Imagine marching in line under pouring monsoon rain with 300 other people. Sound like the army? Close. This is what it was like during many of our marches during the Pure Love ’98 tour across Japan and Korea. It was an all-out war against Free Sex. Dressed in our blue "PLA" (Pure Love Alliance) caps, Pure Love ’98 T-shirts and blue shorts, we were ready to fight with our banners, placards and slogans, such as "One love, one life, one man, one wife!" In less than three weeks we hit five cities in Japan and three in Korea, blitzkrieg-style, then concluded it all with an intense three days at Chung Pyung Lake. Although it was tough physically, as we were always on the go, this year’s tour was not only an eye-opening cultural experience, but a heart-moving life experience.

Our first and most important city in Japan was Tokyo. The outcome of the Tokyo rally would set the tone for the rest of the Japanese cities. Hundreds showed up at Yoyogi Park in the heart of Tokyo and proved to be a loyal and supportive crowd even under the heavy rain. I had the honor of being chosen as the student speaker from America. Actually, I had volunteered the night before, prepared the speech that morning in less than 30 minutes, and then just prayed desperately as I awaited my turn to go on stage. As the rally schedule kept changing by the minute, I wasn’t even certain that I would give my speech until one minute prior to going on stage. I felt that through my being able to keep a prayerful heart however, God let me give my speech and helped me do it with much confidence and passion. The rally in Tokyo was a success. The Associated Press covered our event, allowing news of the Pure Love Alliance in Tokyo to be in newspapers all over the globe. In fact, we got more media coverage there than at any other rally in Japan.

The Tokyo rally was followed by a rally in Osaka (held indoors) and one in Nagoya. After each rally, we marched through the busy downtown streets of these cities, attracting much attention from skeptical young people. As I stared into these people’s eyes, I kept a smiling face to inspire them about purity, but deep inside my heart was crying out. Sometimes tears almost did surface, as I thought of how much God loves and longs for each and every one of them. As my brothers and sisters, I felt I missed them and loved them so much, too. I just wished that they could come back home, back home to God’s love. As I thought of this my heart always became more desperate to spread this message of abstinence before marriage and fidelity within to all of Japan and the world.

In Hiroshima, I was privileged to be able to act upon my heart’s desire by collecting signatures for the "Pure Love Pledge" from people on the streets during the march there. Even though that morning we had seen how silent the city had been some 53 years earlier after the A-bomb had been dropped, that afternoon there were so many people coming and going in such a hurry, I didn’t know whom to approach first. I did approach many people but few even smiled and fewer still stopped to listen and sign the pledge. Once again I had a taste of God’s heart.

There was more of a joyful spirit at our last Japanese rally, held in Fukuoka. Everyone patiently endured the hour-and-a-half long rally sitting in the blazing sun, then gave their best during this final march in Japan. The chanting grew louder towards the end turning into a celebration of our victory. The president of the PLA, Mr. Robert Kittel, announced that although we had very little media coverage, we were able to meet several high-ranking government officials in the education department and discuss the issue of pure love. He also mentioned that our victory was each participant’s personal growth. Indeed, many of us hit our limitations during the stay in Japan. But, we quickly learned to be grateful, for instance, to never ask what you’re eating, just eat it and be glad to have a place to sleep, even under a grand piano in a sleeping bag with two other people in it. In fact, we had the opportunity to share our experiences until then in the form of skits and songs on the ferry between Fukuoka and Pusan, Korea.

The atmosphere was completely different in Korea. From the outside the country seemed a bit untidy. However, the Korean PLA members, who hosted the rallies, were bursting with enthusiasm. For example, they had created a cute song and dance about purity to be sung between acts during the rallies and at the conclusion of each rally they burned a hand-made "Free Sex Man" to signify the end of free sex. We rallied in Pusan, Taejon and Seoul, and as the Korean people have a strong sense of family values ingrained in their culture, we seemed more welcomed by the public and the media than in Japan and were even broadcast on national television after the Pusan rally.

Even after all the rallies and marches were over we received many blessings. First, we received from True Mother a personal breakfast invitation to Han Nam Dong (True Parents’ home in Seoul) at which time Hoon Sook Nim gave us a moving talk before flying to Russia for a ballet competition. Then we had the chance to see North Korea from a park along the border. There we held a special ceremony during which we prayed for the unification of North and South Korea. As we left the border, we parted, some in tears, with our Korean brothers and sisters with whom we had built close ties, and headed for our final destination, Chung Pyung lake. Although we had been yelling and screaming for purity for several weeks before going to Chung Pyung, many of us were not living the ideal lifestyle of purity, as Dae Mo Nim told us. However, the three-day workshop allowed us to take a deep look inside of ourselves, and to truly repent and purify our spirits. To me, this workshop was the best way to end the tour and prepare to face life in a world of free sex, because it allowed much time for personal reflection, prayer and re-determination.

As I look through my pictures of the tour, I realize how close I became to the other participants and that together we made memories which will last a lifetime. I am grateful for the experience I had, not only in reaching out to the youth of Japan and Korea, but in stretching my heart to embrace the people I ate, slept and bathed with each day. Pure Love ’98 gave me profound understanding of the importance of purity and the determination to practice purity in its complete sense, and I can’t wait for all the new experiences I’ll have on Pure Love ’99, wherever it will take me!

Victoria was blessed with Mr. Tomihiro Onishi (second son of Mr. and Mrs. Kunihiro Onishi, 777 Blessing) in June 13, 1998 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

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