The Words of the Mudabber Family
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The Words of the Mudabber Family |
Sun
Myung Moon with Young Oon Kim and Won Bok Choi on Mt. Nebo in Jordan
after making a Holy Ground.
I am from Jordan and was raised a Muslim. I joined a group that used to do meditation every day; we were striving to reach the inner light and spiritual self realization. In our meditation we would sit Indian-style, but the thoughts we meditated on were taken from the Bible and other religious writings, including the Koran and Indian scriptures.
In 1960, in Jordan, I saw a vision of a huge green mountain with a fiery lion standing on top. I was surprised, because this was the first time I saw visions during meditation. This lion shouted, "All the animals of the world, kneel down!" Something told me that the green color meant the Aquarian age, and the lion was at the top of that age; I was also told that all that is satanic would fade away. I was instructed to have a ring made with a green stone surrounded by five stars (representing the five continents), a golden lion (representing the coming messiah), and the symbol of the eye of God. I had the ring made immediately.
I felt that this lion must be somewhere on the earth, but nobody knew where. He might be a Buddhist monk, I imagined, or perhaps a Tibetan holy man; I couldn't imagine he would be just a normal person.
About 1963, the Jordanian government sent me to the United States on a project to make maps of Jordan; I was director of the Army Map Service at that time. When I arrived in the United States, I searched around for spiritual groups, visiting the Masons, Rosicrucians, etc.
A few years later, in a supermarket, I met Doris Walder (now Doris Orme) and Gibran, an American originally from Palestine. We started sharing with each other about our experiences, and I told Gibran I felt Christ must be on earth, because we are in the Aquarian age, but I didn't know where he was. I was always searching for truth.
He was so glad and surprised, and they took me to Col. Pak, who gave me the lectures of Divine Principle. At that time, he had only the first six chapters of Divine Principle printed. When I started to read them, I found out the truth I had been longing to know. "Who wrote this?" I asked. "We are going to the airport to meet him now," they answered. And I went along. (Father was on his first world tour, in 1965, visiting members throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, and blessing holy grounds in 40 countries.)
Mr.
Mudabber with Father in Washington, D.C. in 1965.
When I saw Father pray, I could feel that this was the man. I was very touched by his prayer, and I started to cry. I am not a big talker; I prefer to look at people deeply and analyze them. When Father prays, he is different from any person I ever met.
One of the church holidays, I think World Day, we celebrated together in Washington. When I saw Father, I told him about the vision I had received in 1960 and gave him my ring. "You are the man who deserves to have it," I told him. He kept it with him for one week. The time came for me to return to Jordan, and a farewell party was arranged for me. To my surprise, Father asked me to come dressed in my army uniform.
"Are you with me?" he asked me that day. I answered yes. "Are you with me?" he repeated, speaking louder. Again, I answered yes. He took my hand and for the third time asked, "Are you with me?" After I had answered, he told me, "Keep this ring forever with you," and he placed it on the finger of my right hand.
I had brought along a map of the world, and Father started to make plans for missions to other countries. "What about Africa?" Col. Pak asked. "Keep that area and the Middle East for me," I responded. I was very inspired, and I felt I could do it. This was the promise I made, but I wasn't able to keep it.
Father told me that in the course of blessing holy grounds throughout the world, he would come to Jordan and spend one week there. I made all the preparations, arranged for cars, and made appointments for Father to meet with various people. I told my wife something about Father, and she was very happy. Also, I taught the oldest of my five children, Abdallah, to sing one of the Korean songs.
When Father arrived, we went to greet him at the airport. My girls gave him bouquets of roses. Father was traveling with Miss Young Oon Kim, Mrs. Won Pok Choi, and Mr. Nishikawa (Sang Ik Choi). We brought them to our home in Amman (the capital of Jordan), where we had prepared special rooms and had gathered people who I wanted to meet him. Abdallah came in and sang the Korean song; Father was so happy to hear I had taught him so quickly.
Father started to ask questions in Korean, and Miss Kim translated. The people I had invited didn't have any idea of Divine Principle, so it was hard for them to understand him. Most of them were Christians, from a school I had attended, and I wanted to show them that there was another truth. If I tried to speak or explain some point, they would say, "We already know what you are going to say; we want to hear him." I made a tape recording of Father's words at that time. Communication was not so good, however. My guests were thinking along philosophical lines, and people are sometimes misled that way.
The second day of Father's visit, we went on a tour; the following day, we went to the West Bank (then part of Jordan, now under Israeli control) to make holy grounds. What I saw during this time reminded me of many historical things.
