The Words of the Field Family
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The Words of the Field Family |
IOWC-type
team witnessing in a pioneer city.
Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world. It is rich in natural resources and its people enjoy the highest standard of living in Latin America. Most of the people are descendants of the Spaniards who first settled in the 16th century, and of the millions of European immigrants -- mainly Italian and Spanish -- who arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The character of the society is strongly influenced by Roman Catholicism, the professed faith of more than 90 percent of the people.
In spite of Argentina's inherent wealth, the country is currently experiencing tremendous economic difficulties: a $50 billion foreign debt, loss of confidence of international investors, and 1000% inflation. The economic problems naturally bring social chaos, which grows daily. Underlying all the problems is a strong communist influence, working more or less within the system for the moment.
Everything seems to be going wrong for the Argentines. The most recent military government failed, a war was lost, and there have been earthquakes in the west and heavy flooding in the north. It's almost as if God were chastising them so that they can repent and build a new nation centered on Him.
The Argentine character, highly emotional, is reflected in flamboyant expressions and gestures. They do not like to work. Often critical of others, it is almost impossible for them to unite. Despite their Catholicism, Argentines are not generally a spiritual people. Many young people are not satisfied with their lives and have been able to respond positively to Principle.
My first mission country had been the Bahamas. But when the government kicked me out of that country and Rev. Kwak assigned me to Argentina, I decided then and there to love my new country. I was ready to raise my children here and ready to die here. I arrived in Argentina in May 1980 to carry on the missionary work that had been begun by another American missionary, Walter Piorkowski, in 1973. Walter had built a seven-year spiritual foundation and had raised up a handful of dedicated center members. Together with the members and two Japanese missionaries, Kenjiro Aoki and Shigeyuki Nakai, we immediately began to witness intensely.
This was a special time for all of us. There was deep unity, and we made many sincere indemnity conditions such as long prayer, fasting, and cold showers. God and spirit world were close; everyone could feel it. And each day our small center was filled with guests.
After one year we had 25 center members and pioneers working in four cities. Slowly, month by month, during the next three years our membership continued to increase. Many lectures were given, and two-day, seven-day, 21-day and 40-day workshops were held. Many people joined, but so many later left. It was a painful process. There were long periods of time during which God seemed quite distant. Members that we loved betrayed us. There were many lies; money was stolen; exciting plans went unfulfilled.
However, through this process we became more mature. Nine of our members received the Blessing in 1982. Our membership reached 100 and we were working in twelve cities. We formed an IOWC-type witnessing team, a mobile fundraising team, and an office staff. We bought a 70-acre farm to be used for workshops and the development of farming skills.
Argentina
church leaders in 1984.
From the time Father entered Danbury prison until recently, our Argentine church endured its most difficult period. We received wave after wave of persecution from the news media, making it extremely difficult to gain center members. Our membership fell to eighty and we stopped pioneer work in six cities.
The "Moon sect" was accused of brutal murder, brainwashing, trafficking drugs and weapons, supporting extreme right-wing groups, plotting to overthrow the government -- all sorts of things. Recently we were even accused of planning to assassinate the president of Argentina! Each of these attacks received tremendous coverage in all the media throughout the country.
Dr. Nicolas Argentato, rector of the Catholic University of La Plata in Argentina, inspired that institution to award honorary doctorate degrees to True Father and Col. Bo Hi Pak at the United Nations in November of last year. The persecution resulting from this was especially heavy. Our movement was attacked in all the news media for many days. Dr. Argentato, however, received the most persecution -- two bombs even exploded at his university. He nevertheless consistently defended Father, and we are very grateful to him.
The peak of the persecution campaign against us came in December 1984, when the police raided our center in Tucuman. Six members were arrested and jailed for a week, and were accused of everything from spying to corrupting minors. (See accompanying article.) There were many rumors that all of our centers would be closed and that our church would be banned from the country. In the end, however, we had a great victory.
Three judges of the provincial supreme court ruled unanimously in our favor. Their resolution stated that there existed no foundation for the charges leveled against us; that the arresting judge's action was completely unwarranted; that our church has the legal right to function in all Argentine territory; and that our members should be immediately released from jail. We published full- page newspaper ads proclaiming our victory. This helped tremendously to awaken the public to the truth.
It is never pleasant to pass through persecution, but it does serve a positive purpose. The campaign against us in Argentina has been so intense that everyone is now interested in us. Everyone knows something about Rev. Moon. They are convinced that we are powerful and they think that the Moonies are everywhere. Now it is up to us to build the substantial foundation for the Argentine people to be able to receive the Messiah.
Recently our church membership has begun to grow again. We have built a foundation of thousands of sympathizers and five hundred associate members. Our Parents' Association maintains contact with the parents of every member. In the middle of a campaign against us by a few negative parents, sixty positive parents signed a proclamation supporting their children's activities within our church. And after four years of effort the church in Argentina recently received legalization.
