I have returned from a five-day visit to every part of South Korea. I passed through Daejeon, Jeonju, and Gwangju. Making my way through Masan to Daegu, I visited Samcheok, after which I visited Chuncheon, passing through Jecheon on the way.
What I came to feel during the tour is that now is the moment for us to fight. I noticed that our young brothers and sisters in the provinces are strongly determined, which tells me that during this time we will emerge as victors in this great fight.
What pained me, though, was that our members walked hundreds to come to see me when they heard of my coming to visit them.
People of the world have so much money that they can afford to travel anywhere, yet they don't come to see me; whereas our Unification Church young people walked hundreds of li to do so.
Sun Myung Moon
When I went to Gwangju, I heard that our members came from as far away as Mokpo or Mu-an and that they had to walk for two or three days, night, and day. In light of this, I thought to myself, Whatever goals we may set, our church will surely achieve them.
These people, who have thrown themselves into this work for the extraordinary will of God without a moment's hesitation, with total disregard for their difficulties, and who have overcome all their suffering and made progress, have no worldly experience. Moreover, they are not tied down by their circumstances, and they don't have any self-centered consciousness or views.
When I see young people of about twenty working hard, determined to devote their lives to the providence, without really knowing themselves yet, I cannot help feeling proud of them. I saw many such members among us.
On the whole, they have more spirit than the young members in the headquarters.
If I compare them with the members in Seoul and Gyeong-gi Province, which the headquarters oversees that is, with those of you here I can even say that they have more spirit than you when it comes to their earnest yearning for God and their loyalty in following His will. If you were to fail in fulfilling your responsibilities, I feel they could step over you and fulfill them in your place.
At the end of the tour, I found that my voice had become hoarse because I gave lectures for three or four hours or even more wherever I visited, and I talked all night with members I was meeting for the first time.
There was a problem on one of those visits. I was scheduled to arrive at Samcheok at 9 pm, but the car broke down on the way, and we finally arrived at 4:40 the next morning. You can imagine how long the Samcheok members had waited for me.
They were exhausted by the time I arrived. We held our meeting in the early morning, and because the place was on the East Sea, there were patrols in the area, and we couldn't even talk for long. After about an hour, I left for Chuncheon by way of Wonju and came back to meet you here this morning.
What do you think I thought and prayed about while I was doing this? This year, our young members have gone out to witness, as I instructed. They have made God's will their common mission and are striving to fulfill it.
They have had many difficulties. I worried about them and prayed, “I offer this prayer to transfer the burden of their difficulties onto me, so please take that into consideration.” I also slept outdoors for a night.
You are brothers and sisters to the members of the provinces. You have the same bloodline. If any one of us weren't here, it would not be good. Even when you meet a member for the first time, you feel you have the same heart. That is what Unification Church members wish for.
Dr. Sun Myung Moon
We call ourselves “family members,” which could easily be misunderstood by the outside world. We are, in fact, family members, in every sense of the word.