Last September, there was an urgent message for a request of sincere prayer recorded on my cellular phone. It was unexpected news that Lee Kwan Jung, a young member of STF, the second son of Rev. Lee Hun Suk, (the regional leader in Seattle, WA,) was involved in a car accident and in critical condition.

Quickly this news was informed to all churches in the USA as well as True Parents. The following information is what I learned about the tragedy described on the internet. The van that had STF members with their seatbelts on was heading to Houston Texas, driving the legal speed limit on the freeway. Around 7 am on Saturday morning Kwan Jung was doing HoonDokHae in the van. The tragedy started when a small truck on the other side of the road suddenly lost control and flipped over hitting the right top of the STF members’ van. The driver of the truck, who was as young as Kwan Jung, also died instantly at the site.

As soon as I received the news I had all members get together and pray for the recovery of Kwan Jung with hope and faith. After Sunday service I received another phone call. It was discovered that Rev. and Mrs. Lee who are the parents of Kwan Jung arrived, examined, and confirmed that the one who was killed at the accident site was their beloved son Kwan Jung.

It turned out that Alexei Belgrove, who was from the Ukraine was driving the van at that time also suffered critical injuries and later died. Nam Hee Hwang, the son of Rev. Yup Joo Hwang, national messiah to China, was in critical condition with other injured members.

Members and I had prayed day and night for Kwan Jung’s pleasant trip to Heaven and the recovery of our young brothers who were involved in the car accident, while we waited for SeungHwa ceremony.

In the meantime, Dr. Yang, the continental director of North America, Rev. Michael Jenkins, the president of the FFWPU and other leaders were in Israel to participating in the Middle East peace seminars with other Christian ministers.

In Kodiak when True Parents heard about Kwan Jung’s SungHwa Ceremony, he gave a beautiful calligraphy to Kwan Jung "at the Seung Hwa at 7 am, September 19, in the third year of Cheon Il Guk, Congratulations- a virtuous, living offering fighter (patriot) for the New Heaven Registration (of Lineage), Lee Kwon Jung Before all the officials of Heaven From True Parents at Kodiak." And He told us to conduct a joyous Seung Hwa Ceremony.

On the 25th he allowed us to bury him in Paju, Korea where Heung Jin Nim was buried. Hyun Jin Nim and Jun Suk Nim who are in charge of education for the second generation sent Rev. Jin Man
Kwak, vice president of World CARP to comfort family members of the STF who were also involved in the accident. He had Rev. Jin Man Kwak deliver a message to Rev. and Mrs. Lee that the path Kwan Jung took is what Heaven and True Parents went through and what Central Blessed Families should also take. We should do our best to offer sincere prayer for Kwan Jung to be such a holy and immaculate sacrifice. About 600 members and ministers attended the SeungHwa Ceremony held on Sep. 27, while the Won Jun Ceremony was conducted by CARP in Paju, Korea on Oct.4.

There was another memorial on Sep. 29 before the WonJun Ceremony, was offered by 150 school friends and teachers of Kwan Jung in Minneapolis where he grew up. It is time for us to think what we can do for Kwan Jung who followed the Heavenly tradition at the
frontline as a STF member and left for the Spirit World. We as second generation and parents should reflect that this incident should not be misunderstood with only sympathy that he had to die and go to the Spirit World at such a young age during his STF mission due to a miserable accident.

True Parents stressed the important meaning of the death of a STF member at HDH every morning. True Father emphasized on the day after the establishment of Abel UN on Oct. 4 that we should take the incident as joy not sadness on the fact that after the establishment of ChunIl Kuk, Kwan Jung has been the first one as "Saeng Chuk Yong Sa (valiant heavenly soldier) in the Spirit World since HeungJin Nim was appointed as Chun Chung Kwan (chief Commander of Heaven). We should remember the sacrifices of Kwan Jung and other STF members were mandatory for the accomplishment of Abel UN since the announcement of the 4th Israeli nation just like HeungJim Nim’s sacrifice helped humanity get out of a history of falls and since 20 years ago.

I would like to thank the Korean CARP’s attention and support to the STF. Let me give an introduction of KwunJung who understood the desire of True Parents and HyunJim Nim for the foundation of Chun IL Kuk of God, and left for the Spirit World on his 43rd day of STF activities.

Kwan Jung Lee was born in JunJu, Cholla Bukdo province on Jan. 18, 1985 as the second son to father Hun Suk Lee (regional leader in Seattle) and mother Ok Hee Lee, 6000 couple. When he was 9, his family moved to America where his father was transferred to. Since then he grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and left for the Spirit World during his STF activities. He decided to join STF to do heavenly work before admission to college or university.

