The Words of the Johnson Family
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The Words of the Johnson Family |
That time was so long ago, but it was the purest time as a member. Learning to do the simple things like waking each other up in the morning if and when it was difficult. Bringing soup to a member who was sick and unable to fundraise that day. Learning to serve in every capacity. Fixing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a member coming back into the van from fundraising. Being creative in all that we done. Putting bananas on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Helping a member with their fundraising product and learning to take true dominion over product and learning to love the product we worked with red roses, puppets, clip on dolls (monchichis). Wow we sold anything that we could basically.
It was more important for the people to give make a conditional offering to the people who were closest to god from knowing true family and the divine principle. I learned how to pray for people that helped the cause. I would hear testimonies of sisters who listened to broken men in bars, helping them to give to the church.
I don't remember myself ever listening so intently to one customer about something in all my years on the MFT, though I did make many friends who respected the church and what I was doing when many other young people were not thinking about saving other people.
In 1984 Tim Henry graduated and became a lecturer for the church at workshops. Will Peat (aka Big Will) was appointed MFT commander and Louise honey was appointed his assistant and basically the MFT mother.
I tried to pick up or learn something from each elder appointed above me. From Tim Henry I learned to practice humility to an extent. I knew will peat as an extraverted brother who practically oversaw everything when and if Tim Henry was not around for whatever reason, so when he took over it was no surprise to me. The order of things changed somewhat. When Tim was the commander, it was not clear who the MFT mother figure was. Was it Gail Martin? She was an older sister, but to me there were a number of older sisters.
MFT moved out of 4 west 43rd street in 1984 and into 2628 Davidson Avenue in the Bronx New York. Today that house is the home of the Bronx unification church.
With every change of leadership, the way things get done was expected. So my brother Kristopher Esplien was promoted to Team Captain. I believe 1984 was the year Michael Brasil, one of my first team captains on MFT was shifted to another mission. I've seen Michael over the years as a blessed couple with his wife and children. I even saw him at Chung Pyung Lake in 1998, but I am not aware of his mission after leaving New York church MFT.
There were very few brothers and sisters from Asian Japan or Korea or china on MFT in the early 80's. Usually the Japanese brothers and sisters in NY church had their own fundraising department under Rev. Sudo, as basically every group in NY church was under Ken Sudo at that time.
Rev. Sudo was small in stature big pen in his spiritual power and educating young members about true parents and the divine principle. Later in life, I saw Rev. Sudo at Chung Pyung Lake in July 1998. I did not speak too much to him but I noticed him and I'm sure he noticed me.
Kris Esplin was probably my most favorite brother on MFT at that time. Of course there was no discourse and we all loved one another from Divine Principle point of view. But Kris became my friend. We traced a little bit the spiritual roots of how we came to know of one another before meeting on the MFT. Kris spiritual mother is Debby Gullery. Debby Gullery's spiritual mother is Ruthy (Feinberg) blessed name is Ruthy Cleaver. Ruthy is my spiritual sister. She and I have the same spiritual parent, spiritual mother (Betty (Elizabeth) Sanchez (Humphrey). So we would kid that Debby is my niece spiritually and Kris is my grandnephew.
The European members in the early years truly were an inspiration for me. I enjoyed working with them on projects in the church. I experienced spiritual rebirth many times from them.
Under will peat, will created traveling teams so not only were we working in New York City street lights and boroughs, will expanded our territory to other states. Occasionally sending teams to Niagara Falls on the America side. And traveling teams to California and New Jersey.
Will Peat was also the assistant to Ken Sudo at that time. One day while on a traveling team in Perth Amboy New Jersey while Kris Esplin was the team captain. There was Kathleen Courtney the older sister who served as team captain many times under will peat and later Andy Compton. Sarah Utvik our dear sister, who I only found out recently while trying to find everyone online for an NY church MFT reunion that she passed to spiritual world sometime and was survived by her husband. 2 brothers from Japan, Yashushi Watanabe and Shinichi Sasaki and me. While fundraising close to the Christmas holidays in Perth Amboy I was stopped by the Perth Amboy uniformed police while soliciting fundraising in a supermarket along a script. I was determined to make the goal the number that I set.
I was arrested by the Perth Amboy plains clothes police officers in the supermarket for soliciting or trespassing late one night. I was 20.5 years of age and freighted. I was thrown to the ground face down, my product compensated and handcuffed and put in an unmarked police car to be driven to be processed an arrested in a town that I was not familiar with at all. Being so young I could get lost in New York City and make it make to where I needed to be, but not in Perth Amboy. The police men were grilling me handcuffed and all in the car asking me where I had come from, how did I get to the town, etc. I was scared completely at that time. In my sacredness I gave up the team as the van from driving to toward the location in the van. The policemen spotted the van, pulled it over and arrested everyone inside the van minus Kathleen who was already dropped off and fundraising in another area. So the police arrested our team. Kris, Sarah, Yasushi, Shinichi and me.
Again time sensitive I am going to quit right now and come back at a later date to finish. God bless you.