MEMORANDUM
To: All Leaders, Blessed Central Families and Blessing Candidates
From: Blessed Family Department
Date: July 5, 2005
RE: Aug. 1, 2005 World Culture and Sports Festival Blessing: Information and Guidelines

Please be sure that you read this memo carefully.

Additional memos will be issued in the future to answer all the important questions that arise. Be sure that you have a source to receive those memos. You can go to the following website: http://www.familyfed.org/bfd/ and subscribe to the BFD emails by clicking on the "Subscribe to email list." Submit questions by email to blessing@familyfed.org and watch for the next memo for the answer.

All candidates must submit Blessing forms & Photos as soon as possible, which can be downloaded from the internet at:

All candidates must be interviewed and approved by Regional Directors.

Copies of applications should be submitted to (1) your Regional Office and to (2) the appropriate office listed below:

For 2nd Gen members: Submit to Second Generation Department, 4 west 43rd New York, NY 10036; Contact person: Inguk Seo, inguk@familyfed.org Tel : 212-997-0050 ext.123 Fax : 212-391-0222

For 1st Gen. members: Submit to the Blessed Family Department, 3224 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20010. Contact person: Hiromi Stephens ommahiromi@comcast.net Tel : 410-997-6450 Fax : 410-997-5134

Please keep at least one copy of all documents with you. It is always good to have a backup copy. VERY IMPORTANT: Take an additional copy of all documents with you to Korea.

Participants should arrive in Korea on July 30 or before. The organizing committee will provide transportation from Incheon International Airport to the lodgings on July 30 and 31.

Departures will begin from August 2. Airport transportation will be arranged on August 2 and 3.

It is very important that you provide your travel itinerary to the Blessed Family Department so they can help reserve transportation for you. If you need assistance with travel arrangements, we suggest Go World Travel. Contact them at 800-327-3667 or 212-967-8080, fax 212-629-3648. You must arrange your own tickets. Please do so IMMEDIATELY because this is the busy season for flying to Korea and there are only a few seats available.

Candidates planning to attend the Blessing in Korea must report to their (1) Regional Office and to (2) either the Blessed Family Dept. (for First Gen.) or the Second Gen. Dept. (for 2nd Gen) in order to keep accurate records of all those attending.

Report also any family members who are going with you. This allows us to prepare accommodations for you in Korea in advance. If you don’t report, there is no guarantee that accommodations will be available.

If you and your spouse are from different regions, each should report separately to their own Regional Director. If you and your spouse are from different countries, each should report separately to their National Leader and Continental Director. Report the following: (1) Full name (2) Home address (3) Phone numbers (4) Email address (5) Airline, Flight number, and arrival time (6) Departure date, time and airline.

Rev.Inguk Seo will be in Korea from July 29th. More detailed contact information will be provided in the days to come.

Matthew Jones who lives in Korea has also volunteered to be contacted. To call his cellphone from outside Korea, call 011-8219-9730-2003. To call him inside Korea, dial 019-9730-2003

Men: Dark blue suit, white shirt, with a red tie. Black shoes. (Black suit is acceptable.)

Women: White wedding gown. White shoes.

Our Korean church will provide white gloves for everyone and corsages for men and bouquets & veils for women.

The Blessing Fee for newly matched couples is $2,000 each for North American participants. In consideration of the expenses necessary for international travel, the donation for those traveling to participate in Korea will be $1,500.

The Blessing Fee for Re-Blessing (those who paid the full Blessing fee for a previous Blessing that is now broken, and are being Blessed again) is $500 per participant. (If a previously Blessed person is being Blessed to a first-time person, each should pay the fee appropriate to their category).

If your spouse is from a different country, their Blessing fee should be paid in their home country prior to attending the Blessing ceremony. If the candidate’s parents are missionaries to a foreign country, it is appropriate to pay the Blessing fee of the mission country. NOTE: This fee should be paid in the home country BEFORE going to Korea (see below for USA payment instructions).

Receipt Required: It is vitally important that you get a RECEIPT to present at registration in Korea in order to be allowed to enter the lodgings.

