Tribal Messiah Memory from Brazil - Jin Sung Moon

July 1993
Belvedere, New York

In South America, there is one very humble brother [Jose Elias de Almeida] who heard about tribal messiahship and decided, "That's what I'll do." His hometown was in the region, but he stayed in the city, about a forty-minute drive from the center, and he rented this tiny little apartment. It had a very little, old broken-down kitchen and a little bedroom. People were spitting at him and persecuting him, they beat him and he served and served and served them. Now he is probably the example for all tribal messiahs around the world.

In the beginning it was hard. He contacted a few people. He is not formally educated-it was very difficult for him to speak. He literally just loved them and dragged them all the way to the center. That's an important lesson. He asked the brothers and sisters at the center for advice and help and he utilized the center structure. If many tribal messiahs are around the centers, you should coordinate around it as a focal point in the beginning. It is very difficult to do it on your own. You barely have enough to get by, paying for your little house or apartment.

Just love, Divine Principle and jobs

He brought a few members to the center, and slowly but surely, he started to build a foundation. He bought the apartment that he lived in, in that tiny little building. He was witnessing and gaining members and he started a business selling small things-like fundraising. He made a little money and he brought in a few members and he got some donations from those members; then he bought another little apartment in that four-story building. He used that apartment to witness to people. He had many physical brothers and sisters who all persecuted him, but they also needed jobs, so he offered them the chance to come over and he gave them work in this little business he was running. It started to grow and in nine years, he has brought in three hundred sixty members.

When we visited the Brazilian headquarters, we were greeted by a thousand brothers and sisters. Rev. Hyung Tae Kim said, "I want you to visit one tribal messiah." That is very unusual, but it could happen to you. Would you like it if your central figure said to Parents, "I want you to see this one particular tribal messiah"? Kook Jin Nim and I were thinking, "This is unusual." When we arrived, there were hundreds of men and women and grandmas and grandpas, and teenagers and children waiting for us. We approached this block and we found that this brother [Pastor Elias] owned the whole city block. He destroyed four apartment buildings and created brand new buildings, all from donations from his tribal messiahship. He donated money to the center. He is now going to run for mayor. He owned the whole city block, but he bought it piece by piece. Taking a tour of this building was amazing. We'd take a staircase down and then one up to the front and then a staircase sideways and down this way and he would be saying, "Here is our bakery." He showed me a very wonderful bakery that serves the whole community. Then, "Here's the beauty salon." This one woman- who probably wasn't an A-member, but very strongly a B-member-clearly recognized us and was just thrilled to have us there. She had a job because of this tribal messiah-in a beauty salon no bigger than this platform. It was very clean and nice and she was very happy.

We went around and then walked into what looked like a very large 7-11 store, with maybe twenty employees. They all looked like his uncles and his brothers and sisters, manning the counters selling ice cream and food. Then we moved to another area with lots of construction going on and he said, "This is our pizza parlor." Every one of those businesses made money and he gave jobs. Politicians always say, "Jobs are important," but they should go out there and do something. This man provided over one hundred jobs for the community.

A pure heart

I walked into one room and I saw a room of twenty-five old typewriters with covers on them on little desks. "Here is our typing school." It was amazing. Then I went to the very top-the fourth floor of one of the apartment buildings. It had steel rods coming out of the ground which means the construction is not done. He said, "As soon as we get enough money, we're going to build another floor on top and make a big hall where we can speak to people." This is where he is right now. He has a beautiful wife. He is such a simple and humble man that two sisters rejected him. One humble sister received Father's blessing and now she is like the queen of the whole community.

When we came to this place, the people were shooting off these very loud firecrackers, but Rev. Kim said, "They're just so happy to see you. This is one way they express their happiness."

We drove about three miles out of that neighborhood and approached a major intersection-I saw a group of about five or six teenagers hanging around. Don't you just love the way teenagers use their time hanging around? You never trust teenagers hanging around on a street corner, right? A couple girls and a couple guys were talking and minding their own business and then they looked over at us and they said, "Look, it's True Family. It's True Family!" and they waved at us! Kook Jin Nim and I were so amazed! We waved back and one girl said to her friends, "He waved at me, he waved at me!" That will be the ideal world. People we don't even know will all of a sudden light up because they see you. That is what you need to develop on your tribal messiah level.

This brother's area is now growing so fast. His whole clan, his tribe is pushing him to run for elected office even though he is still illiterate. After he started to get some people, how did he continue? Very humbly. He worked at the church as well and put in his hours there, then begged for more capable brothers and sisters to come and speak at his home church. You don't need a Ph.D. to do this job. You don't need anything but a pure heart. He is the biggest landowner in the whole area now. We were pointing to empty run down lots and he said, "We bought that and we bought that and bought that and we're just going to keep building." He is literally restoring the whole neighborhood because he is tearing down old rotting buildings and building beautiful new buildings giving them housing, giving the people jobs, giving them a new life, and doing it all together. It was really an amazing experience.