We just finished our first full day here in Japan! The first couple days of our program are dedicated to a two-day Divine Principle workshop where participants can deepen their understanding of Unification Principles through lectures and discussion. Lectures were delivered by the great Nakamura-sensei who drew upon his life experience to enrich the content. He talked about God’s ideal, the Fall, and the role of the Messiah.
Participants especially enjoyed listening to his personal experiences on how he transformed his life at the age of 18 through prayer and realizations from reading the Divine Principle. He shared deeply about Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice for humankind. And he also told us about three people who lived ordinary lives but who ended up sacrificing their lives to save other human beings.
After each lecture, the participants gathered in teams to discuss and digest the lecture’s content. It’s only the second day, but people are slowly starting to open up and share about their thoughts and lives.
At the end of the day, we had a chance to reflect on all the content and share our insights with one other.
“[The lectures clarified that we put] emphasis on family. We put the family above everything. It reassures me that this is what I believe in.” – Joshua Yamamoto
“[I learned that] the Blessing marriage is having God as the center of the true love relationship in my life. This love I have for my wife is for God and for my children. It’s not for me. No selfishness at all. It’s always offering.” – Jason Hallal
“I learned a lot. I think that when we go back to our families, we should not just bring back souvenirs and snacks from Japan but also the words and truth that we received today. Bring it back and share it with them too.” – Jose
Although it was a long day, participants gained a deeper understanding of the Divine Principle and developed deeper relationships with their teams through the team discussion time.
We hope to gain more tomorrow!