From February 12 to March 3, the Workshop for the Departing Heavenly Top Gun was held at the Chiba Central Training Center. The closing ceremony was held on the last day, and President Tomihiro Tanaka gave a message, explaining the key points of True Mother’s words spoken at the Ceremony for the Departing Heavenly Top Gun (Cheongpyeong, Korea, February 22) and encouraged the participants to keep believing “in True Parents, who will wait for us forever, and to never give up on the path towards heaven’s will.”
Editorial Department
The hope that we become individuals, families, a religious group, a nation, and world that attends God
First of all, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all of you for making the decision to take up world missions in response to True Mother’s desire and incorporating it into your own lives.
In 1975, many senior families responded to the heavenly calling and headed out on world missions. Almost fifty years have passed since then, and True Mother is sending you all to the world under the name of “Heavenly Top Gun.” How do all of you accept this name?
The word Heavenly (Chinese character “God”) precedes Top Gun. At the 10,000 people rally held in Osaka in 2017, True Mother spoke the words “Heavenly Japan” and “Heavenly Osaka” for the first time. She said, “It is not enough just to know God.” She emphasized that she wanted Japan and Osaka to become a nation and city that can attend God.
Whenever True Mother adds the word “Heavenly”, she always uses it with that meaning in mind. We must become an individual, a family, a religious group, a nation, and a world who attends parents with God as the Parent. After all, the center of providence is the Heavenly Parent (God). Mother strongly desires us to be a member of Top Gun, as we serve the Heavenly Parent.
Let me go over what True Mother said at the Ceremony for the Departing Heavenly Top Gun.
What I did after Father’s Seonghwa was to sell his helicopter, and the first thing I did with the money was to create the Wonmo Pyeongae Scholarship Institute in order to educate you all. I told you that you are pure water born through your parents who were blessed by True Parents, right? (“Yes.”)
Pure water must not remain still. It must flow. It must flow to a higher and wider world. If the fallen nations are purified one by one through you, the pure water, they will be cleansed by pure water; and if the world comes to know True parents where they attend the Heavenly Parent, then what would happen? Wouldn’t that be heaven on earth?
The important thing is that I believe and love you all, and I have really raised you as treasures, but the problem is that while True Parents are here on earth, we must expand the realm where more people attend the Heavenly Parent, where the kingdom of heaven expands. The True Parents, I am now over 80 years old, but I have to live longer…When I think about when I finally go to heaven, I want all of you who are pure water to unite with me and go with pride of being able to say, “I have expanded the realm where people attend the Heavenly Parent to such a great extent among the eighty billion humans on earth.” Will you do that? (“Yes!”) Oh, how much, how much have I waited to hear your beautiful and powerful voices! Thank you.
I believe that each of you has made a profound decision since you were present at this ceremony. Today, I would like to share with you five points from these words spoken by True Mother in more depth.
The needle that True Mother was looking for was the second generation
The first point is about True Mother’s investment into the realm of second generation.
Since I am a first generation, I feel that there is a subtle difference between True Mother’s investment into the realm of second generation and how second generation, who have directly experienced her efforts, receive (her investment). I would like to share my perspective as a first gen on Mother’s investment and her heart behind (her investment in) second-gen education.
Since True Father’s seonghwa, one of True Mother’s concerns is when she herself will go to the spirit world. We must do our best and ensure that Mother can feel comfortable about the future and has enough conviction to entrust it to us. Mother’s relief should not be based on the fact that a magnificent building like Cheon Won Gung has been built. When the realms of the second and third generations completely unite with True Parents and rise up to point where Mother can envision a future in which they carry on True Parents’ will, Mother’s assurance for the future will be affirmed.
I would like to share a little about Jeong Won-ju, Secretary to the President in the second office.
As True Mother’s secretary, she has served True Family for a long time and has walked with them throughout the course of the providence. During True Father’s Seonghwa Festivities in 2017, True Mother said, “I was all alone.” Jeong Won-ju was the one who was most shocked by Mother’s words. She once confessed her feelings in front of world leaders and said, “I was really shocked…” Her shock must’ve been on a different level than what we normally would call shocked, but I feel like we must seriously pursue what Mother was seeking when (she said those words).