Father first wanted to visit the "Way of the Cross" (a series of sites in and around Jerusalem associated with Jesus' suffering and crucifixion). We went to the site where Jesus was held prisoner. As we made each stop along the way, I saw all the sorrow and sadness in Father's face; he prayed a lot in each of those places. One stop, the Mount of Calvary, was the place where the temple curtain was torn at the time of Jesus' death, located in what is now a Greek monastery. The monks were struck by Father and wanted to know who he was. I was so disappointed that nobody recognized him along the way, just as nobody recognized Jesus as the Christ.
I could feel the depth of meaning in the words of Father's prayers, even though I could not understand them. I could really feel that he was communicating with somebody in his prayers. I wished I had brought along a portable tape recorder to take down his prayers at these historical sites. I wanted to know the meaning of his prayers and felt frustrated because I didn't understand the language. At least I had a camera along and could take pictures of him at each site.
Making
the holy ground at Gethsemane in Jerusalem.
In Gethsemane, we went to the tomb of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the church below it, where Father prayed. On the road to Gerazim, we stopped at Jacob's Well and prayed there, as well as at John the Baptist's church, on the site where he was beheaded. At Hebron, we went to the mosque on the site of the grave of Abraham and his family; Father wanted to bless a holy ground there, but we were unable to enter, so a large tree, known as the Tree of the Patriarchs, was dedicated as the holy ground instead. At the Mount of Temptation, Father became happy and started to climb the mountain; he went up very quickly, and we followed him to one of the convents at the top. He prayed a long while in a cave there, and some of the many tourists and monks there started to ask who he was. "One of the faithful people on earth," I answered them, knowing they were not prepared to understand who he really was. Coming down the mountain, we stopped at a natural spring known as the Sultan's Spring, where Father washed his hands and cupped them to drink the fresh water, and later went to a lovely spot along the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized.
I had prepared a lunch of sandwiches and various other food, but when I offered them to Father he refused to take any kind of meal; he only drank water from the spring. It seemed that he was so serious that he wanted no food until that night. We gave away all the sandwiches to the people we met.
That day, Father made four holy grounds:
On the Mount of Olives, near the old city of Jerusalem: the olive grove where Jesus prayed before his betrayal and arrest.
On the Mount of Temptation, near Jericho: where Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days to lay a foundation for his course.
In Hebron, the Tree of the Patriarchs: near the place where Abraham and his family were buried, a place revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
On Mount Gerazim, in the center of some ruins: an ancient holy site honored by the Samaritans; the Gospel of John describes Jesus witnessing to a Samaritan woman there.
On the fourth day, Father made the final holy ground in the hills near Mount Nebo, in the ruins of a church: the mountain which Moses climbed in order to view the Promised Land, before his earthly life ended.
I understood that these holy grounds are places where the spirit world can communicate with people on earth; in other words, here the door is opened between the spirit world and physical world. Even then, I didn't know much about Principle, but I could sense the meaning behind many of these things. Every day, Father woke up early and went for a walk and prayed. I did not interfere with his privacy.
One day Mr. Nishikawa asked me, "Is this house yours?" "No," I replied, "it's government-owned." Later he came back and said, "This house is yours." I was surprised how that could be, since it was army property, and I wondered what he could mean.
When the week was over, Father planned to go on to Syria and Lebanon and other countries on his tour. I accompanied them to an ancient Roman site and took pictures there. After resting along the road, we bade him farewell; he went on to Damascus, and I returned to Amman. I recorded the prayer he prayed before leaving the house and his final instructions to me, "Take good care of your wife and children."
When I started to meet people, trying to spread this new ideal, there was little response. During the day, I did my job for the Army and took care of other responsibilities, and at night, I began translating Principle. "At least I can prepare something I can give to others to read," I thought. Chapter by chapter, I translated Col. Pak's version of Principle. It was a new experience. I hired a typist to type the manuscript and began giving copies to others. Little by little, my house was filled with people who wanted to know more about this subject. "This translation is still in the formation stage," I told them.
Later on Remi Blanchard came to visit me for about a week; he was surprised at what I had been doing. I asked him to give a lecture to my guests, and he lectured in French, with one of my professor friends interpreting into Arabic. I had invited various professors I knew to come, bringing their families, and presented it as a social affair, which was an acceptable kind of activity at that time. Once I visited the families in France and England.
