My Ceasefire campaign started in February 1993 when I decided that if I am ever going to start living my dream, then I am going to have to go public sometime and the present moment would be better than a later one.

I think it is important to live one's dreams and I've learnt that God will almost always give you what you want-and if He doesn't, He will give you something much better. It was from that fundamental belief and a strong sense of destiny that I rang up the local press and declared that on the 15th of August 1999 there will be a World Peace Day. They sent a reporter and a photographer.

I explained that I believed that world peace was the destiny of all mankind but that I had come to believe it would not take place in my lifetime, and that I was convinced that it could only come about through a step-by-step process, the starting point being a 24-hour event in which all the nations of the world who are engaged in war, whether foreign or domestic, agree to ceasefire for one day. It would be the biggest ever to be staged in human history and the first moment in history that there would have been absolute world peace.

I told the journalist that my plan was that on that eventful day there would be a host nation where the religious and political leaders of the world would convene and that many historical decisions would be made in the name of peace. I expanded that the event should then be held every four years and given more publicity and attention than the World Cup and the Olympics. I was amazed to find that when the feature was published, they had given it a complete page.

I then waited for the world to respond to my genius, only to find that the world didn't believe it was possible. It was then that I realized that I was going to have to walk the path of genius and be thought of as a crazy man who was wasting his time. However, I was not going to let circumstances or anyone steal my dream.

I've often remembered 1983 when I started working for a world party and God told me that He really appreciated what I was doing and, if I was really serious about making the world a better place, then I was going to have to do it His way-which meant I was to rejoin the Unification Church. I learnt from my time in the Church that it was God's plan to get me to the Blessing and that if I was to complete my objective, I was definitely going to have to be Blessed. As this testimony is being written for UC members by a UC member, I must say that I have never been able to understand why we spend so much time studying the providential men and women of history, learning how they were abused by the people of that time. We remind each other how we are the chosen people of this era, that we have to go beyond what the central figures of history did. But when one of us declares that God spoke to us that we have been commanded to build an Ark, the majority of us seem to have exactly the same attitudes as Noah's family.

Each one of us had dedicated our lives to God and True Parents, for this time we have all done our best and I always say it isn't over till it's over, no matter where we are at. I personally don't have a clue where I'm at, but I am doing my best. I wonder if Noah really knew that what he was doing was the right thing, until it actually started to rain, and then didn't stop. Such is the nature of spiritual experiences.

Brothers and sisters, I am-and you are-today's David. You have everything you need to slay Goliath. You are a King, You are a Queen. Believe in yourself, as well as in True Parents. It was from this conviction that I have continued with my campaign. When I started, I did not and still do not know how the event would actually take place. However, I have learned that by going through the actions, the plan seems to crystallize over time and I am moving forward in a very exciting and positive direction. Since starting the campaign I have been invited by two major London radio stations (Greater London Radio and London Broadcasting Company) to be interviewed. I was also interviewed by BBC Radio Midlands. I have met with people I would never have met if it were not for my dream. I was invited to a conference and lunch at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane where I mixed with diplomats and Members of Parliament and dined with them. I collected three thousand signatures and three thousand pounds from people who did nothing but encourage me. For me, the time has been very exciting.

The plan at present is to organize a National Peace Day or a Victim of Crime Day; the goal is to reduce crimes of violence by 50% for 24 hours; there would be a fundraising campaign similar to Children in Need or Comic Relief, and I am currently corresponding with various people to that effect. It would of course need to be supported by the press and celebrities. The money would go to organizations which are now working with victims, and to the setting up of a Victim Care Service, as the victim or survivor of any violent crime in this country has very few rights, and is far from taken care of. It is the criminal who has the weight of public money and sometimes even the law behind him or her. For example, did you know that if someone broke into your house and you hurt them, you could end up being in court yourself for grievous or attempted bodily harm? There are too many injustices for me to mention through this medium since this is not a critique on British justice.

I am at present working with the Manwaring Victims Trust, which was started by Mark Manwaring, whose father and sister were brutally murdered all for the sake of a red Escort car. He had a terrible experience as a victim, and so he set up the Trust to help others who are touched by murder. He has set up a fully equipped office in his home, where the crime took place. The Trust supports me in what I am doing. I have also made contacts with many other victims, who are all working to change the victim's experience.

I have no Idea where this path will take me. To Heaven or to hell. I only know that I am living a conviction, a dream that I have had for too many years.

Reprinted from Village: The Hometown Newsletter.

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