The Words of the Hernandez Family
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The Words of the Hernandez Family |
Rev. In Jin Moon’s visit to our church family in Dallas, Texas, on February 21 - 22 was a memorable conclusion to her 12-district tour of the United States, and it marks a milestone in her ministry: She now has reached out to meet and speak to virtually every Unificationist family in the United States.
As she did in visits to other districts, Rev. Moon took the time to listen to our youths’ hopes and dreams and shared her hopes and new guidance with the community. By her own example, messages of each person's capability, and by expressing her sincere love and care for each individual, each member was touched and beyond doubt connected to the present and future of the movement. One member, Michael Joyce, reflected after Rev. Moon’s visit, “Some people now say this is the New Movement, although I would say the New Movement was already there, but we just did not know about it!”
Texas is part of a seven-state district, which includes Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Utah; which is led by Rev. Mark Hernandez. Texas also enjoys use of Tejas Trails, a ranch property owned by Rev. Ken Morgan and family located outside of Austin, where district and local workshops for families are held. Dallas, being the district headquarters, hosted Rev. Moon’s events at the local church and at the Radisson Hotel.
On Saturday, February 21, Rev. Moon came to the Dallas church to meet almost 200 youth, ranging in age from 6th grade through college. The evening began with a surprise celebration of the 25th wedding anniversary of Rev. Moon and her husband. A celebratory cake and cowboy hats were presented to the entire family to help them “blend in” while visiting the South.
Once the evening began, Rev. Moon shared about her recent position with the Manhattan Center, located in the center of New York City. She explained how she had plunged right into management of the Manhattan Center and about her determination to turn it into a prominent tool for the entertainment industry. The Manhattan Center now has contracts with MTV, and is talking with LiveNation and VH1.
It was evident that Rev. Moon’s sharing about her educational background and recent success with the Manhattan center was meant to encourage everyone present to strive for excellence in his or her academic paths while also strengthening personal integrity. She urged each person to “be the kind of person you decide to be. This also will greatly impact and determine who your children will become,” said Rev. Moon. She explained the importance of living one day at a time and deciding who you want to be each and every day. It comes down to a personal choice each day to do this. Her advice on how to live each day? “Do things to make others smile; commit an act of love.”
Moon also challenged each person to become a rebel. “Don’t be a rebel without a cause. Be a rebel WITH a cause. Jesus Christ was a rebel in his time, a rebel with a great, great cause,” said Rev. Moon. There was high stress on the importance of standing for something and being a person with true integrity and character. “Rebel in a cool and righteous way,” she said. “You don’t need talent to smoke or drink; you prove nothing by going along with everyone else. All you prove is that you can follow the crowds.”
Rev. Moon spent most of her talk stressing that not partaking in certain behaviors does not mean a life of denial, but “a life of preparation” to do great things. “Your parents are not trying to tell you what not to do, but instead to ‘hold on, and don’t waste your life.’ [In this way], you can’t waste your life away, but you can be future Olympic gold-medal winners, Nobel-prize winners, and presidents of the United States,” she said. She strongly encouraged each person to build something and prepare themselves for larger things in the future, emphasizing that there is a need to gain the skills necessary for success. “Things you do everyday are like practicing your scales. It adds up. Your passion is just waiting.”
The highlight of everyone’s evening was listening to each young person share about his or her personal goals, hopes, and aspirations in life, and Rev. Moon listened to each and every individual with earnest attention.
Daniel Catillo, 17, shared about his loves for cooking and rapping. “Well, I don’t think there are any rapping chefs, yet!” said Rev. Moon.
Sung Joon Koo, 22, shared about his love and dedication to photography and about his plans to leave for a 100-day journey to photograph America. Koo also presented his first published book to Rev. Moon.
Sasha Heppel, 17, was ready to make a pitch to the new CEO of the Manhattan Center and was ready to pass out his business card to share his ideas and thoughts on the media. She was smiling with each comment and request made by the youth present.
On Sunday, February 22nd, a 5 a.m. tradition of reading God’s word (“Hoon Dok Hae) was held together with Rev. Moon and more than 300 attendees from the district at the Radisson Hotel. During her talk following the reading, Rev. Moon shared a few words about the importance of saving one’s self for marriage. She was unyielding about not allowing oneself to become a “sexual experiment” for others. Rev. Moon gave the following analogy, “What if you received a gift, for example, a laptop? That is exciting! But then you find out it is used, and maybe even broken.” She expressed that each of us deserves better than this.
