The Words of Won Pil Kim
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The Words of Won Pil Kim |
Pres.
Won Pil Kim poses with the East European 21-Day Workshop Guests for a
group picture in front of the youth hostel in Budapest, Hungary
Budapest has been the site of three recent church seminars, owing to the fact that the Hungarian capital is located right in the center of Eastern Europe. This makes the city equally accessible to all participants.
Besides this, we have found an excellent campsite on top of a hill, close to the center of the city. The camp is operated as a youth hostel. It consists of one main building, which contains the kitchen, dining room and other facilities. Small wood cottages each having several beds serve as sleeping rooms.
A 7-day Divine Principle workshop was first held in July 1990, attended by 61 guests from East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia. Despite nationalistic tensions among these countries the young participants showed a more mature and friendly attitude: a meeting of hearts on a transnational level took place.
This workshop was led by Mrs. Christine Segato and Mr. Erwin Bantan of the East European Regional Headquarters. Very inspiring lectures were given by Mr. Ulrich Tuente, Director of the European Unification Thought Institute, and Mr. Peter Zohrer from the European Headquarters. Also Mr. Abe, the national leader of England, and Mr. Sa, European CARP leader, paid a visit, providing precious additional inspiration. The atmosphere during the week was very stimulating and members were eager to contribute to the success of the event by offering their many talents during the various team meetings. As a result the entertainment at the end of the seminar provoked tears of laughter and incredible excitement among the audience.
After the workshop 55 of the participants went for a four-week fundraising experience to Western I European countries. In this way they could also contribute to the CARP Convention in Paris. For some of the newer ones it was a test of faith because of the sacrificial aspect and also because of the external beauty and temptations of Western society. Despite some struggles most of them came back with shining faces.
Through much financial and spiritual sacrifice more than 500 guests could attend the World CARP Convention in Paris from the East European churches. To reward their efforts World CARP President Hyo Jin Nim awarded the 3 most successful nations -- Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland -- with posters he had personally signed. He caught the hearts of young East European students when he gave an outstanding performance with his band. His specific style of leadership caused excitement and opened new perspectives to them.
After the CARP Convention, a 21 day workshop for new East European guests started again in Budapest. The leadership and lecturers were the same as at the earlier 7-day workshop. In the first week the 41 participants listened to advanced-level Divine Principle lectures. The second week they focused on lecture practice. As the experience of the last months has shown, there is a serious lack of native lecturers in Eastern Europe. The West European members who went to their sister nations earlier in the year are seriously limited because of the existing language barrier.
In the third week a variety of lectures were given, encompassing Unification Thought, CAUSA, practical application of the Principle, Father's course, and Unification Church history. Participants became so enthusiastic that they could barely wait until they could go out and witness.
But the absolute peak of the 21-day workshop was reached when President Won Pil Kim paid a visit. He spoke one full day about Father's life. Although a lot has been published on this topic, the heartistic presentation and fatherly approach proved to be an indispensable tool to relate the story. President Kim gave himself fully to these new members. To celebrate this event he brought an enormous amount of cake which was much appreciated.
Pres. Kim, the leader of all Europe, has supported many activities which bring the long separated Western and Eastern parts of Europe together. He has paid visits to many countries in Eastern Europe and has given much support to educational programs for raising East European members.
On September 16 another seven-day workshop started at the same location. The workshop was led by Mr. Rudolf Maier, the national leader of Yugoslavia. Most of the guests of this seminar have been acquainted with our movement for just a short time. In the breaks and during meal hours the newcomers mingled with their elder brothers and sisters from the 21-day seminar. The 18 guests came from 5 countries: 10 from Poland, 3 from Bulgaria, 2 from East Germany, 2 from Hungary, and 1 from Yugoslavia. Their religious background was 16 Catholic, 3 Bulgarian Orthodox, and 1 Moslem. The guest from Yugoslavia was the first Albanian who ever attended a 7-day training. Half of the participants were already active members (fundraising and witnessing) while the others were on the guest level.
The lecturer Ulrich Tuente succeeded in sharing the Principle so as to deeply move the hearts of the participants. One participant commented: "I expected nothing too extraordinary from this seminar; but now I can say with full responsibility that the Principle will have a determining influence on my life."
At the end all the new members left with strong determination to dedicate themselves more fully to God, with most of the guests expressing their desire to live their lives in accordance with the Principle.