He was an ideal blessed child who had talents and a gentle personality. He was called a filial son by many people who knew him personally as well as in his own family. He was a very good son and the hope of his parents. He always understood his parents’ hope and desire. He was their comfort, hope, joy and pride. There is no words to describe how deeply sorrowful his parents felt to let their son go far away. His older brother Kwan Soo testified at the SeungHwa Ceremony that he even respected his younger brother.

In his testimony, Kwan Soo said that Kwan Jung was comforting his parents when he gave them a hard time during his teenage hood. During Rev. Lee’s UTS time, Kwan Jung was living with his mother. According to Mrs. Lee, he never fell to sleep before she came back home from Fundraising, and his friends were all well aware of his character that he never forget what he promised with his parents.

He was also a good student. I got to meet with his teachers after the memorial service at his school. Every teacher gave compliments to Kwan Jung, and many of his friends testified they were influenced by his goodness. Even after graduation his photo was still
hanging on the school wall. The school had students’ pictures on the wall, who were excellent students with good grades and successful accomplishment of international bachelor’s courses, which were college courses combined with high school classes to shorten 4 year college years to 3 years. Kwan Jung was one of them.

He was good at music such as violin and piano. He performed at an orchestra. He was also a natural sportsman 6 feet tall and was a quite skillful wrestler and skate boarder. He fluently spoke English, Korean and Japanese. He was popular and generous to his friends, and known as "giver" amongst his peers. Because of such a good reputation he built at his school, over 100 students and teachers came to visit our church and got to know about True Parents and the Unification Church.

There was a letter written by Kwan Jung explaining why he wanted to work for the nation and world right before he joined the STF. The teachers must have been very curious why such an excellent student like Kwan Jung decided to do volunteer work for a religious organization rather than going to college or university right away.

He explained the reason to his teachers as it follows. "Next school year I will be involved in a church-related school project… it is a serious program with a rigorous schedule. Hundreds of high school graduates will be involved and will be going around the nation doing numerous service projects. Although I don’t know much about it, it is supposed to be a character building program where we totally give ourselves up for a life of sacrifice and in those moments of hardship is when we get in touch with the greater being and understand ourselves better. So I’m excited at what this program will be able to offer me and I’m excited at how I will be like after next year"

He wanted to follow the path of the Heavenly way that God wants us to do rather than the worldly way of instant success. He wanted to practice God’s words found in the Bible, not worldly ways to make him go ahead in this materialistic world. When we think of this young man’s pure heart and desire to contribute himself for the nation and world peace by serving and working, we could call him a patriot and a saint. He was very religious. I myself taught Divine Principles to Kwan Jung. He was always obedient to church leaders, and never gave anyone a hard time in the church.

We, as parents, tend to worry whenever our second generation children inform us that they want to go out with someone. However Kwan Jung is the one we parents always felt comfortable with if our children hang out with him. Some parents told me they had trust in him for his religious mind and practice. He was not only a young good member to church leaders but also to first generation parents and church friends. When he had to move to Seattle where his parents were, he donated everything to the church, and played violin to comfort and give joy to everybody at the church right before he left for Seattle.

His heart and goodness at home, school and church gave him a position of special assistant to HeungJin Nim. We are taught that we should perfect the dutiful way of filial piety in our family, patriotism in our nation, saints in the world, and divine sons and daughters in Heaven and Earth as mentioned in the Family Pledge #2. His heart and attitude of attendance on this earth seems to fit him to the one mentioned in the Family Pledge.

Rev. Jin Man Kwak said at the SeungHwa Ceremony it is a very important sacrifice that some STF members left for the Spirit World; it should be the foundation on prosperity of second generation, unity of Christianity and victory of Abel UN over Cain UN.

In total 3 young members of STF went to Spirit World. The first one was Jin Joo representing American second generation last year, the second one was Yoshida representing Japanese second generation on Aug. 19, 2003, and now the third one is Kwan Jung representing second generation of Korea on Sep. 20, 2003. The incidents again reminded us how important our responsibility is to unite with Korea, the fatherland,
Japan the motherland and American the eldest son.

In addition, the accidents of Nam Hee Whang, whose father is the messiah of China and Alexei from former Soviet Union is also highly important as it is considered as necessary sacrifice, not coincidence, to accomplish unity of South and North Korea in center of Korea, Japan, America, China and Russia who are also members of UN.

I wrote the above as a minister to Kwan Jung with hope to let you know about Kwan Jung and understand the meaning of his trip to the Spiritual World. As I conclude it I think of one of Kwan Jung’s Motto "Let us be givers. Let us live for God and True Parents. Let us challenge difficulties others don’t dare to do" I hope that Kwan Jung in the spirit world would live in the words and names given by True Parents as eternal child, valiant soldier and our brother right here in this world and in the Heaven.

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