The Secret to Fundraising

1976.1.25

This is the last day at Jacob House of the 21-day MFT training workshop. We heard Father this morning for the sixth time since we've been here. He is on his way to Korea today or tomorrow. He said his mission there is very important and it may be months before he returns.

This morning we had our workshop photo taken at the Holy Rock at Belvedere after morning service. Since this is the first workshop of 1976, the bicentennial of America, Patrick Hickey said Father took a special interest in us and that's why he spoke to us so many times. He spoke to us several days ago, just before we were to go out on a three-day fundraising mission as the final part of our MFT training. We were just about ready to leave when Father practically popped into Jacob House unannounced.

He spoke for about an hour or so, but the really amazing thing was that he stood right in front of me, as I was in the front row, and many times he looked directly at me as he spoke. And then David Kim would lean over and look straight at me and translate. Father spoke about many things, like how fundraising is really front-line work, and he also spoke about the kidnappings and parents. But mostly he seemed to be emphasizing that this particular time was extremely critical and we would have to be faithful no matter what, even at the cost of our lives. I really can't explain the sensation I had sitting at the messiah's feet like that.

Someone said that Yankee Stadium is like the Garden of Gethsemane and that it was just so serious and deep that we really had to pray to understand. So I have been doing that, trying to put together the things Father said this morning with other bits of information, but I haven't come up with anything conclusive yet.

After Father spoke we left for our three-day fundraising trip. The object, I believe, was to endure a lot of persecution, since we went to Hempstead, Long Island, where publicity about the church has been the most negative. It was tough. Satan was really out to destroy the old confidence. But we persevered and pulled through.

On the first night I was dropped off in the Cherry Valley Shopping Center parking lot. There were hardly any people around. It was well below zero and the wind was really blowing. Someone said the wind chill was minus 43. But I really didn't feel that cold. Anyway, Bob finally came by after I vowed that I would stay out until hell froze over. Then I realized hell had frozen over.

Bob bought me a cup of tea and let me warm up a bit in the van. Then he kicked me out for one last hour. It was really cold at first, even though I had been out all evening. But after being in the van with the cup of tea, it suddenly seemed much colder than it had been.

I made up my mind that I would overcome and just concentrate on making $8. Right away I sold two boxes of zoomers, the kind of candy we were selling, for $3 and another box for $2, but it was quite a while before I could get anyone else to respond to anything except the cold. Then a truck van with the name "Goliath" painted on the side cruised by. That made me really determined to beat Satan.

The wind started blowing harder, but I stuck it out and finally sold another two boxes for $3 and somehow made my goal. I think the person felt sorry for me because at first he said no, just like everyone else. So I told him, sort of begging I guess, that I only needed to make $3 to reach my goal and then I could stop and get out of the cold. So he said okay.

After Bob picked me and everyone else up we went to Burger King for dinner, where the security guard was a pentecostal who kept talking about the second chapter of Acts and how that was the only way to meet the Lord.

Nothing much happened the next day, except I got persecuted a lot. Then I finally made a breakthrough in my attitude toward the people. Until then I had been arrogant in my attitude, feeling I was better than them because I knew the truth. A lot of times I made accusations under my breath after someone would reject me, but I learned that that is a really bad condition, since spirit world is affected by everything we do and say.

So I started saying "God bless you" no matter what they said, and in prayer I came to the realization that Satan had no claim over us now that we know the truth about how he lied and tricked us in the Garden of Eden. I saw that the people of this world do not know the truth about Satan and they are really trying to do their very best in a world dominated by evil. So it was not fair for me, who does know some truth, to accuse those who know little or no truth. Anyway, this helped me change my attitude. But it is just a beginning and now I have to work to change my heart and really feel deep compassion, or parental love, for these people. Hopefully this will significantly improve my fundraising results.

Yesterday, the third and final day of our three-day trip, I was doing some door to door in a residential area and I remembered what Father had to say about successful fundraising. He said we need to believe in spirit world. So as I was walking between houses, I asked myself if I really believed in spirit world, and I answered of course I did or I wouldn't be there. On the other hand, I have never seen spirit world though I've had what could probably be called spiritual experiences.

Just then I spotted a dollar bill on the step of the house I was walking up to. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. The lady at that house also bought a box, so I thought that was pretty interesting.

On the van ride back to Jacob House, I sat next to a brother named Mark who had been in the church for about two years. He told me he used to be gay but wasn't anymore after learning Divine Principle. He was very matter-of-fact about it. I really didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. We were counting our individual results for the day and Mark had made a lot more than me. But Mark said it wasn't very much compared to what he usually makes. He told me he had already been on MFT for a year and was having some spiritual struggles so his MFT commander sent him to Jacob House for a "booster" workshop.

I thought Mark seemed a little sad the 21-day workshop was over and he would be going back on MFT again. I think for him Jacob House had sort of been a vacation. I couldn't really relate to that because I was excited to be joining MFT. Father himself said it was the most important thing we could be doing, especially with Yankee Stadium coming up.

Everyone at Jacob House, more than 100 people, have been divided up into groups and assigned to different MFT regions around the country. Right now we are getting ready to leave. I'm going to Texas.