The Words of the Pique Family
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The Words of the Pique Family |
What may prove to be only the first leg of the Founders' Tour 2011 ran for four weeks, from April 24 to May 21. After the first event in Incheon, Korea on April 24, True Parents, accompanied by Hyung-jin nun, Yeon-ah nim and other members of the True Family, visited Spain, Italy, Norway, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany. The concluding event was held in Las Vegas on May 21 with some three thousand people in attendance.
The moment I heard the news that True Parents were coming to Spain, an inner voice told me that I had to volunteer immediately to help with the team that would serve True Parents. I have been in the church for thirty-seven years, and I have always seen True Parents only from a distance in conferences and at Hoon Dok Hae. I have had many spiritual experiences with True Parents in prayer and in dreams, but I have always wished to be close to them physically.
In the days before their arrival, I knew I had to do some serious conditions -- prayer, fasting and Hoon Dok Hae. I also felt it was important to do a Holy Spirit Healing Service using a video of Hyung-jin nim. While doing this condition many of my ancestors came to me crying. We cried together, and I felt my heart being purified and coming closer to True Parents.
On the day of the speech, True Father came out into the hotel corridor near True Parents' room and seeing a group of sisters there began to speak to us. Bit by bit, I started to feel as if my heart was uniting with True Father's and as if a great force was pulling me to his heart as he spoke. Spiritual women began filling the corridor.
True Father stopped in front of me and spoke in a mixture of English and Korean about the restoration of women. The spiritual women in the corridor all began to cry. In my heart, I asked forgiveness for women's sins, which have brought so much suffering to God throughout history.
True Father spoke forcefully, often shouting, his face very close to mine. I couldn't look away and I cried continuously. Because I could feel Father's deep suffering, I felt a great force inside me.
Father hit me on the head and on the chest. I didn't feel pain, only a strong energy inside and deep, profound love. I realized at that moment that I was representing many ancestors from this nation, which was why Father was so serious and could speak so intensely. Never have I experienced an inner force so great. I have had many spiritual experiences with True Father, but this time it was physical.
Father's teachings, which have saturated my life, were now being delivered to me by the Messiah himself, right in front of me; this filled me with life and love.
I heard voices saying, "The word of God is made flesh and lives in us."
The Messiah was in front of me. I could feel the substance of his heart near me. My life's great dream -- not only to be close to True Father but to feel in my heart all he carries in his heart -- actually occurred. Time passed as if it were only a moment.
He also spoke about the mistreatment of Jesus. So much love, suffering and pain were in Father's heart as he spoke. The spiritual women in the corridor cried in repentance, asking for forgiveness. I felt Jesus' heart. I have loved Jesus all my life. Yet, in that moment, my feeling of Jesus was real and more profound than ever before. I could not stop crying. I felt the price Father has had to pay for us to be saved. At the end, Father spoke about the importance of the unity of black and white people and the great importance of the Blessing Ceremony to restore ancestors.
When Father finished speaking, he gently placed his hand on my cheek and his whole face lit up.
After this experience, every time I close my eyes tears well up inside me. I will never forget those moments; I will never forget Father's deep sorrow and strong desire for the restoration of humanity and I will never forget the warm sensation of his hand on my face.
Dear brothers and sisters, we must help True Parents restore the world. We must do what they are doing, expressing truth to liberate each person, with a heart full of love.
I feel this experience was a remarkable gift. Perhaps I was not the ideal person to receive it, but I felt it wasn't something personal. I was there to represent Spanish women. True Father felt the strong desire in my heart and the crying of my soul to be close to him and he came. I will be eternally grateful for this gift from Heaven, for having felt Father's heart and for having had the strength to be there in front of him.
It was after lunch, in the suite, when Father asked the Greek members to take a seat in front of him. Though he has reasons to scold us, he never did so; he is always embracing, forgiving and encouraging. He radiates calmness and serenity, profundity and security, qualities of great magnitude.
When I first heard that True Parents were coming to Greece it was a big shock, because I felt that God and True Parents had more faith in our country than we did! Father believes in our country and came to demonstrate to us that God cares about it.
It has been a great meeting. The pinnacle was surely the presence
of our beloved leader Rev. Moon. His ideas will surely contribute to
stopping conflict based on differences of race, religion and
ethnicity. I am amazed at his energy and ability to speak for several
hours as a man of 90+ years.
Rev. Ake Lion, retired minister,
Church of Sweden