The Words of the Abrahams Family
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The Words of the Abrahams Family |
The Wongu (Round Ball) Peace Cup games were held for their second year in South Korea from October 11 to 13, 2010. They took place following the Marriage-Blessing Ceremony, on October 10, and surrounding activities and conferences. Athletes came from around the world to compete in soccer, basketball, men's and women's volleyball, table tennis, badminton, dodge ball, Won Hwa Do, Tongil Mu-Do (Unification martial arts) and the unity game.
U.S. participants included nearly 40 athletes, all Unificationist second generation, meaning that their parents were matched and married by Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon. Team U.S.A. won bronze medals in soccer, men's volleyball, and the 200-meter run.
This year the games were dominated by the East-European teams that were largely professional and semi-professional. Teams from Bosnia and Serbia won gold medals in soccer, men's and women's volleyball, table tennis, and basketball.
The final day of the games saw the attendance of Reverend and Mrs. Moon, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, Mr. Kook Jin Moon, Rev. In Jin Moon and other members of the Founder's family. It was held in a packed stadium of 10,000 people outside of Seoul. The Lovin' Life Ministries band, based in New York City, performed a five-song-set on a stage in the center of the field.
The day after the games concluded, Rev. In Jin Moon took the representatives from Team U.S.A. to a very nice Korean bulgogi restaurant and testimonies of their competition experiences were shared. Afterwards, Rev. Moon gave the athletes an enthusiastic pep-talk.
She emphasized that
"What's important is coming onto the field with a great attitude, with a respectful attitude -- toward your teammates, your opponents, and the game -- and coming off of the field with that same spirit that, regardless of whether you won or lost, you participated in something special with your team, representing your country."
Rev. Moon continued:
"I know that many of you were seriously slaughtered on the field, but I was so moved by your spirit because this is my philosophy, which applies to anything you do in life. Life is difficult and always gives you a set of obstacles to work through, but every time I get a no, I tell myself, 'You're one step closer to a yes!
So every time you lose a game, you're one step closer to winning a game. If we can have the kind of philosophy that carries us through whatever we do in life and we can apply it in whatever area we happen to find ourselves in, sooner or later we are going to get that yes. Sooner or later you are going to get that gold medal, and sooner or later you are going to be representing your country at the sports festival, like the Wongu Sports Festival that you participated in, and come back home with a gold."
The Men's Soccer Team included Adam Carosso, Chris C., Chris Strautman, Danny Vozza, Farley Jones, Jr. , Fernando Campus, Han Park, Jason Eide, Kalev Saarna, Kester Wilkening, Mehran Mizani, Sam Park, Shayne O' Neill, Sungjoon Carlson, and Tadamasa Kubo.
The Men's Volleyball Team included Aaron Mickler, Chung Sung Wright, Danny Heller, Kenei Miyazawa, Krystof Heller, Max Heuft, Mitch Akutsu, Richard Curry.
The Men's Track Team was represented by Victor Servito.
The Women's Volleyball Team included Clara Brunkhorst, Cynthia Jones, Inwha Hendricks, Leilani Owens, Rebecca Yasutake, Teresa Ferrete, and Yuki Mickler.
The Men's Basketball Team included Aaron Brunhofer, Ejong Herd, Jina Hamad, Kenneth Dodges, Kuna Hamad, Markus Thiesen, Mischa Freystaetter, and Koubun Matsumoto.
The Table Tennis competition was represented by Elijah Whitmore.
Written by Gary Abrahams, coach of the Men's Soccer Team at the Wongu Peace Cup Games.