Directly after Hoon Dok Hae, Rev. Moon had breakfast with 20 youth leaders from the district, including representatives of each state’s youth and young-adult programs. Each had the opportunity to be introduced to Rev. Moon and share about his or her work for the community, including youth education. Rev. Moon gave advice after hearing each speak, including her suggestion of “incurring the creation of a culture of external excellence” to be balanced with internal excellence. She reminded the group that we need to be capable and dedicated, and also that one of the best ways to share our movement’s teaching is through serving our communities.
Rev. Moon gave a Sunday Sermon at 9 a.m. to a packed church in which the hallway was overflowing with chairs. The community in return presented entertainment to Rev. Moon’s family and to members who traveled far for the weekend activities. The talent included 6th grader Richard Tanimoto, who performed on piano, Wendy Cho on cello, and siblings Amelia and Jacob Schoorr, who performed on guitar and drum a beautiful rendition of the song “Elias.” Fumiyo Ito also performed on piano and was followed by the showing of a video-game trailer constructed and presented by Saijee Higuchi, and, last but not least, there was a wonderful presentation of the photography works by Sung Joon Koo.
Rev. Moon then graciously met every family who attended that day, one by one, and took photographs together.
Many of the earlier members of the movement in attendance of Rev. Moon’s visit reported that they felt rejuvenated by seeing the movement going forward right in front of them. As Jeannette Walker, from District 9, shared, “It is great to have hope for a positive change and to continue the vision of making God’s Peace Kingdom a reality. That is why we joined in the ‘70s -- captivated by the ideal of a true family and true love.” Another member who has been a Unificationist for some time reflected after Rev. Moon’s visit to Texas that, “I didn’t feel tired once this weekend. It was like the old days with our movement’s founder, Rev. Sun Myung Moon; we were always so energized and mesmerized when we heard his words.”
As was the case in other districts Rev. Moon had visited, the youth were moved that they could directly connect even more closely with their movement’s teachings through Rev. In Jin Moon’s words and example. What they could each accomplish and the future of this movement inspired an uproar of excitement and pride for what they could do as children of God. As Rev. In Jin Moon reminds youth on each visit, it is time for them to “reap the harvest” of their parents’ work for them. There is no limit to what they can achieve. Possibility can, in fact, become a reality. “The only obstacle to success is yourself.” Their gratitude for Rev. In Jin Moon as the chairperson for their movement was evident in the hope they expressed for what was to come and their longing for her return.
Members’ reflections from Rev. In Jin Moon’s visit to Dallas, Texas:
Katerina Morgan: “I have always heard how Rev. In Jin Moon is such a sweet and warm- hearted person, but being able to see her in person, face- to-face, was so much more profound than I ever expected.
Christal and Jennifer Theriot: “She made us feel loved and welcomed us into her heart even though she was the guest. What moved us was her belief that we all have potential (practice our scales!).
Rebecca Hernandez: “Rev. Moon is like a mother figure; she really has a goal in mind that she will never let go of. She is confident, patient, kind, and empathetic. I am truly glad we have a new leader who cares about each of us.”
Jeongwun Shin: “I really liked her analogy about “practicing the scales.” She is so smart, so gracious, and so clear on what needs to be done. I think she’ll bring a revolution to our church.”
Sean Jackson: “What really stood out in her message was to practice what you do best and what you aspire towards. I am excited about tomorrow and the rest of my life because I feel like I could do the impossible. I think she will be a great leader as our chairperson.”
Matthew Biggin: “I am excited to see how she continues to run HSA in America. I believe that there will be great changes for our church in the U.S. because of her.”
Jeannette Walker: “I am glad she has spent time to raise her family so she can speak from experience. She seems to be a good mix of business woman and mother. I truly thank our True Parents for appointing her to this position”.
Karen Rogers: “I felt completely understood and loved by Rev. In Jin Moon and her family. My heart was melted!”
Sarah Lea: “Rev. In Jin Moon made me feel that I was someone very valuable to God and our True Parents. I felt that she loved me despite my shortcomings. I therefore feel very connected to her and I am excited about her being our leader.”
Koshin Hosoya: “I feel strongly that Rev. In Jin Moon was the one investing the most this whole time for us; especially during picture time with families -- patient and genuine.”
Sammi Fleisher: “I think we’ve needed this for a long time in our movement but only True Family could do it, and now is the time they are able to. I see Rev. In Jin Moon as a professionally trained, internally aligned, and deeply passionate person who is more qualified to be a chairperson than anyone else I know. I am confident and relieved to see her take the responsibility because I can see real change beginning to happen.”