Dear AFC brothers and sisters,

Today Howard Self and I returned from a seven day trip to Korea, where we had the honor of representing AFC at the significant events that took place there. I would like to give you a brief report on what took place.

As you know, we had an event on Capitol Hill on April 29th. This program was a briefing on the Middle East Peace Initiative, held in the Rayburn Building. This time we tried some new approaches - breakfast meeting, focus on inviting Congressional staff, etc. The meeting was a very good start to what we intend will be a monthly series on the Hill. I will send a more complete report on that very soon.

I mention the Capitol Hill event here because Dr. Yang, Rev. Jenkins, Howard and myself were all involved with the program, and had to rush from the Hill directly to the airport for the trip to Korea. We caught the last possible flight to get us to Seoul in time for a special banquet program at the JW Marriott Hotel on April 30. Once we arrived at Incheon Airport (carry on luggage only), we rushed directly to the banquet, and made it time for True Father's speech.

The April 30th "Congratulatory Banquet" was a beautiful affair with more than 1,000 guests. Among the guests were the participants of a special IIPC Convocation of select world leaders. All were treated to a special video presentation recounting the 50 years of Father's ministry through HSA-UWC which became the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. The March 23 Crown of Peace Ceremony in Washington DC was prominently featured as a culmination of True Parents' ministry. True Father also gave a beautiful address entitled "50 Years on the Providential Path to the Realization of God's Fatherland and the Peace Kingdom." I will send you the entire speech as soon as possible (right now I have only the printed version), but for now let me quote one paragraph: Religion is a training center and educational institute to repair dysfunctional man and return him to his original state. Religious teachings are not for the sake of religion itself. Religion is the means to realize God's will, which is to educate and recreate us as His children. It is impossible for God to be contained within the limited doctrines and rituals made by religion. The mission of religion is to cultivate our character through a life of faith that that embraces enlightenment and personal growth, so that we can attend God in our everyday life. Following True Father's speech and then dinner, there was a beautiful entertainment program that included selections by the Little Angels and the Universal Ballet. The entire program was a very touching tribute to the 50 years investment of True Parents and our members begun with the founding of HSA-UWC in 1954.

On Saturday, May 1st, the celebration of the 50 year anniversary moved to the campus of Sun Moon University in Asan City (about an hour and a half drive from Seoul). The main event took place outdoors on a beautiful bright sunny spring day. Thousands gathered for this very special event. Rev. Kwak presented opening remarks, in which he described the significance of this historic day. At this, and on each major event during this time period, Rev. Kwak shared a clear and deep understanding of the event's providential context, and a heartfelt testimony to True Parents.

True Father gave the keynote address entitled "God's Homeland and the Peace Kingdom are Built on the Foundation of the Realm of His Liberation and Release." Again, Father's message was so profound, as he spoke deeply of knowing God personally. He said "When we understand the reality of God's existence directly through experience in our daily life, we will be able to sense God's will from moment to moment naturally... This is why our highest priority in life is to know God with certainty." True Father went on to share about the importance of the conscience, stating "When you follow the path set out by your conscience, your mind will come to embrace the universe. When this happens, you will be able to communicate with your heart. Whenever you start to do something, your conscience will immediately show you the effects of that action."

In addition to True Father's incredible message, awards were presented to many elders for their special contributions to providential work over the years. Leaders and couples were recognized in many categories, such as foundational church work, foreign missionary work, pure love activities, service work, etc. Each recipient received a beautiful plaque and a signed copy of the new "Heavenly Bible" (a special compilation of True Father's words.) The very first recipient was the beloved Rev. Won Pil Kim, Father's first disciple.

May 2nd was a travel day to join the International Fishing Tournament in Yeosu. Yeosu is about 6 hours by bus from Seoul. It is a strikingly beautiful city on the south coast of Korea. Father has been spending much time in this area, and has major plans for developing recreational and "hobby industry" activities there. Already a complex of buildings has been acquired for conferences, training sessions, and as we experienced - fishing tournaments.

The opening ceremony for the fishing tournament was held on Sunday night at the city auditorium in Yeosu. Many local dignitaries participated in the festivities. The local leaders were clearly impressed that the World Sports Fishing Federation, the sponsoring organization, could gather so many from around the world (484 participants from 55 nations).

The actual fishing began on Monday, May 3rd. Our daily schedule for the 3 day tournament had us leave each day for the wharf at 4:30 AM, arriving at the staging area by 5:15 AM (our facilities are 30-40 minutes drive from Yeosu city). There were 40 teams in all, assigned to fishing boats with local captains. Each day the boat and captain assigned to each team was chosen by lottery. Our standard fishing time was from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

All participants came with serious commitment to the contest, not only externally but internally. Howard and I both were determined to make the best possible conditions for our AFC mission and activities through this time of fishing. On the first day, the weather was very bad - often pouring rains and winds. All teams made much effort through the inclement conditions. The rain stopped for Day 2, but it became much more windy and cold. Finally the weather on the third day was sunny and beautiful. Despite the efforts of all, catching fish was a big challenge for just about everyone. In the end, some very nice fish were caught as prize winners. Unfortunately our AFC reps did not place in the top 20. (The first prize winner was a Korean brother; the number 2 and 3 slots went to Japanese brothers. Mrs. Erikawa, who represented America at the tournament, placed number 6).

Also during the tournament time, there were significant providential developments. May 4 was True Parents' 44th Wedding Anniversary (44 years, on the 4th day of the month, in the fourth year of CIG.) There was a beautiful celebration on the evening of the 4th for that occasion.

You may have also heard that True Father has announced the reorganization of the day of Sabbath. The day of special pledge from now is no longer Sunday, but every 8th day beginning from April 19 (which was True Parents' Day). May 5th was celebrated as this new day of Sabbath (known as Ahn Shi Il - "day of attendance"). Certainly we will be receiving much more guidance about this new tradition, for which we will in effect receive a new calendar, since our cycle of days will now be organized around the number 8. Also on May 5, True Father proclaimed Ssang Hap Sip Seung Il, as the historic day of conclusion of the pre-millenial period and the start of the new millenium. Again, we will certainly receive more information about the meaning of this special day soon.

The fishing tournament closing ceremony was held on the lawn of Cheon An Garden (the name of the new training center). President Hwang gave the concluding remarks, with True Parents in attendance. Rev. Kwak then shared about the providential significance of this effort, and stressed that True Father wants to expand the number of fishing tournaments. He invited all leaders from around the world to consider promoting their nations as the potential site for the next International Tournament.

During Rev. Kwak's message, we were privileged to have True Father's own comments and additions, as he took the microphone from his seating area to share with us about the providential significance of this time and of these efforts. Father's personal investment in the program to the end was a very special culmination to the week's activities.

I hope the above give you a sense of the recent events in Korea. We will do our best to send out both of Father's main speeches to you very soon. You can also view photo collections and Rev. Jenkins' reports on the Family Fed website.

Finally I want especially thank our AFC chairman Dr. Chang Shik Yang for inviting us to Korea and personally taking care of us there, as representatives of our entire AFC team. We are so clearly living in a time of great fulfillment, substance and grace.

Sincerely,

Jim Flynn

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