The Words of the Woo Family

My Testimony

Chung Sik Woo
July 18, 1986
As told to Angelika Selle


Mr. Chung Sik Woo

I was born in South Korea in the mountains of Kang Won Po province, where our family had a farm by a beautiful river. Except for my father, who worked as a government official, my whole family was Christian. When I was young there was no church in my hometown. Then when I was 10 years old a minister came from what is now North Korea to my hometown and built a church together with us, centering on my family. I went three times a week to participate in the services there.

I had many opportunities to discuss the Bible and the life of Jesus with the minister. I asked him a lot of questions about God's providence, but his answers were not clear enough. I wanted to know how I could see God. The minister told me that having so many questions meant that Satan was occupying me; I should just have faith and follow the Bible's direction. I didn't feel that way; I had to see and to know -- then I could trust. One day after service he made an announcement about me to the congregation saying that Satan was controlling me because I was bothered by so many questions. That kind of faith was no good, he said, but I could not accept that. By the time I was 12 I had developed resentment toward Christianity.

Sometimes as a child I would go fishing and catch and kill frogs. I worried that if fish and frogs had spirits I might be unable to go to heaven. No one could explain clearly to me the difference between animals and human beings. My schoolteacher said that the Lord of the Second Advent would come on the clouds. I just couldn't believe that.

"How Can I See You, God?"

I used to like watching the sunrise and sunset. I would go to the hills and look at the changing sky and the rainbows. My heart cried out, "Heavenly Father, how can I see and hear you?" I would run to my own special place with all my desires, but I had no one to teach or guide me.

So many denominations were fighting with each other. The congregation I belonged to was Presbyterian, but later they decided to become Methodist. I felt I didn't belong to any denomination. After primary school I went to Seoul to continue my education at a school in the province of Choo Chun, and I went home only during summer and winter vacations. My cousin and my brother and I decided that we did not want to be limited to any one denomination; rather, we wanted to belong to the worldwide Christian church. On Sundays I would visit one church, and on Wednesdays another. I continually sought God's voice and God's will.

When I graduated from high school I wanted to attend law school in Seoul. However, I failed to pass the entrance requirements. This was the first failure of my life. I returned home and did not go outside once for about three months. My embarrassment and shame were so deep that I even tried to commit suicide.

Later I returned to Seoul and started college at Chung An University. Every Sunday for several months I wondered which church I should visit. At that time my niece, Chong Soo Woo, who attended Ehwa University, was already a Unification Church member. One Friday morning she met me at school and said that she wanted to talk to me.

The next day she came to my place and talked about the Bible and the Principle for a few hours, but I still wasn't completely satisfied with some of her answers. Finally she asked me to visit the church. I had heard a lot of bad rumors about it but I thought, "Okay, I'll go, because I don't belong to any one church:' On May 24, 1957, when I visited the Chung Pa Dong church for the first time, Father spoke.

He was so young! He looked very healthy and had a tan on his face. President Eu, a very good-looking gentleman at the time, was sitting in a chair, while Father knelt on the floor. At first I didn't know which of them was Rev. Moon, but I knew when he began to speak. I had heard many ministers give sermons, but I had never heard anyone speak so sincerely about the liberation of God's heart with so much sweat and so many tears as Father did!


Early Korean leaders being trained by Father on the beach in Pusan in 1970.

An Unusual Power

There was only one problem: I heard Father's sermon, but I couldn't hear his prayer at all. When he prayed my ears just shut down! It was very strange. Yet through his sermon I had gotten a warm, homey feeling, and my heart continued to move with an outpouring of unusual power even while my ears were closed. I didn't hear any details and I didn't make any commitments, but after I attended another evening sermon my mind completely changed; I no longer had any questions and I just naturally joined the church.