True Mother also said, “I was in a position where I could not open my eyes because of a sandstorm in the desert, and I had to search for one small needle” (World Family, January 2023, p. 5). When I first heard this, I often contemplated what the needle was that Mother was seeking. At the 40-day spirituality workshop, Mother clearly told the second generation that “you are the needles!”
I was really happy. The time has come when True Mother could say, “You are the needles I have been looking for!” Each and every one of you in the realm of second generation, who are completely united with the heart of Mother, is part of that needle.
In that sense, I am truly grateful and thankful that you all have made the decision to do missionary work worldwide, reciprocating True Mother’s heart.
Heavenly Top Gun members departing from Mother’s realm of heart to the world
Fifty years ago, our senior members who set out for world missions with high aspirations quit college, left their beloved families behind, and departed with their lives fully devoted to heaven. Since then, a brilliant milestone of faith has been set, but providentially, there may have still been a gap between their faith the world of hyojeong, which can be called a needle.
Heaven cannot be created by faith alone. Heaven is not created by faith because it is a world of heart. Unless parents have children in front of them with whom they can truly open their hearts, heaven will never come. Even children cannot truly become children unless they have a parent standing in front of them who they can truly consider to be their parents. Even if a position is given to you, you cannot become a child by faith.
The senior first generation members who have been engaged in foreign missions will look at you, who have no experience, and ask, “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” From the perspective of experience, this is natural. But what about from the perspective of the realm of heart? This mission is on a different level from when the first generation risked their lives for faith; we are entering a completely new stage.
At the center of the Heavenly Top Gun are Moon Shin-chul nim and Moon Shin-heung nim. I am sure those two have many things they would like to do in the future. But they are putting them aside and making the commitment to go where True Mother desires. Is this faith or heart? This is definitely the heart. Because they stood in the realm of Mother’s heart, they made the obvious choice.
The first generation began things in faith. Even now, they continue to strive to deepen their conviction that True Parents are their parents. However, even if we continue for decades, heaven cannot be created from a place of faith. As long as we do not take Parents as our parents, heaven cannot be created with hyojeong as the starting point.
For Shin-chul nim and Shin-heung nim, True Mother must be their grandma. They truly love their grandma and will go on the mission not because of their faith but because of heart. And now, they are fighting to accept that their grandma is the “True Mother of humankind.” Their position, stage, and value will change accordingly. They are no longer just “the grandchildren” and they are becoming more and more public. It is not just “their grandma’s heart” but they have come to recognize the heart of True Mother of humanity, and their own status will have to rise and go to another level.
Although you are not of True Mother’s direct lineage, you are in the position of lineal descent as blessed sons and daughters. Please receive the world of heart of Mother who is “One Omma” and says, “Thank you,” to you all. In the ten years since True Father ascended, Mother has invested in educating the realm of second generation. You are the fruit of her labor. Mother said, “These children embarked from my realm of heart. They are born perfectly united with my thoughts and are at peace with themselves,” and sends you out into the world with such a conviction.
Since you are going on a mission, you will also be pursuing achievements. Even in such a situation, please maintain the heart that “we absolutely are children before True Parents.” This realm of heart will be the central axis when you face trials, when you face witnessing candidates, and when you face your brothers and sisters. This is a decisive difference from fifty years ago, as we have now entered the age of Cheon Il Guk. We are looking forward to riding the wave of this new age.
Sift through the trials to affirm the future
As in True Mother’s words I mentioned earlier, True Mother sold their helicopter after True Father’s seonghwa. There were many voices that opposed this move and words of criticism flew all over the internet. I don’t know how many people criticized True Mother for “exchanging Father’s memory for money.”
We have also stopped supporting the soccer team founded by True Father. Some of the initiatives that were dear to his heart were stopped and all of the funds were invested into the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation. Anywhere from 1,200 to 1,300 second generation in Japan have benefited from the foundation’s scholarship program.
All of this is to ensure the future. Which is more important, protecting the helicopter and the soccer team or creating the future of the providence? Creating the future is more important. Ten years have passed since True Mother made those decisions, and I felt that her heart has been liberated when she called all of you the needle(s). She endured a lot of criticism to create the future, but she was liberated by your hyojeong.
