Contributed by Karen Ishiguro & Junta Naito
Culminating the spring semester and school year, CARP Bay Area, a hub of CARP chapters on Chabot College, California State University East Bay, and University of California Berkeley campuses, in partnership with Generation Peace Academy (GPA), held their first-ever 7-Day Unification Principle (UP) Retreat with the theme of “Find My Purpose, Change the World” on June 1st to 7th, in the pristine mountain town of Twain Harte, California. There were 27 people in total attending. Participants joined, not only from the northern California region, but from Washington State and even New Jersey!
Alongside the anticipation of finally holding an in-person event all together, this retreat itself has been long-awaited for years. Arriving at the Heavenly Hills Christian Camp & Retreat Center, staff and participants were welcomed and accommodated generously by the camp staff for the entire duration of the retreat.
MCs Karen Ishiguro and Joshua Fujikake orchestrated and kept the retreat in high spirits. On the first evening, the participants were tasked with discovering who their group members were, completing a scavenger hunt, and enjoying an icebreaker monopoly game to forge new bonds and relationships with their retreat family for the next seven days.
The presentations of the retreat unpacked contents of the Unification Principle delivered by four phenomenal presenters: Mr. Bento Leal, Mr. Kazuya Morita, Mr. Markus Von Euw, and Mrs. Christine Froehlich. Participants shared how profound it was for them to be introduced about their fundamental relationship to God being that of a parent and child, Jesus’ life course of trials and unequivocal sacrificial love, and the astounding accomplishments of Father and Mother Moon in response to their calling.
While enveloped by the majestic pine trees, participants received plenty of outdoor exercise through sports and activities ranging from Milk Jug Lacrosse, Capture the Flag, yoga, as well as hiking the Sugar Pine Railway and swimming in its adjacent stream. Not only were the participants filled up by the stunning nature, but also by the delicious home-made meals and snacks prepared by the cooks Mrs. Yelena Morita and Mr. Kazuya Morita.
Evenings were filled with activities geared for participants to have profound experiences with both God and the brothers and sisters among them. During the Brothers’/Sisters’ Night, participants had the opportunity to foster deep and authentic brotherhood and sisterhood. In the Touch Someone Who activity, participants were moved to be affirmed by others’ belief in them to become a successful, loving parent, and experience the joy of both expressing and receiving an overwhelming amount of love.
The last evening was a celebration of heartfelt entertainment and testimonies. Seeing some participants budding like flowers through songs moved the audience to tears. It was a joy-filled time as they used their talents to express gratitude for the retreat and even line-danced together. Then the group reconvened with s’mores around a campfire under the starry night and heard inspiring testimonies from Amaris Durst, Chanic Kim, Stephanie Hurtado, Edward Osorio, and Maria Barragan. Maria shared in tears how she’s never experienced this much love in her life before and Edward declared that what he had gained was a new spiritual community.
The retreat was concluded by hearing a final message from Mr. Morita about the importance of surrounding ourselves with a strong and supportive spiritual community. Throughout the 7 days, love was abundant and flowing amid and through all the staff and participants, forming one extended family unit.
“Peace & Blessing” Watch Party
Following the 7-Day UP Retreat, CARP Bay Area hosted a watch party of Mother Moon’s “Peace & Blessing” broadcast on Saturday, June 12th at the local Principled Academy / Bay Area Family Church. There were 13 people in total attendance (11 in-person & two online).
Following the icebreaker discussion, MC Younng-Joo Scharf introduced the program and then we viewed the one-hour program all together. Afterwards, participants were inspired by the Blessing movement and agreed about how preparing strong, intact marriages and families by first working on ourselves are directly linked to contributing towards a more peaceful world. The conversation delved into the importance of taking time to heal through honesty and communication, especially once beginning a relationship with a spouse. Another key takeaway was figuring out what can be worked on as a single person, and then understanding what will need continuous work with their future spouse. One participant shared how despite feeling she had grown up in a broken family, she feels empowered to raise a strong, loving family in the future.
After the watch party, the participants enjoyed playing sports at a beautiful nearby park and ate delicious dinner to conclude the meaningful day together.
Testimonies:
“My highlights of the retreat were all the people and how we all felt God through them and felt so much love, the lectures and wholesome discussions, the activities and reflections, and also the homemade food that was made with love. What stood out to me was the ‘touch a person’ activity we did and the singing and worship nights. Also the girls night was amazing. What I’d like to take from this retreat is all the knowledge and love and bring it home and to my family and community and maintain the friendships and relationships I formed there.” - Maria Barragan, California
“My favorite memory from this retreat is sitting around the campfire and making s’mores. I also liked sitting and talking while being in the river. An activity that stood out to me was the touching activity and the very first activity. It was really easy to get to know your group members from this activity and I thought it was very fun. I also liked the skits we did. Something I’d like to take from this retreat is being able to get closer to nature and knowing that I’m capable of being away from my phone and other things from my house. I also learned that I’m still able to make friends even if they’re from other parts of the country.” - Stephanie Hurtad, California
“One of the biggest takeaways from this workshop is that it made me realize that God is always there right by my side. I learned that God appears in many ways and not just inside a church. Learning this has helped me appreciate God more than I ever did before.” - Erik Fernandez, New Jersey
“This retreat was needed personally. I enjoy forming new relationships and found a community group in which I feel welcomed and that others look up to me. For me, the Brother’s Night was really what stood out to me. It gave me validation that I am not the only one dealing with men’s specific problems. Even though it was 7 days, it felt like months because of how great the workshops and discussions were. I highly recommend this retreat!” - Edward Osorio, California
Check out more from CARP Bay Area on their Facebook page. Share your story to jennifer@carplife.org!