The key point of my testimony today is my experience of serving True Parents, the True Family, and Hong Halmonim, but first I wish to give some testimony about my spiritual background.

I came from a very atheistic family. Before I met the Unification Church, if while reading a book I discovered the name of God, I would cross it out with a pen. On the other hand I was deeply seeking true happiness. I also, felt very sympathetic toward poor people: How can I help them? I made the determination that my life's goal was to dedicate myself for poor and unhappy people's sake, but I couldn't yet realize it. Neither could I clearly find my purpose of life, so I first had to find help for myself.

After I graduated from high school, I was seriously struggling about my life and about the meaning of all human life. In 1959, President David S.C. Kim, my university professor, witnessed to me. After I studied the Principle I realized the purpose of creation and of human life. The Principle explained to me the true value of human life, the true meaning of human history, and the potential for the future of humanity. I was surprised and amazed. The Principle is the basic philosophy and true standard for human life. It liberated me from all of the struggles and misunderstandings of my past life.

At the time I couldn't understand deeply about the Second Coming, but I could not deny that Father was the teacher and leader for all human beings. I struggled to deeply understand and develop a feeling about the Second Coming but finally after six months I decided even if I couldn't understand its meaning, Father was still my great teacher. That was my attitude. Even if he is not the Second Advent, this Principle is so perfect and so wonderful that I will follow his way of life. I was not a disciple of the Second Advent; I was the disciple of a great teacher.

That was my position in 1960 when I volunteered to go summer pioneer witnessing in the countryside. I fasted many days in order to make a condition for witnessing. We had no transportation, not even a bus ticket, so we used our physical two feet and walked 10 or 20 miles every day, visiting village to village, witnessing to the people. I made a plan to build my first new church. I had a very small budget, and no help from headquarters. Not being able to afford cement block or stone, I built the church with bricks of soil and clay. During our early church life the dispensation was to endure physical suffering-no food or good clothes. Then in 1961 Father chose me to be one of the 72 blessed couples. I was blessed with Rev. Do Sum Lim, now the regional director of Seoul. After that, I became part of the True Family's house staff.

If your blessed family situation is really difficult, please remember this testimony about True Family's early life in Korea. This will help comfort your heart.

Early days at Chôngpa-dông

At that time our True Parents did not have their own house, but lived in the Chôngpa-dông headquarters church center. Pioneering brothers and sisters throughout Korea had very little food, so True Family also had a very small budget. We prepared a small dinner, and True Father would eat first, then True Mother would eat, and after that, Ye Jin Nim and Hyo Jin Nim would eat the rest. The budget for True Father, Mother, and True Children's food was only enough to buy one meal, to feed four people. Although perhaps three pieces of fish would need to be purchased to adequately feed the True Family, the kitchen staff had only enough money to buy one piece of fish.

One day I cooked one small fish. While Father was eating, Mother was watching. I could see that Mother would really like to eat that fish. She was 17 years old and pregnant with Ye Jin Nim. I felt so painful for Mother, and asked Father, "Father, would you please leave a little fish for Mother?" You can imagine that for me to request Father to please leave half of the fish for Mother was not easy.

The True Family's economic situation was so poor. When Ye Jin Nim and Hyo Jin Nim were small children, they ate very humble food. They almost never ate good meals. You cannot understand this if you never experienced hunger yourself. But in this world over two-thirds of the people go hungry every day. Soup usually contains chunks of food, but the kitchen staff sometimes served only soup broth for Ye Jin Nim and Hyo Jin Nim. I often went to the chapel and tearfully prayed to God, "God, please help us make a financial foundation so that we can better serve True Parents and True Children."

One day True Mother designed a kitchen cabinet and asked our church brothers to build it, because there was no money in the True Family's budget to buy one. True Mother designed the top part of the cabinet to have three drawers. I wondered about this and asked True Mother, "Why?" She replied "We serve cookies to Hyo Jin Nim and Ye Jin Nim sometimes, but if they were put in the lower part, the children would always eat them too quickly. So True Mother asked me to put the cookies and candies in the top drawers where Ye Jin Nim and Hyo Jin Nim could not reach them. That's a really tearful testimony.