Then Satan started to interfere. Someone came from Bethlehem and asked me how much money I had been given to convert from Islam to Christianity. After all I had given, I was being accused of receiving money for doing it! Then the 1967 War began; after the war, none of my former contacts showed up any more, because they thought the teachings came from American propaganda. Just a few people whom I helped in some way came. One of them was a professor whom I was paying to tutor my son. One day he came and told me, "I am going to Australia; can you give me money to pay my way?" I gave him what I could, about $1,500, and he left without ever communicating to me again. I also started a business, hoping through it to support my efforts to spread Divine Principle throughout the Middle East. I didn't want anyone to have to help me; I wanted these efforts to be self-supporting. But I had no experience in business, and people cheated me.
My wife knew about these things, and she wondered how I could give people money, when I had a family and children to care for. "Whatever we give, we will get back somehow," I told her, but she got mad and didn't want to listen to my teachings any more. "What's the use of being good to people when they hurt you in return?" she complained. Every day she brought up this subject.
Still, two experiences after Father's visit really confirmed to me that he is the chosen man.
Father gave me a handkerchief, which I always kept in my pocket. One day, four other Army officials and I were riding in a jeep; as we passed by a refugee camp, gunfire opened on us from all sides. The canvas covering, seats and even tires were all punctured with bullet holes, but not one of us was hurt! Immediately I thought about Father.
Also, three months after Father left, the Army decided to sell the group of houses we were living in, and I was lucky enough to be able to buy our house. Father had already told me about it. Only Father could have known it would happen.
In 1970, the 777-couple Blessing was shown in its entirety on Jordanian television; many people saw the program and I heard quite a few favorable comments by people who were impressed by it.
For many years, I struggled alone, trying to do something, because I am a man who keeps my promises. When someone promises something and cannot do it, he feels like a failure. I take everything seriously, nothing as a joke. I even reached the point where I started to lose hope; then Father sent people I could work with. I was always trying to do something good to surprise Father, searching for people I could teach and perhaps send to America to learn more. But Jordan was very touchy about missionaries, and the version of Principle I had used Bible verses to explain many points. Finding a greater response from Jordanian Muslims than Christians (who are often quite rigid in their views), I began writing the Principle using Islamic terms and quotations from the Koran. While working on this project, I found a book in Arabic which included everything the Koran and Muhammad said about the coming of the messiah, and I found more points in common with Islam than with Christianity.
I am so glad to see Father again. Even when I was away for so many years and alone, I could always feel his love and his presence. Everything reminds me of him. When guests come, we take them to Mount Nebo; even when I was sick, I used to love to climb that mountain, the mountain from which Moses looked into the promised land.
Mr. Mudabber came to New York in June and saw Father for the first time in 17 years. On the day of the most recent matching, he went into the hospital, suffering from internal bleeding caused by a tear in his esophagus. He was operated on to repair it. As he had suffered so much over the years with a kidney condition, he had no hope for recovery. He felt he just wanted to die and get it over with. Members who were with him reported the following incident:
On the day of the Blessing, a Jewish lady, Ana, was admitted to a room in the intensive care unit, across the nurses' desk from him. Another lady was with her. Doctors and nurses were trying to calm Ana down, but she was shouting and crying to God, "Where are You, God? I want to get out of here." A lady who was with her said, "Pray to God. You will be okay. Let the doctor work on you." But Ana refused.
A black Muslim nurse entered the room. "You are Muslim; get out!" Ana said.
A blond nurse came in. "You are a Christian; get out!" she said.
To the lady with her she said, "You are not my mother; get away from me."
Ana continued to shout and scream. "It is not a Jewish God. He is not a Christian God. He couldn't be a Muslim God."
The other lady said, "You are a Jew. You must be faithful. Believe in Elijah."
"I don't want to see your dirty face," Ana replied. "You all have dirty faces.
I want to wash the dirt from your faces."
"Pray to God. Pray to Elijah," the other woman urged.
Ana replied, "He is no more the God of the Jews. He is no more the God of the Christians. He is no longer the God of the Muslims He is God of Son."
"What do you mean?" the other lady asked.
Ana replied, "The Lord is on earth." "Where is He?"
Still shouting and crying, Ana replied, "At the New Yorker."
When people went into her room, she began to scream and shout these things. When they left, she only screamed to God.
The second day, she said that the Lord was then at Madison Square Garden. The nurses around her were laughing and joking.
The third day she became quiet, normal. The doctors treated her, and she was transferred out of intensive care. We went to see her, but she didn't remember anything about what she had said.
For Khosrof, hearing this brought about a rebirth experience, and new strength infused his body. He was happy and forgot his pain, lying there on his bed with tubes coming out from everywhere. He prayed a grateful prayer to God for giving him this kind of testimony in the hospital and that he could hear it. He also prayed for the lady who was in such pain and testifying to True Parents.