The week before the workshop there were only 45 people signed up to attend. However, when the final count was made there was a whopping 131 participants, mostly because of the matching and Blessing by True Parents at East Garden.

Participants included: 37 Blessed 2nd Generation, 36 of whom were just recently matched and Blessed by Father on Dec 26th; 11 of the 2nd Generation matched by their Parents; 59 Single 2nd Generation (ages 16 ­ 26 years old); 23 Parents.

The original purposes of this Workshop were for participants to: 1) Experience insight from God regarding their own matching and Blessing centered on the ideal in the D. P. 2) Improve relationships between BC¹s and their parents regarding the matching, Blessing, and married life. 3) Create a practical plan of procedures to follow after this Blessing Workshop

Our original goal was to bring parents and their children together in the whole process of matching and Blessing. The relationship between parent and child is very significant starting from before the matching and the way through to and including family life after the Blessing. The workshop was not originally designed for only 2nd Generation, but for everyone as families. However, because of True Father's matching and Blessing activity the week before, a huge number of 2nd Gen turned out for the workshop without their parents and we had several very diverse groups seeking guidance and inspiration.

The Workshop lasted 3 days with, in my opinion, a pretty relaxed and non-demanding schedule from 7:00am until 9:30pm. Every morning started with HDH by family or group. Morning Services were short and simple, preparing everyone with inspirations for the day. The rest of the day was filled with the real content. Rev. Phillip Schanker gave all of the content each morning. His talks were often centered on the bigger picture while based on the Principle.

The titles were: 1.  The Family Ideal and the Blessing; 2.  The Origin of Family Break Down; 3.  True Love, True Life, True Lineage; 4.  Preparation: When Am I Ready?

The final lecture was followed by written confessions, an important part of the workshop in helping BC's connect with God's heart and understand their position in His true lineage. Then they could better repent for mistakes they had made and take responsibility to change and better live according to His true ideal.

We also had Mr. Alan Saunders give two presentations. His talks were down to earth and focused mainly on relationships and communication between men and women, something infinitely valuable. His titles were: What is Love? Differences Between Men and Women

Mrs. Betsy Jones also spoke on interpersonal relationships. Her talk elaborated more on Mr. Saunders content and also added something of her own extensive training in "conflict resolution". Her son and his wife demonstrated conflict/resolution strategies, the Five Love Languages (how we receive love), and other such practical advice.

Each presentation was followed with group discussions and the groups were created based on matching status. In other words those 2nd Gen. who were matched by their parents were together, those who were matched by Father were together and so on. In general, parents and children were kept together in the same group to keep with the theme of support for parent/child relationships.

During the day there was also a "Picture Room" available for parents only. This room contained pictures and profiles of matching candidates for parents to browse. There was also a computer there to check out the matching websites.

The workshop ended with individual and group talent performance and music. We had a family night of sorts where people could have a good time. We finished with a graduation ceremony, presentation of certificates and group photo!

The final morning included a testimony and inspiration from Josie Hauer followed by breakfast and a massive clean-up of the whole UTS facility by all the participants. Just walking around the building, we know it felt really "loved up".

A CD was produced with pictures, all the powerpoint presentations, and the audio of all the lectures and sold for $10. Definitely it is worth the price. If you want to get a copy, contact: Takamitsu Sakuwa at <sakuwa@worldcarp.org>

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