Three weeks later my ears opened and I was able to hear Father's prayers. My whole complexion and countenance began to change and I started to smile all the time. In my eyes the old people in the church looked like angels; they seemed like noble and important people. I was quite humbled in my attitude toward them, and I felt so much like a sinner that I couldn't even talk to them. I marveled at them for having joined the church before I did. That feeling stayed with me for many months.

My friends noticed my new smiling face and asked me what had brought about such a good change in me. I began witnessing to them and also to ministers. For about three months I studied the Principle without attending my classes; I would just read the Principle and shed tears all night long. My confidence that it was the truth grew and grew. I also made fasting conditions, and I witnessed so much that people began to think I was crazy. I would speak out to people for days at a time, run out of material, realize the limitations of my understanding and go right back to studying the Principle.

On October 14, 1957, the church members celebrated the anniversary of Father's release from Hungnam prison by holding a ceremony and hiking to a scenic spot in the mountains. When Rev. Won Pil Kim gave a testimony on the mountainside about Father's sacrifice in prison, I cried the whole time, because I hadn't known until then how much Father had sacrificed for his mission.

From that time on my spiritual senses opened, and whenever I prayed about Father my ancestors would come in my dreams and guide me. Once they guided me to a beautiful palace and opened its 12 gates, which revealed a young master inside. They said that this young man was the son of God and that God had given him all power and authority to accomplish His will, so I bowed down before him. I didn't see the young man's face, but after I had this dream for three days, I realized it was Father. My ancestors helped me in this way. I became so sensitive spiritually that for three years, whenever Father spoke at Sunday service, I could only cry.


Father demonstrates the broad jump.

Spiritual Fire Hit Me

During the winter vacation I went home. I had just finished a seven-day fast so my face was very pale. My brother tried to feed me but I didn't want to eat. He thought I looked strange. At one point I had a long discussion with my five brothers and three sisters, after which I studied the Principle and prayed. Suddenly I was struck with spiritual power -- spiritual fire like lightning hit my head, and my whole body began to burn. My mind was illuminated, and deep realizations came to me about God's heart, His providence, and Father's course. The experience lasted about 45 minutes, during which time I shed many, many tears.

My whole family became convinced that I was crazy and began persecuting me. The villagers found out I was a Moonie and would even call the police on occasion. I didn't give up -- I even visited the village church and spoke to the minister. He read the Principle, but he wasn't convinced.

When I returned to the church in Seoul I worked in the witnessing department. My mission was to transcribe Father's speeches and send them to the outlying church centers. So much spiritual power was flowing through me that for a while I had a hard time controlling it. Through the truth I was able to overcome and dominate the strong influence of the many spirits who wanted to work with me.

For almost four years I had the chance to stay near Father. I went everywhere Father went -- I never skipped a single church service or activity. I was able to attend Sunday services with Father and listen to many of his speeches through my work. Sometimes on Fridays or Saturdays he would call us to go mountain climbing, and once up in the mountains he would teach us a chapter of the Principle or testify about some of his experiences. As we climbed the mountains he was always in front of us; he never yielded first place in anything. At other times he would take us to the ocean and teach us how to fish.

We were such a small group of young men and women that sometimes it was hard to trust Father's words that a worldwide Kingdom was coming. Yet through these outdoor activities Father was always training and teaching his disciples and checking us to see who could be a good leader. In this way we could develop a close and deep relationship with him. Mother was not with us then, because Father was not yet married.

Around this time my physical father contacted me. He was very distraught because I had joined a "cult" instead of becoming a lawyer. He broke down when he spoke to me and said that if I didn't stop my devotion to the Unification Church, I would no longer be his son. He withheld financial support, but after six months both he and my mother changed their minds and agreed to help me. He did want me to study law, so I attended law school, but I never had a chance to take the bar exam.

On July 20, 1960, I began witnessing. I determined to die for the mission. Since it was vacation time, there were many people at home. After going house to house all day, I was exhausted! I never had enough underwear, so I would just wash whenever I passed a river and then I just kept going. Two or three times a day I was able to deliver a message or give a Principle lecture to someone. It was a very good experience.