Our work with PWPA, IRFF, CARP, CAUSA, and the World Media Association is expanding, and there have been many victories. We have mailed information about our movement to every newspaper in the country, to many high-level military officers, to numerous professors, and to every Catholic bishop. Many have responded positively. Three newspapers, a news agency, and one radio station now accept our articles. There are still many enemies, but we have friends everywhere.
It is very clear that our successes came because of Father. Already he has done everything! Standing on his foundation our victory is assured. With Father coming out of prison we are confident that these foundations will continue to grow.
Tom
and Jae Soon Field with their children Moon-Do and Moon-Ja, and Jae
Soon's Mother, Ok Ki Shim.
There have been many personal struggles along the way. I found it difficult to work with one of the Japanese missionaries. His character is hard and mine is soft. Somehow, though, we seem to balance each other and everything works out well.
Learning Spanish proved to be one of the greatest difficulties of my life. There are over 100 forms to each verb, and many exceptions to the rules. And the pronunciation I found impossible. I made a condition to only pray in Spanish, but I could not speak Spanish very well, so I could not pray very deeply. It was really terrible. Without speaking Spanish I could not really express joy or anger or sympathy -- only frustration. After three years I could finally manage to convey basics, but even today my inability to clearly express thoughts and feelings is so frustrating. Through this experience I can imagine to some degree how our Father must feel in trying to communicate with us.
My wife, Jae Soon, came to Argentina after our Blessing in Madison Square Garden. We now have two children. Jae Soon's mother also lives with us. East, West, North, South; Korean, English, Spanish; grandparents, husband and wife, and children- all come together in our family. It is not easy to break down the many barriers between all of these. Jae Soon and I have learned to be patient with each other, though, and we can feel that the Kingdom is close.
God's presence in Argentina is very clear to me. Not through extraordinary miracles, but through the small miracles that take place every day -- the last-minute solution to a problem; victory in the middle of difficulties; the miracle of never having money but always somehow being able to pay the rent. Often we struggled without success to accomplish something, only to discover later that not accomplishing it was actually for the best. How hard God must work to divert our way when He has a better plan!
The key is to give a hundred percent effort to everything we do. When some plan or idea does not work out we try something else. When one path is blocked we have to look for a different one. It's important to "catch the moment" and take advantage of each situation. And when we make mistakes, we try to learn from them.
Our church center in the city of Tucuman in northern Argentina was raided by the police in December 1984, and five of our members were arrested. They were accused of prostitution, slavery, drug dealing, and other crimes. As the leader there I quickly went to Tucuman to try to clear up the situation.
When I arrived at the courthouse there were many people in front of the judge's office. A woman recognized me as a member of the "Moon sect" and started insulting me. She had the support of the whole group. In an instant everything turned into bedlam. Everyone not only shouted at me but even started hitting me! When the judge arrived he immediately arrested me and placed me into solitary confinement for causing the uproar!
I soon realized that everyone was against us, including the judge, lawyers, and police. My heart was full of sadness, but I could not cry in front of anyone because they would not have understood my tears -- I was feeling to the marrow of my bones humanity's misunderstanding of God and True Parents. Furthermore I was frightened, not because of what could happen to me, but because I might not be able to represent our True Parents appropriately. After feeling shame for my internal situation, something suddenly happened: a smile appeared on my face. There was no one to talk with, but I could connect deeply with Heavenly Father and our True Father in Danbury. My only thought was how to give their love to the people around me.
I was taken to another prison where again I felt grief and sadness because only the prisoners were on my side. There were five thieves and a murderer, all protesting in my favor and shouting, "Bravo for Brother Moon!" The police put me again in a separate cell. The other prisoners could see me, but I could not talk to anybody or get any information. Shortly afterwards, one church brother who had also been arrested was sent to my ell. Together we determined to be good representatives of our True Parents.
There was nothing in our cell except a wooden bench and a closed window. The first few days we slept sitting down. We received no food. Later, the police brought us two beds to sleep on, but there were no mattresses! During the day we walked around the room singing holy songs. Usually one of us walked and sang while the other prayed. In the beginning, the police and prisoners mocked us, but we continued and they began to treat us respectfully. Our room window looked out onto the street. We were able to open it, and we could show our happiness to the people outside. At first the people walking by were negative towards us. After a few days, however, they began to change. Some even greeted us when walking past the window. One week passed and finally we were released. Our lawyer had presented our case well and the provincial supreme court ruled completely in our favor.
I was very grateful for this opportunity to experience prison life for a week at the same time that Father was in Danbury. Also, while in jail I could understand more deeply the tremendous sufferings our True Father has experienced since he was very young. I could understand the sacrifices of the first disciples, and I became more aware of our brothers and sisters around the world who are following Father's tradition, giving of themselves and serving others to build God's Kingdom.