Many Korean brothers and sisters from around the country visited True Parents at the Chôngpa-dông Church. When they arrived True Mother always asked us to serve them some fruit, cookies and candy. I was unhappy because I could not serve these things to the True Children, but had to serve them to our members.

True Children's sacrifice

In the early 1960s, when our brothers and sisters went out on pioneer missions, if spiritual children served them wonderful food, they always asked for humble food instead because they wanted to pay more indemnity. Korea has two kinds of rice-white rice and black barley rice. Rich people ate white rice and poor people ate barley rice. But now it is the opposite. Recently it was discovered that black barley rice has more vitamins and is more healthy than white rice, so now rich people buy black barley rice. But our pioneer brothers and sisters always asked for the black rice. That is really heavenly wisdom, don't you think?

One day Father and Mother called me and said, "Please cook black barley rice for us." But I could not follow Father 100 percent, because I felt it was too miserable for Father and Mother to eat black barley rice. So when I cooked black barley rice, I put in a little white rice. After I had served True Parents, Father called me, very upset: "Why didn't you follow my direction? Next time you must cook only black barley rice." But three times I couldn't obey. Then, Father really scolded me, saying, "If you can't unite with me, please leave True Family's house." Tearfully, I begged Father: "This is not only for Father. True Mother is pregnant every year because God has planned for her to bear many heavenly children, and also True Children are growing so fast. They need good rice." True Father didn't say yes, but he didn't scold me again.

Ye Jin Nim and Hyo Jin Nim sacrificed so much. Now, in America and throughout the world many blessed children are growing up in humble circumstances, but the situation of the True Children was much more humble than the situation and housing of today's blessed children. Please imagine. In 1973, the True Family moved to America from Korea. After that, as our Korean Church's financial situation became better, many Korean brothers and sisters brought fruit and nice food to the Chôngpa-dông Church. But I always re-membered Ye Jin Nim, Hyo Jin Nim, and True Parents, so the staff and I could never eat that fruit. I carry in my heart an unforgettable pain because before Hyo Jin Nim and Ye Jin Nim came to America, they received such humble food and living circumstances in Korea. When I see a picture of True Family, my eyes always go first to Ye Jin Nim and Hyo Jin Nim. Because we couldn't serve them good meals, they are smaller than their younger brothers and sisters. I always feel guilty when I see Ye Jin Nim and Hyo Jin Nim because I did not serve them well enough. I wish I had gone out and borrowed money at that time in order to serve them better. My responsibility was head of the kitchen staff. Because I couldn't serve True Parents and Hyo Jin Nim and Ye Jin Nim well, I always repent, and today I also painfully repent in front of you about this. I know that in America and around the world many couples are now pioneering blessed family life, and sometimes it is not easy financially. But if it is really difficult, please remember this testimony about Hyo Jin Nim's and Ye Jin Nim's early life in Korea. This will help to comfort your heart.

Obedience to True Father

Even though the early 1960s was a very difficult time, Father prepared for the future. The first business Father pioneered was Tong-il Industry. He also in-itiated the Little Angels' Folk Ballet. But Father's close staff members couldn't understand why he was starting businesses and the Little Angels' Ballet. Some spoke out directly against Father's work. So he was not only misunderstood and mistrusted by the Korean society, but even church members couldn't harmonize with Father 100 percent.

When I met Father and joined the Unification Church, I couldn't under-stand who he was or the meaning of the Second Advent, because I did not have a Christian family background and had never studied the Bible. I could only accept Father as a great teacher whom I wanted to follow. But I don't repent about that, because if Father wasn't really the Messiah, I served him as a great teacher. Some people say, "If Rev. Moon is the Messiah, I will follow him. If he is not the Messiah, I will leave him." They set that condition. But my attitude was always, no matter whether he is the Messiah or not, I will follow.

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