My "Honeymoon"

In the winter of 1962 I was blessed in the 72 Couple Blessing. I didn't know my wife beforehand; she was in high school while I was in college. At that time the church had no money; we only met in a small room with a straw rug! Even though it was extremely cold Father took us to a beautiful mountain, Bo Un, in the Sok Lee mountain area for a seven-day fasting workshop right after the Blessing.

We fasted not only because there was no food, but as a special condition. While we were there I lectured 10 hours a day.

On the last day we ate something called "dry bread." It is a small rice cake that can be eaten when it is moistened with water. The Korean soldiers used to carry these during the war. Even with so little food, no place to sleep, and no money, I cannot forget the memory of my "honeymoon" with my wife! We had a good experience in the beauty of nature, where we could deeply reflect and connect with God's providence. We gave thanks in our hearts to Father and Mother.

Both before and after I joined the church I admired Dr. Albert Schweitzer for his sacrifice and service to humanity in Africa. I had always wanted to be a missionary and contribute to God's providence in a productive way. Even though I worked as a church leader in Korea for 15 years I always preferred and yearned for missionary work. My sister-in-law had moved to America about 30 years before and had become a professor at a college in New Jersey. My mother- in-law was in America with her, and they invited us to come. I waited for about a year and a half to get Father's permission.

I wanted to go to America rather than any other country in order to participate in the providence at the worldwide level. I wanted to stay with Father and help him wherever he went, although I would have accepted any mission he might have given me. Finally Father asked many of the leaders to come to America, and thus my dream was realized. In March 1976 my wife and I came to join the front line in America.

Upon our arrival Father asked me what kind of mission I wanted here, and I said it was up to him. Since I already had some experience he asked me to go into business because the church needed an economic foundation. However, I developed a physical problem which at times caused me to fall down and lose consciousness, so I had to return to Korea. President and Mrs. Young Whi Kim were very concerned about my health so I got a job with the Il Hwa Company where I could drink a lot of ginseng. When I recovered I returned to America, and I am now in charge of the Il Hwa business here in America.


Pioneer church in Jae Chan City, Choong Chang Province, which Mr. and Mrs. Woo constructed in 1967.

Trust Father's Ideas

Looking back, the most important lesson I have learned is that even though my own ideas may seem logically right, Father's ideas are always better; they are correct in the original sense. If I follow Father's direction I will always get a better result. This is true for the Blessing, for our missions, for everything. Even though we may not understand, we should trust and follow Father -- not our own thinking.

I have always pledged to be honest in front of God, to be sincere, and to try my best without ever giving up. It is often difficult to resist the temptations posed by our own minds and the fallen environment and remain concentrated upon God's will -- especially when so many people around us cannot understand. I have a motto to respect and follow my own original mind and original heart no matter what. By doing this I feel I can become a better person. My first Messiah is God, the second is Father and Jesus, and the third is my own original heart.

I have to tell my members not to learn from me, but from God, True Parents, and the Principle. Even through my own sermons I can learn by trying to listen to God. I still have fallen nature, and it is not good if the members lose any kind of fortune through my own mistakes. All of us, including Japanese and Korean leaders, are on the way to perfection. That's why we should pray every moment! We have to find the way for God to use us more and more.

All of us should develop good, positive thoughts and habits. That is the way to avoid trouble along our path. If we focus our minds on clear and high ideals, we can accumulate knowledge and wisdom and create a well- rounded character. I always try to maintain noble and precious ideas and inspire myself to go the course of indemnity in whatever I am doing -- praying, fasting, reading, traveling, listening. Then I can have deeper and broader experiences of heart. I want to make my heart God's sweet home. If I make my heart a beautiful home then God will want to dwell with me.

I always try to pray, confess, and turn to God. Every moment can be a new start. Our walk through life should itself be a prayer. If I can dominate myself this way as God's true son, then Satan can never attack. I can become close to the living God, like Father and Mother. 

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