The Words of the Johnson Family
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The Words of the Johnson Family |
October 16th 2013 I turned 50 years old. That is an milestone in my mind. Today I am a single African American male living in America. A place that had god's favored and still does to a percentage.
I met the unification church in October 1982. I was a searching 18 year old with questions about life, what is its directive and I especially loved my family. Growing up, I was the youngest of 6. The 2 oldest I never met, they died before I was born.
Before meeting the church, I had done a number of things. At the age of 16 years old I decided to leave high school because it was just too challenging at the time growing up without a stable foundation in my home.
My parents separated when I was 4 years of age and from that time on my mother tried her best to raise us 4 kids on her own to the best of her ability. I took a job as a messenger in New York City at the age of 17, add invested my whole being into learning the company I worked for and what future opportunities I may have. I opened a bank account and saved some money the best that I could for a 17.5 years of age kid.
I had to grow up really fast because we were poor, especially spiritually. By time I turned 18 years of age, I had a spiritual experience with Jesus. After being told by my job that I would be getting laid off in a few weeks because of cut backs, I was proud of the time I put in with them and the older professional bankers that I met along the way. One such person was the vice president of the national bank of North America. During the time of working in the bank, I enrolled in night school to get my GED diploma in about November 1981. It was now May or June of 1982 and I had been facing losing my job to a layoff, unsure if I had passed my GED Test days earlier etc.
Well one day after work on my way to get a haircut, I was witnessed to by a lady whom I only know as Sharon. She was African American and the older sister of a childhood friend whom I had known from the area I lived in.
As I was heading to the barber shop with my ghetto blaster (that is a large music radio played in poor urban areas) there was a song on the radio that was very popular at the time. The name of the song was called "WATCHING YOU". The name of the group that formed the song was Slave.
As the radio blasted "watching you" a woman later identified as Sharon, said to me: "GOD IS WATCHING YOU".
I questioned what she had said and she repeated. She said she was on her way to church and if I would come to church with her?
I ended up going to church with her and with the radio I had and giving my life to Jesus.
Later that night I was introduced to the fiery pastor of the church, an older man and his wife. They drove me home and told me to keep coming back which I did.
Amazingly after accepting Christ into my life, within a week or two times, everything good started to happen to me. "I got notice and received my GED high school equivalency diploma in the mail. I was called back and hired to a new bank no longer as a messenger but as a check processor. I enrolled in a local college in NY studying psychology. But still when I was by myself, I struggled internally. I knew excepting the oath of what I have accepted meant I could not go back to my old lifestyle of dating, and loud music in the streets or hanging out late at night.
I really struggled with understanding why I was not able to understand why god waited 4000 years of biblical history to send Christ and why did he have to die? Why did god seem as a god of judgment and had little sympathy towards good individuals who just were too weak to overcome personal demons of sex addition and theft.
I would bring my bible to work at the bank and one my break I would separate from my peer and read alone in corners etc. I was still in my probationary period at the bank of 3 months. I tried going to different churches, even became very good friends with my grandmother whom I loved dearly. My mother's mother, who always preached god and church to us. I attended her church and joined, and sometimes I would go and my grandmother would not be there.
One day after work on the weekend Friday night, I didn't go directly home, usually I would window shop at least in odd places of NY and try to fine some mature looking clothes to go to work in or always look nice.
I owed a few suits that I would wear to work at my new job as a check processor in the bank. So one night after work I went down to SOHO in New York City and window shopped. But my soul was really searching. I did not want just go back home to a house of non-believers or family members who were not living as Christians. It was very challenging in the environment I came from.
while browsing around, I saw couples together and still wanted that in my life but I knew my new commitment to Christ if I were to get involved it would have to be forever most likely. While walking around, on 6th avenue, avenue of the Americas I remember seeing one American woman. Later she was introduced to me as Unificationist Christine Okano. I remember seeing her and her face and personality radiant on 6th avenue at the corner of 8th street handing out literature. I thought how mature and radiant she looked. I continued my walking and shortly nearby I saw a smaller American woman who was not afraid of people approaching them with a bucket of roses. I thought to myself "hmmm, she is looking for a boyfriend. It was personal relationship is what I needed.
I hoped she would approach me as I watched in my business suit etc. Well she approached me and we began to talk. I didn't have money to buy roses but we talked about her as a person what she did for a living and I talked about my new job and what I did school etc. Somewhere in the back of my thought I was hoping she would not ask me if I were a religious person but as quickly as I thought it she asked me. "Are you a religious person? I said yes and slowly the conversation shifted to spiritual beliefs and salvation. We talked for a long time. We talked about her church, she never mentioned the unification church if I recall but a non-denominational church which I always longed for. I had only been a member of black churches etc., till that time and one of the questions again concerning faith and god's family was why the churches are divided if we all are god's children. So I was pleased to know she was a part of such a church and invited me to come and check it out. It was getting late so Elizabeth Sanchez her name said she would walk me back to the train station. We exchanged numbers or I gave her mines and she said she would call me. As we walked back to the train station, Betty introduced me to Christine (Okano) now, and I understood that they were somehow connected to one another at the time.
I went home that night, feeling good of having met them and the potential for the future. Days later in my mother's house Elizabeth called me and invited me to a weekend workshop in Massachusetts. I remember not having all the money of the 25.00 donation and Betty putting in some of it for me.
I arrived at a camp called camp Deerwood on the morning of my physical birthday Oct. 16th 1982. I was 19 years of age. I had anticipating staying for 2 days the retreat and going back home to Brooklyn and back to routine things, work, sadness etc. Unsure about the future at all.
Well I met new friends that day. One was Debby Gullery, Richard Lewis, Robert Hall, and Gary Hillier. I felt free like a child to remove the clothes of the world everyday things and run around and play sports and maybe climb a tree or two. I ended up staying for 6 months at the camp. 7 day, 21 day then 5 more months helping out at the camp.
I learned the fall of man, which seemed so evident in the environment and brokenness of my everyday life in New York City.
I learned about Jesus Christ in a more real way. I learned that he did not come to die, but was murdered due to the disbelief of the people of his time. I learned that in fact the last days are my personal last days and that the earth itself would never be destroyed, instead human beings were to changed thru the pouring down of gods true love spirit on the earth and change from self-centered ness to be less selfish.
I am still and eternal student of divine principle. I learned about Sun Myung Moon and how he took up the mantle of Jesus Christ to promote world salvation while assuring individual salvation by doing god's will. Rev. Moon ascended to heaven in 2012. The world is a better place because of the man. I am rev. moon. I hope to write more about my early years of knowing true parents and the unification movement. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts and gratitude. Bless the reader.
itpn.
Dwayne Johnson