The foundation for the success of these rallies was clearly the lifelong investment of our True Parents and the elders of our church in Korea. More immediately, the foundation for these victories was laid in Chung Pyung Training Center. Our brothers and sisters that went the marathon 50-day course made us all humble before heaven and earth, before our True Parents, before each other, and before our homeland.

For me personally, even though I spent just one week in training, my relationship with God significantly deepened, especially the clarity of the emotional and spiritual/audio communication. I spoke to God as a son to his father. And over and over again I was deeply grateful, beyond words, for my Father’s long suffering and His never-give-up-commitment during the dark, cold, lonely history of the providence of restoration caused by the Fall of our first ancestors.

The most amazing event during this preparation time for me, however, was at the Coronation of our True Parents. Special insight and appreciation came as Parents stood on stage, having entered the hall, but before the Coronation Ceremony began. Father directed Rev. Kwak and Rev. Hwang to make sudden, unexpected changes. Something was not right; Father was not comfortable with the arrangements on stage. The close-circuit TV cameras focused in on the changes that Father was directing.

It looked to me like Father was rearranging the position of the scepter and the jewelry box. The order during the processional ceremony was that the scepter, representing the royal authority, preceded the jewelry box which represented our kingdom’s wealth. However, when they were placed on stage, between the chairs of Father and Mother, somehow that order was not clear. Father wanted the positions of the jewelry box and the scepter changed. I asked myself, "Why?"

In Father’s mind the foundation for their Coronation and the essence of the nation of CIG was not a homeland where wealth was primary or even equal to the God’s dominion. Yes, a kingdom needs money and material things. But the wealth of a nation must be secondary to the sovereignty of heaven. It looked like the scepter and the jewelry box had been placed side by side each other. This disturbed Father. The order was not right. Heavenly authority and heavenly wealth were not equals.

The authority of CIG as a nation was not to be found in its wealth, but in its heavenly rule. The sovereignty of God’s nation does not lay in gold, but in godly Principles. At the Coronation of True Parents, Father wanted the right order. Something in my heart rejoiced as I realized again that the proper order in True Father’s heart is that heavenly Principles are uncompromisingly foremost. Despite all the tithing, special donations, and other financial contribution we as Blessed Central Families are called upon to make, the priority in Father’s mind is not in riches. Wealth was not to be placed equal to heavenly sovereignty, but to be subordinated to it. The jewelry box was pushed back and the scepter moved forward to its proper position.

Muju-gun is a small town -- just two streets long with about 100 stores. There were no "PC" shops, so we were cut off completely from all internet access and had no communication at all with Western leadership during our mobilization. Even the English faxes from Dr. Yang and Rev. Jenkins never reached us. In fact, it was easier to call home to America, than to get information in English from headquarters.

Three Japanese and three American missionaries (I was one) were sent to this mountain hamlet, 3 hours drive south of Seoul. This is a famous resort area known for skiing and ginseng plantations (especially in the Western part of Jeon Bok province). Our leader, an 1800 couple, had a wonderful heart and wife who loved to laugh and hug everyone. Rev. Nam Chin Han worked very hard and expected us to too.

Having attended the 50-day Chung Pyung training there was no time to prepare for our coming or for the North/South Unification Rallies. He actually returned home with us on the bus from Chung Pyung on Feb. 8th. Since there were no full-time active members in Muju, he could not depend on anyone to prepare or organize things while he was away. We started rally preparations late Sunday afternoon. Our first rally was scheduled for Monday morning at 10:00 am.

Rev. Han was a desperate man. He joined the Unification Church in 1961 and absolutely wanted to bring victory for heaven saying on one occasion, "We have to fight against time." And so we worked along with him from morning to late at night -- very late at night. After church on Sunday, we visited VIPs. Without hesitation we knocked on doors boldly declaring "Annyanhashimnika" as sliding doors were flung open and we entered unannounced. I was starting to learn one dimension of "shimjung." There was not even the slightest expectation of being rejected or turned away. It was understood that guests were always welcomed.

Throughout the afternoon, the evening, and in to the night we visited community leaders. Even up to 10:30 pm, we were still unashamedly and unapologetically getting people out of bed and talking with them about the rally the next day as they stood in their pajamas and bathrobes. Nearly 180 people showed up Monday morning. Amazing! With the ability to gather nearly 200 people in just a few hours, I realized the "kyop pa" or network that True Parents have built is strong. In all, we held seven rallies with a total of approximately 700 people attending.

In addition to reaching out to local VIPs, we visited the families of Japanese and Filipino sisters blessed to Korea husbands. Our sisters have gone an incredible course. One Japanese sister said she just cried every night for the first three years. Everything was new and strange: the language, the customs, her husband, her in-laws… it was so difficult. But gradually she broke through, now proudly she says, "I would rather live here in the Korean country side, than in Japan." One word seemed to explain her feelings, "shimjung." She said it was not possible to really explain it, but it is incredibly powerful and runs very deep in the Korean mind/heart.

The Japanese sisters were very active, while the Filipinos were much less so (often not even attending church on Sunday). One of the main differences was education. It became obvious that the strength of our Japanese movement is the consistent Divine Principle education. Our Filipino sisters didn’t have this. In one unique case, a sister was blessed in marriage and settled in Korea without any Principle education at all. Yet deep inside she and all her sisters wanted to believe, but were battling alone trying to make sense of rumors and accusations that flew around so freely.

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