Unification News for September 2002

The Whirlwind Comes to Mongolia

by Jesper Hendriksen, Narmandakh and Taivanjargal

The first ever outdoor rally with President Hyun Jin Moon was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on July 9th. "Are you ready for a whirlwind?" he asked. Yes, we were ready, and the whirlwind hit everyone!

More significant than the simple number of people who came to the rally -- about 12,000 people gathered at the Park Stadium -- was the way in which so many people caught the vision of the event, taking the initiative over the past few weeks. One example was the way in which the Park Stadium itself was enthusiastically restored in time for the event. The once run-down venue had a new lease on life. More than half the crowd had already been in touch with Service for Peace and came attracted by its vision. However, the first-timers quickly caught on, and by the time Hyun Jin Nim took the stage, everyone was cheering his name. When he asked if they truly were the owners of SFP, the reply ‘Yes’ came in strong unison.

In the weeks up to the rally, all the staff and all Mongolian members had to wrestle with multiple challenges. How to do what no one had experience with before? Yet from the outset, the many details of preparation were smoothly guided by Hyun Jin Nim’s confidence that this rally would succeed.

The main project in the build-up for the rally involved the venue itself. The Park Stadium was build 34 years ago and had nearly fallen apart but Service for Peace volunteers from various schools and organizations worked for several weeks to restore it.

By July 9th the old stadium had become the Service for Peace stadium, restored for safe use and painted in SFP blue with dandelion logos on the main walls.

Finally, the day before the event, a Member of Parliament, a city district chief, a school director and other social leaders worked side by side with Hyun Jin Nim and Jun Sook Nim amidst a hundred high school pupils. The project was co-organized by the Capital City’s Children and Youth Development Department, whose director and staff took a very active role in organizing the rally. Other sponsors included the YFWP of Mongolia, a Mongolian student union and even the city’s two TV stations.

The program began with famous Mongolian national culture group Tumen Eh offering a concert for all participants of the rally. Next the Tong Il Moo Do Martial Art group put on their awesome demonstration, followed by songs from students from the Cultural University of Mongolia. The music sounding through the stadium and most of downtown Ulaanbaatar inspired many young people to attend the rally right up to the last moment. All seats of stadium filled up and the number of participants went far beyond the ten thousand which had been planned before.

After the national anthem, Ms. Tsogzolmaa the head of Youth and Children’s Development in Ulaanbaatar, and gave their heartfelt messages representing local government offices and NGOs cooperating with us. Mr. Thomas Phillips introduced about the international work of Service for Peace and Mr. Ganbat explained about local activities in Mongolia.

Finally the time came that over ten thousand young people were waiting for, and our honored guest Pres. Hyun Jin Moon took the stage, welcomed in the traditional way with a blue ribbon and milk.

He told the young Mongolian people that they held the keys to their nation’s future. That if every person could invest his or her heart and soul for the sake of others, our country can once again influence the world this time by our moral ethics. But if every person lives for their own benefit then this or any nation will surely be destroyed.

After his speech, Mr. Davaanyam, President of Chinggis Khaans Academy granted title of ‘Honored Academician of the Chinggis Khaanas Academy’ to Hyun Jin Nim. It was a mark of great respect from the Mongolian people.

The third part of rally started with young people’s songs calling people to serve.

Then Mongolian popular pop group Nomin Talst, children from the National Children’s Palace and popular rock group AXE-6 all offered their concert. Finally Hyun Jin Nim brought the whole stadium to its feet through his bright and infectious Rock’n Roll!

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