Where to send the Fee in USA: The donation fee for Blessing should be sent to

Tel : 202-319-3200, ext 126, Fax : 202-299-9496. You may use the credit card form that is available from Sheila Song or at the following internet address: http://www.firstgenmatchmaker.com/ccform.doc

Partial Payment: If it is difficult for you to come up with the entire fee at this time, you may arrange a payment plan with the Blessed Family Department. A minimum of $750 is required prior to the Blessing. You must sign a written agreement which details your payment schedule. A Credit Card number should be given to guarantee full payment. Complete payment of the balance is due by December 31, 2005.

All payments should be made BEFORE traveling to Korea. A receipt is required in Korea to prove that you have paid before you are allowed into the accommodations.

The Blessing Fee is considered a donation and condition for the historical privilege of being Blessed by our True Parents. There is no discount for members who do not attend the Blessing Ceremony itself. There is no discount if you provide your own accommodations, meals, and/or transportation in Korea.

Blessing participants traveling to Korea for the Blessing must be responsible for their own travel expenses. However, once you arrive in Korea, your transportation, accommodations, and meals will be provided by the Blessing event organizers at no extra charge to you.

This is for the Blessing participants only. Family members can stay at the same facility for about $40 per day per person.

Each participant is responsible to obtain his or her own Blessing ring. " Temporary" Blessing Rings may be purchased in Korea for about $10 if you do not have time to get your real gold Blessing ring.

Participants should order their rings as soon as possible in order to allow the jewelers time to make them. We have identified 3 sources of Blessing rings that you can use.

1. Japanese Publications Dept. in New York, phone 212-302-6216. 2. Cheong Pyoung Lake Training Center has some for sale. 3. Korea lodging location: Some will be for sale there.

The price is about $ 160 for men and $ 140 for women at Japanese Publications.

It is not absolutely necessary to complete an AIDS before being Blessed in Korea. However, this is a very important test that all marriage partners should take IF AT ALL POSSIBLE BEFORE going to the Blessing, for obvious reasons, since the Blessing is an eternal commitment. We also strongly suggest that both partners obtain a full physical health evaluation; you may wish to include some basic fertility testing. Many local city and county clinics in America will perform the AIDS test for free, or a very small fee.

There has not been any announcement regarding satellite Blessings in America at this time. One year ago all members were expected to attend the Blessing in Korea with True Parents. However there were 3 satellite Blessings in the United States for members in one of the three categories below.

1. You or your future spouse have a legal situation that does not allow you to leave the country 2. You or your future spouse have a serious health situation or some other situation that does not allow you to leave the country. 3. You or your future spouse are 30 years or older. The Blessing fee for these Satellite Blessings would be $2,000 per person.

Family members of Blessing candidates are encouraged and welcome to participate in the Blessing Ceremonies. Accommodations will be provided in the same facilities with the Blessing Candidates. The cost will be about $40 US per day per person (W40,000 Korean). This fee should be paid in Korea once you arrive.

L. Phone Cards and Renting Cellphones for calling to the USA Phone cards can be purchased at the airport as soon as you arrive. You can also rent cell phones for about $3 a day plus .50 cents a minute (approximately). Calling internationally on a cell phone is more expensive, but it is very convenient and may be worth it if you’re only going to be in Korea for a few days. Please be advised, however, that you can only rent cell phones from the airport so you must do that when you deplane.

After you are Blessed, many questions may arise regarding the proper traditions to follow in your relationship and life together with your spouse. Please send all these questions to the Blessed Family Department when they occur to you. The BFD will be preparing answers to all questions with internal guidance from True Parents, Dr. Yang, international leaders and established church traditions.

Answers will be available as quickly as possible. Your patience is always appreciated.

If possible, send your questions in writing because we want to have clear records of all questions and their answers. Use email or by written letter. We will make every effort to get an answer back to you as soon as possible. Some responses may take longer than others, depending on the complexity of the issue involved. The email address is blessing@familyfed.org

Any email that is sent to this address is automatically sent by computer to four (4) people: Rev. Phillip Schanker, Jim Stephens, Hiromi Stephens, and Rev. Inguk Seo. With love & prayer,

Blessed Family Department
3224 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20010
Phone: (202) 319-3200
Fax: (202) 299-9496
Email: blessing@familyfed.org

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