Contributed by Harumi Muranaka:
On December 19th-21st, 2022, CARP Los Angeles hosted their annual Turning Point Workshop in Monterey Park, California. The overall purpose for the retreat was to help each participant deepen their understanding of God’s Heart and America’s mission based on the perspective of God’s providence.
We shared deeper explanations of topics covered in the Divine Principle including the chapters on “Principles of Creation,” “Human Fall,” and about central people of biblical history. We also shared more on the life course of Rev. and Mrs. Moon as they sought to realize the will of God.
For the three-day retreat, the participants had the opportunity to engage in readings and discussions as well as presentations given by student leaders Madoka Tsuchihara, Jasmine Santoro, Kodai Abe, Kengo Kawa, and Mikuni Tamura with additional guidance given by CARP LA directors Naoko Hiraki and Maiko Shimogawara.
Through this experience, many of the participants expressed a deep sense of gratitude and repentance towards God, as well as the desire to follow in the example of the central people in providential history, and Father and Mother Moon. Based on their experience at the retreat, they were able to make a strong determination to do God’s will in the new year 2023.
Reflections:
[The part that stood out for me during the workshop was] “the part where it says we are the citizens of the Kingdom. There was a quotation that says we have to be confident enough to yell out that we have the heart of Father Moon. In the future this would help me a lot. Whenever I am in the situation where I have to make decisions, this will remind me and motivate me to do things the right way.”
“I think a big lesson I want to inherit is from Jacob when he wrestled with the Angel. He was wrestling with an Angel, and I’m sure he was beaten down to the floor more times than he was standing up. But he still was able to claim victory at the end because he never gave up. Even though he was losing more than winning, he never gave up and that’s what allowed him to emerge victorious. I want to be able to inherit that sort of grit.”
“As Moses prayed when the Israelite crossed the river and left him in the wilderness; as Jesus prayed on the cross; and as [Rev. and Mrs. Moon] always went through indemnity on our behalf without complaint - it's the incredible love and heart that moves me and saves me.”
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