Keep a heart that is clean, chaste and pure before heaven
The second point from True Mother’s words is “pure water.”
True Mother first spoke these words in 2014. It was at a second generation workshop that she presided over.
Why do we use “second generation” in the first place? From the grandparents’ point of view, you are the third generation. From your great-grandparents’ point of view, you are the fourth generation. However, we are still concerned about the second generation. This is because we value the faith of the first generation, who gave birth to the second generation. That is where it all began. The first generation have accepted the Heavenly Parent and True Parents, established their faith, and set the standard of cheongseong by risking their lives to devote themselves before heaven. In this way, eternal life was given to all of you. If the first generation had not answered Heaven’s call nor united with True Parents, you would not have been born into this world.
Regarding the blessing, the first generation seemed to place more emphasis on cleansing original sin and stand in God’s lineage rather than the norms of marriage: through the Savior, we were brought out of the false lineage and stood in God’s lineage. All the lives born from that lineage will be God’s children forever.
You are all God’s children. For six thousand years, God has been working on the providence in order for God’s children to be born on earth. The second generation are the fruit of that providence. The term second generation is not a light term. You may have had the experience of being bound by the term “child of God” by your parents, but only when you place value on the faith cultivated by the first generation will you become pure water from heaven’s perspective.
True Mother wants the members of the Heavenly Top Gun to start from the position of being consecrated as God’s lineage. Mother has bestowed upon all of you the holy salt from Death Valley in America, hasn’t she? (“Yes!”) There is only one reason for you to have this holy salt. Just like the salt that has remained unchanged for thousands of years in Death Valley, I want you to become one with the Heavenly Parent and True Parents in cleanliness, chastity, and purity of heart. Please keep that thought firmly in your hearts.
Demonstrate the qualities of water in your missions
The third point of True Mother’s words is that pure water shouldn’t stay put.
Water goes bad when it stays still. You would not drink water that has been in a cup for days. On long voyages, sailors drink water that has been in storage for months. Why do they drink it? Because the ship rocks. The rocking of the ship moves the stored water so that it does not go bad. Pure water must not stay still. It must never go bad.
I would like to list some of the qualities of water below.
First, water goes downward as far as it can go. As long as there is a gap, it will keep going downward. In this way, we want you to go below the people in your country of assignment. We want you to live for, sacrifice for, and serve the people of the countries you will be going to.
“Become water” means to live for the sake of others. In prison, True Father took the initiative to do what the prisoners did not want to do. In this way, the prisoners came to serve Father. I hope that you will do as Father did and take the initiative to do what others do not want to do.
The narrower a river is, the faster it flows. The wider it is, the more slowly it flows. When using a hose, if you squeeze the end of the hose, the water flows out with greater force. The more water is blocked, the faster it flows. In the same way, the more severe the environment is, the more challenges you face, the stronger and faster your break through will be when it comes.
Water can also be a liquid, a solid, or a gas. However, its composition (essence) remains the same. You will be required to adapt according to the environment of your mission country. Even so, your essence must never change. As you remember the holy salt from Death Valley, no matter what kind of mission you are in charge of or what kind of environment you are placed in, please do not waver from your core and give it your all.
And water enters any vessel of any shape and fills every nook and cranny. As it says, “To those who are without law, as without law, that I might win those who are without law” (1 Corinthians 9:21), you may change your witnessing methods depending on the culture, temperament, and situation of the people you deal with in your mission country. No matter the environment, please take advantage of these special qualities of “water” and face the people by putting yourself in their shoes.
Finally, water tends to be spherical. Think of raindrops, for example. The reason why this happens is because water molecules pull together to make the surface area as small as possible. This is a symbol of harmony. True Father described water as a symbol of harmony.
You may all have things you want to say, and you may want to push your ideas forward. However, you must not disturb the harmony among the missionaries. You must respect each other’s standing as children of God, be united, and listen to heaven’s voice. Unless we are united, we will not hear the voice of heaven. We must first respect the other, believe that the other is a child of God, and become an entity of harmony. Then, you will be able to absorb the local people. If you cannot maintain harmony, it is difficult to keep life alive. Keep that in mind.
