it is for women to take the lead in establishing the Pacific civilization, it is truly meaningful that the Asia Pacific First Ladies Summit and Blessing Ceremony, marking the beginning of the Heavenly Unified World, was hosted in Oceania’s matriarchal society of Palau. Nonetheless, our membership base in Palau is still somewhat small, so it was a challenge for us to host the Summit and Blessing Ceremony there, and I am grateful to all themlocal members and volunteers who made it happen.
* * *
On December 9, 2019, the eve of the main event, we held a welcoming banquet for more than 300 distinguished guests from 36 nations, including His Excellency President Thomas Remengesau Jr. and First Lady Debbie Remengesau of Palau, eight current and former first ladies, the speaker of the legislative assembly of Tuvalu and his wife, and parliamentarians from Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The welcoming dinner was held under a crystal-clear night sky filled with stars. In his greetings, the president said, “Though I am the president of this country, today I have come as a guest invited by my wife, the first lady, who is the hostess of this year’s Summit.” It was a festive and congenial gathering where every participant felt at home. At the same time, it was a banquet of longing, as many participants, including the president and his wife, kindly expressed how much they had longed to see True Mother. The following day, December 10, attendees of the Asia Pacific First Ladies Summit 2019 gathered at the Ngarachamayong Cultural Center. The opening ceremony began with an address by the first lady. Then my emissary and daughter-in-law, Women’s Federation for World Peace International President Moon Hoon-sook, read the founder’s message on my behalf. Through her, I conveyed my love not only for Palau but for all of Oceania, the starting point of the Pacific civilization. In the past, Father Moon proclaimed the advent of “the Pacific Rim Era” and emphasized the providential importance of the Asia-Pacific region. In 1992, he wrote in his calligraphic Chinese characters, “The Unified World Will Begin in Oceania,” and offered prayers and other spiritual conditions for the restoration of Oceania to God.
* * *
The 40-day Cosmic Canaan Course for the Settlement of Cheon Il Guk created the foundation for an “Asia-Pacific Union.” I gained national-level support in November at the Cambodia Rally of Hope and the Taiwan Rally of Hope, which connected with Chinese communities across the globe. At the Africa Summit in Niger, I won the support of Africa on the continental level. Palau’s Rally of Hope Summit and Blessing Ceremony was the capstone of the Asia-Pacific Union.
The first ladies attending the Asia-Pacific First Ladies Summit resolved to address the fundamental problems of the world with a maternal heart. They called it “The Day of Women’s Liberation” established by the True Mother of humankind. It was a true women’s day for another reason also—in contrast to summits held elsewhere, it was women who were in charge of the preparations, assisted by men.
The next day, December 11, the government-sponsored Blessing Ceremony took place. Historic events always hit bumps in the road, and this one was no exception. As midnight approached on the day before the ceremony, the president’s secretariat informed us that our schedule conflicted with a state budget meeting, so the president would not be able to attend. It was a bolt out of the blue that left us all deflated. Our spirits were revived, however, when, as the first lady of Palau and the other first ladies entered the Blessing venue the following morning, the emcee joyfully announced that the president had arrived and was making his way to the stage.
* * *
Palau’s First Ladies Summit and Blessing was a milestone in God’s providence. It marked Oceania as the starting point of the Pacific civilization, which unfolds around the maternal heart of giving and giving again. The Pacific Ocean is known as a symbol of peace and womanhood, especially motherhood. The victory was due not just to the leaders and people of that beautiful island nation, but also to my two daughters-in-law and Asia-Pacific Family Federation members, who united in earnest prayer offered with the heart to move heaven.
We are one family and one Holy Community of Heavenly Parent. With the conviction that “to stop is to fail; to persevere is to succeed,”
I keep moving forward undaunted, no matter what difficulties come. I need to be a mother of love and benevolence who can overlook faults and embrace all circumstances with a maternal heart as wide as the ocean. That is why, even today, I stay awake at night with the heart to cover all the world’s children with blankets while they sleep.
Heavenly Latin America blooms flowers of hope
In my conversations with my husband, we often shared about Latin America. “It is a place we can never forget,” he would say. “It is where we devoted a great part of our golden years,” I would respond. It pains me now, for much remains to be completed. Compared with anywhere in the world, my husband and I offered our most devoted effort in Latin America. We offered devotions and conditions in the scorching sun, covered in dust from head to toe, to plow the fields of hope. Even now, I can close my eyes and vividly recall the scenes of the providence that unfolded in Latin America. That land is soaked with my husband’s and my tears and sweat. Today, while that land sometimes seems like a wilderness of despair, we are once again cultivating flowers of hope.
In 2005, Father and I visited São Paulo to establish the Brazilian chapter of the Universal Peace Federation. That city served often as the site of regional peace council meetings. I chose São Paulo to host the Latin America Summit and Rally of Hope in August 2018. These events kindled the spirit of national restoration throughout Latin America. Building upon this spirit, it was the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean that hosted the Rally of Hope held December 14-15, 2019.
We convened the opening event, the Latin America and Caribbean Summit, at the Hodelpa Gran Almirante Hotel and the state government building in Santiago. More than 500 people attended from 43 nations, including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Guatemala. His Excellency President Jimmy Morales of Guatemala and five former heads of state, from Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia and Haiti, were in attendance. From the Dominican Republic, President Danilo Medina appointed Governor Ana Maria Dominguez of Santiago as his official representative. Other guests included 10 current and former speakers of parliaments, 30 parliamentarians and dozens of interfaith, civil society, business and media leaders.
Former first lady of Nicaragua Maria Flores honored our ideals in her introductory remarks, after which my emissary and daughter, Women’s Federation for World Peace International Vice President Dr. Moon Sun-jin, delivered my speech. “Ultimately, a true and lasting peace can only be achieved when we come to know and understand God, our Heavenly Parent,” she said. “Only by connecting with God’s will and providence can we expect to create lasting solutions.”
Dr. Moon then presented awards to representatives from 15 countries, and received on my behalf a certificate recognizing me as “Mother of Peace” and making me an honorary citizen of the Dominican Republic.
FFWPU, USA