The 3rd Special 21 Days Workshop, A New Leadership Paradigm for the Settlement Age, took place from May 28 till June 17 in Druskininkai, a town in the southern part of Lithuania, near the border with Poland and Belarus. The town is famous for its picturesque nature, natural mineral springs and has many resort facilities, including the workshop venue, the Vilnius sanitarium

There were over three hundred participants at the Workshop. More than half were young leaders from the Northeast Continent and missionaries to NEC, 75 came from Japan, 45 from Korea and 25 from Europe

The general schedule was the same as that of the first 2 workshops with Hyun Jin Nim's speeches at the beginning and the end of the workshop, Rev. Sudo's lectures, testimonies of Church elders, reports from CARP Chapters, sporting events and Special Challenge Days. Of course there were exams on the contents of the lectures, a repentance and re-determination night, and a graduation ceremony with signing of the Leader's Pledge. A new feature of the Workshop was larger number of elders' testimonies, including Continental Directors Dr. Joon Ho Seuk and Rev. Sa Kwang Kee, Rev. Ahn, Rev. Su Won Chung, Rev. Hyun Shil Kang.

The staff of the workshop faced many difficulties in organizing the event. Due to a last minute cancellation of the original venue in Moscow, the new workshop site was decided literally only a week before. The membership foundation in Lithuania is very small ,so we had to bring all staff volunteers from other parts of NEC. Therefore all the staff members were strangers in the country ,sometimes not knowing very well how to get necessary things, unacquainted with complicated visa formalities and other general affairs of various kinds.

The problems increased once the workshop was underway. Just one day before he was supposed to start lecturing, Rev. Sudo fell down on the slippery floor of his bathroom and broke a rib. Naturally we had to postpone his lectures for several days until he became better. Luckily he was very courageous overcoming physical pain and determined to give all the contents he originally intended to give. Many people told that they were so moved not only by the content of Rev. Sudo's lectures, but also by his stoic attitude.

Despite all these difficulties it was a great workshop. Hyun Jin Nim was very happy to see young leaders and feel our spirit.. Most of us felt much closer to him and realized new bonds connecting us to True Family. Since this was the main goal of the workshop, we can say that the workshop was a success. Many participants shared that they received much grace and had new determination to work for their missions.

Although there were some difficulties with overcoming language barriers and understanding of other cultures, participants shared that they had good experience with their brothers from other countries. For example, many Koreans shared that they were touched by purity and devotion of young members from the Northeast Continent and felt greater responsibility as elder brothers, while many young members testified that they felt very warm heart of their elder Korean and Japanese brothers.

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