"Our age is changing to a more church-centered age," True Father said in a speech to church elders, continental leaders and some 130 national messiahs gathered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the celebration of True God's Day 1997. "Now I will focus more attention on the church," he said.

In four days of speeches and marathon meetings at the spacious and newly restored six- story Brazilian church headquarters, True Father directed national messiahs from all over the world to build headquarters churches in each nation, focus on family and ethical issues in witnessing and teaching, and develop the hobby and leisure industry. He also told them to witness to ambassadors, educate children, maintain the earth as God created it by planting trees and purifying water, learn Korean by the year 2,000, and start newspapers in each country by April 1997. In addition, after a moving testimony about the healing of his terminal cancer by Rev. Do Hi Pak, True Father encouraged them to use and share moksa, an oriental treatment for cancer and other ills.

In what appeared to be a shift in global priorities, True Father underscored the importance of spiritual work. "Now the time has come to help the world church," True Father said. "I used not to support church people," he explained, saying that church leaders had often abandoned the church and focused on finance. "Now we are turning back; this trend will be reversed," he said. "Whenever I have money, I will invest it in the church and even provide a livelihood for church leaders," he said. While in the past it had been important to invest in the movement's external financial foundation, he said now he would look to sell businesses that are not performing well in order to better support church activities.

Speaking of the most significant of those activities this year, True Father told leaders at a morning talk January 31, "The 3.6 million couple blessing is our destiny. If that is completed, then 1998 will be completely different." Success in this blessing, to be held around the world simultaneously by satellite on November 29, 1997, would "liberate mankind," he told leaders and Brazilian church members at the True God's Day midnight speech. He encouraged them to make a serious effort to bring their clans and their adult children as well as their non-family contacts to the Blessing, saying that achieving 160 blessed couples would really set them free. Proclaiming the motto for the year, he said that success in Blessing '97 would come not simply by hard work and indemnity but by "being proud of and loving True Parents." (Rev. Zin Moon Kim's unofficial translation of the motto was: "Being proud of and loving True Parents is the accomplishment of the 3.6 million couple Blessing.") Because "all ... indemnity conditions were restored last year," a "whole new realm of victory has been created," he said. As a result, when members become united with True Parents, then they can truly "represent True Parents," he said.

Quipping that national messiahs should be "fun and hobby messiahs," True Father challenged leaders to take caring and joyous dominion over nature in their countries and develop leisure activities in the beauty of nature. He said he wanted the Unification Movement to be on the forefront of environmental protection and development. "Develop a beautiful and fun environment in your own nation," he told them at a meeting January 3. Not only should they make the mountains, rivers and ocean beautiful, but "fun." Many people work only for money, he said, but it is better to enjoy ones work, to have fun at it. "Some church leaders think that leisure and hobby activities are only side issues, but they will be the main activity in the future," he said. Only those who understand this "will be able to harmonize with the Kingdom of Heaven on earth," he said. The Korean word, "Shin" (the rough translation is "hobby" or "enthusiastic involvement") implies not simply enjoyment, as in English, but total involvement, so much so that "you don't feel tired," True Father explained. He said he becomes so thoroughly engaged in an activity such as fishing that he feels he "was born for that task." In the future ideal world, anything that is not connected to the realm of hobby and fun "cannot be connected to heaven," he said.

With this in mind, the birds at New Hope Farm in Brazil are being trained to respond to the sound of a bell and even the fish are being educated in this way, True Father said. "All the birds and animals can be harmonized," he said. "Won't this be the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth?" he asked.

One leisure activity about which True Father expressed particular concern is martial arts because of its abuse by the Mafia and by gangs. "Some martial arts people are connected to the power of darkness," he said in the midnight speech. He called on leaders to start an organization of the teachers of karate, taekwondo, jujitsu, and the various other martial arts in each country "to give them direction and educate them in the Divine Principle." Already there has been a workshop for martial artists "who thought they were the best in their art at least physically," he said, and he also said he plans to include an Abel-like approach to martial arts in the curriculum of schools and universities.

Turning to issues of family tradition, he encouraged couples to have at least four blessed children "representing the four directions." In this way "you learn to understand the four different types of people, the four directions and four seasons," he said, then quickly added, "Actually there are 12 types of people ... and I also have more than 12 children!" implying that blessed couples should ideally have at least that many as well.

Also, he said it was not enough simply to read the Divine Principle, but urged families to read True Parents' recent speeches as well particularly "True Parents and True Family" and "In Search of the Origin of the Universe" given in 185 countries last fall for the inauguration of Family Federation for World Peace. These are part of the "Completed Testament Age Bible," he said.

Families should also study Korean at least two hours a day, preferably three "as much time as you spend eating," he said. "No matter how difficult it is, we must unify language," he said, insisting that national messiahs should all speak Korean by the year 2,000. "If you can communicate in True Parents' language, you can communicate with heart," he said. When you enter the spiritual world, he said, "your ancestors will ask you if you spoke to True Parents in Korean or English." He directed Korean national messiahs to teach Korean to their other national messiah team members every day.

In addition to the speeches and meetings, True Parents attended a gala three-hour celebration True God's Day evening in which Hyo Jin Nim, Kwon Jin Nim and Hwa Yun Nim, Sun Jin Nim, Yeon Jin Nim, Jeung Jin Nim, and Hoon Sook Nim all performed. Also present at the festivities were Kook Jin Nim, Young Jin Nim, and Hoon Sook Nim's son Shin Chul Nim.

A Yute tournament that same day-which lasted from early afternoon till 2:30 a.m. the following morning-pitted national messiah teams from six continents and the True Children against each other. Finalists were the True Children and national messiahs from the CIS and Asia. With the participation of Jin Song Eu and Adrianna, a Brazilian sister, and, according to one observer, some effective "reverse psychology," the True Children won by a hair. 

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