The realm of second generation, united with Mother, will cleanse the world
The fourth point from Mother’s words is that “pure water” has the mission to purify the fallen world.
When we wash dirty clothes, the water becomes muddy while the clothes are being washed. In order to cleanse another person, we ourselves become dirty. However, the water eventually evaporates, the dirt is removed, and the water returns to liquid form. This is wonderful.
You will be sent as sons and daughters of heaven to fight for life. You may see many things in the local church that you do not want to see. It may be so different from what you grew up with in the Japanese churches. You will begin to struggle because of differences in race, language, culture, and national temperament. You may also be surprised at the differences in church culture.
Under such circumstances, Heaven desires that the environment will be transformed through all of you sent by True Parents. Heaven’s desire is that the churches that receive you will be purified through you, who have been sent being united with True Mother.
Heavenly Top Gun is filled with strong sentiments from True Mother. From now on, the world will change around the realm of second generation, which has become one with Mother. We will create a new emotional and cultural community. In this sense, it is our hope that the environment will naturally yield through you. I know it will not be easy in the limited time of your missionary period, but let us respond to Mother’s expectations to the best of our abilities.
The second generation are the treasures and weapons of heaven
The fifth point from Mother’s words is that she “cultivated you as her treasure.”
These are also heavy words. Are you all aware that you were raised by True Mother? Regardless of how you may perceive it, Mother believes that she raised you.
Around April of last year, True Mother invited me to Hawaii. At that time, she told me about Shin-heung nim and Yume’s child, Jeong-ah. With a big smile on her face, she said, “I feel (this happy) when I am with her,” which is completely different than how she treats us. (Laughter)
I was struck by the following words I received that day. “Jeong-ah is the fruit of my ten years of investing in the second generation.” These are also heavy words. For True Mother, Jeong-ah nim is not only a cute little girl because she is her great-grandchild. She is the fruit of the providence.
Before Yume joined the True Family, True Mother held a 100,000 people rally in Korea. At that convention, she said, “As the True Mother of humankind, I forgive Japan.” She made that declaration in front of the Korean people. After that, the Japan Headquarters was contacted and told that Mother was looking for a bride for her grandson from Japan.
Yume was one of thirteen participants in the training session held in Hawaii in 2014. Yume’s parents are both Japanese, and to have her become spouse to one of her grandchildren means that Japanese blood is in the direct lineage of the elder son of the True Family. This is a testimony of True Mother forgiving Japan as the Mother of humankind.
True Mother clearly showed through her grandson’s marriage that Japan and Korea must become absolutely united heading into the future. In order to overcome the resentment and enmity, she welcomed a Japanese daughter, Yume. And then, she gave birth to Jeong-ah nim. She is the greatest symbol of Mother’s forgiveness that she has shown to Japan over the past ten years.
You are the fruit and treasure of the past ten years of True Mother’s investment. Mother said, “The second generation are the treasures and weapons of Heaven.” You are heaven’s weapons used at the forefront of Mother’s providence. If I were to rephrase the word “weapon,” it would be “substance.” When people see the substance of the second generation, they will surely submit. This must be Mother’s pride. She has a strong conviction that the world will surely change through the second generation she has raised.
I would like you all to have great pride in yourself as the substance who can testify of heaven and True Parents. Your smile, words, attitude, and posture are heaven’s pride. Therefore, as sons and daughters of Heaven, it is important to live your lives paying attention to every single detail, including how you do your hair, your makeup, and the clothes you wear.
Even if you all fail or stumble, that is not the end of the providence. True Parents will never give up and will finish the work. Please keep this in your hearts and believe in it. Even if there is something you cannot do because of your lack of strength, True Parents will wait forever until you are able to do it. They do this because of our heartistic relationship with them. I hope that you walk firmly toward the will of Heaven, believing that they are our Parents who wait forever and never give up.
The content of your pledge and the heart you grasped when you met with True Mother will be your Abel. There is no doubt that if you walk with with that kind of heart of Abel, you will be successful. I look forward to your success.
