Aloha Reunion Participants Share Their Las Vegas Experience

In August 2014, a group of young Unificationists had a transformative experience at a special workshop in Hawaii. The Aloha Reunion workshop was a unique chance to attend True Mother, study, and build bonds that would last a lifetime.  These same participants were delighted to receive an invitation from True Mother to the recent Christmas celebration in Las Vegas. It was another generous and unique opportunity, as well as a chance to reconnect with their brothers and sisters from the Aloha workshop. The 11 participants, ages 15-17 from all over the United States, spent time touring the beautiful natural sites around Las Vegas including the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon. They visited the International Peace Education Center and some of the famous sites along the Las Vegas Strip. It was a memorable and inspiring six month reunion.  Some of the participants reflected on their experience during their stay in Las Vegas. Their testimonies can be read in their entirety here:

Lily Patton

I’m so grateful to Heavenly Parent and True Parents for my wonderful experience in Las Vegas. I’m also grateful for Dr. Ki Hoon Kim and the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation for inviting the North American Aloha participants. My time at Las Vegas was life-changing because of the reunion of the North American participants and the honor of singing for True Mother and hearing her speak. I arrived early and attended half of the Kodan National Conference. I was so inspired and moved by the love and devotion of the Japanese sisters. Through their personal testimonies I learned the value and urgency of fulfilling our tribal messiah mission. One young woman who spoke particularly motivated me. She talked about her experiences witnessing with her mother this past year. She is young and already has a spiritual child! From her testimony I learned how much she loved her mother and True Parents. She has a pure and innocent heart that strives to live for God and True Parents. She inspired me to witness fearlessly. I’m so thankful that I was able to hear her message. I think Heavenly Parent was preparing me to hear True Mother’s speech at Sunday service and to accept my mission as a tribal messiah. I’m incredibly grateful for the love that I received from God and True Parents through my extraordinary friends that I met in Hawaii, our chaperones, and True Mother’s speech. My love for True Parents has also grown. The lifelong friendships that I was able to create in Hawaii and develop in Las Vegas expanded my heart. I have never experienced giving or receiving this kind of love before. Our chaperone from Friday to Monday, Karlsun Allen, and our other chaperone, HyunOok Seo, who took care of us on Monday, gave so much love to us. They both work for the church and have inspired me to work for the church also! I want to give other Unificationist-born young people the love and inspiration that I’ve received from them. While performing on stage during the Christmas Banquet and being in True Mother’s presence, I could feel love radiating from her and I was so overwhelmed by that love and gratitude. Her speech on Sunday also touched my heart.

Samuel King

Being given the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas, reunite with my fellow Aloha Reunion participants and most of all see True Parents was an absolute blessing. It is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my days—a memory overflowing with bliss and warmth. I feel so loved by True Parents. … All I can think to do is express gratitude and embrace my experience with an open mind, so that I can spread the love I received to those around me. True Mother invited to come and we viewed it as an occasion to spend time with each other, to connect with True Parents, and to learn and benefit from the experience. In my opinion, I got all of those things and more out of the weekend. It was glorious spending two full days with friends, and seeing others that I hadn’t seen in years! Additionally, our Aloha group was taken care of by two outstanding chaperones that I can’t thank enough for making our time more memorable. We toured many parts of Las Vegas, including beautiful destinations of Mother Nature that would make anyone’s jaw drop. After spending a couple weeks in Hawaii immersed in its ethereal environment, it was gratifying to see the phenomenal mountains and breathtaking canyons that Las Vegas has to offer. Personally, I love Heavenly Parent’s creation—humankind’s home. It was definitely a highlight of my trip to see more of His handiwork. We were asked to sing a song to True Mother and the multitudes of church members attending the Christmas party. Due to this request, our weekend was saturated in determination and heart. There was a great deal of teamwork, cooperation and friendship at play. This experience brought the Aloha Reunion group closer together—it truly was a time of bonding. The Sunday service was amazing. The ambience of love in the Grand Ballroom was tangible. True Mother spoke words of wisdom and guidance, instructing the church members to persevere and overcome, to challenge ourselves and unite. True Parents are infinitely inspiring, their insight is something billions have yet to grasp, and it is something we must teach. Doubtless, my adventure in Las Vegas was worthwhile. It was unbelievably fun and enlightening spending time with great friends and True Parents. I feel as if I’m boundlessly blessed. I can’t portray my gratitude enough; all I can say is “kamsahamnida” and “saranghamnida” toward True Parents and Heavenly Parent.

Matogba Nelson

Las Vegas was a wonderful experience, not only because we were able to meet with each other again but also because we got the opportunity to sing in front of True Mother. I really wanted to express my love and gratitude to True Mother. As I listened to such a deep speech given by True Mother on Sunday, I could feel how much God loves humankind and how much He tried to make a better world through Lord Jesus. Tears came flowing when I thought how lucky we are to have True Parents. I feel so happy and grateful that True Mother is really training and caring for us Unificationist-born young people. We were told a couple of days before that we should prepare songs to sing. We chose to sing “Saranghae” because we sang that song multiple times in Hawaii. I was so moved and felt connected in heart when True Mother also sang “Saranghae.” It was beautiful.

Aunnika Woods

My experience in Las Vegas can be described as telegenic. Being in Las Vegas, seeing all the Aloha participants again, it was extraordinary.   I felt so blessed to be able to go to the places and see the things we did. When I found out we would be able to go to the Cirque du Soleil Beatles show, I was ecstatic and was not disappointed by the amazing performance. I was honestly terrified at the thought of singing for a thousand people but when we finally got up on the stage, I realized I wasn’t singing for all those people, I was singing for True Mother. Then I was able to calm down and try to do my best. Listening to True Mother’s words and just seeing her there made everything seem so surreal. At first I felt like I was watching the event occur through a TV. After listening to her speech, I felt refreshed and ready to work with our small church here in Billings, Montana, to witness and grow our community.  Sharing a room with the other sisters, I really felt like I could deepen my relationship with them and create lasting friendships. In fact, during my drive home I became inspired to do a short summer camp in Montana and have already planned and organized most of it with the other girls. Some of my most memorable experiences in Vegas include going to the Hoover Dam and definitely going to the Red Rock Canyon. I love climbing around and being in nature. Other than that, just hanging out in the rooms and playing games with the brothers and sisters was such an enjoyable experience.  I’m so grateful to True Mother for making not only the Las Vegas experience possible, but the Hawaii one as well. It completely changed my life for the better. I don’t know why I deserve this, but because I’ve been given these gifts, it makes me want to try harder in not only my physical and academic life but in my spiritual life as well. Thank you, all who made this possible.

Yeonha Kim

In Hawaii I was fortunate enough to have created such a powerful bond with amazing brothers and sisters, and getting a chance to see them again was an amazing blessing. One of the sites we got to visit was Red Rock Canyon, and many people had told me, “It’s just a bunch of rocks. … There is nothing special about it.” Standing up there, admiring each and every detail of these rocks and the beautifully painted sky, I truly understood True Father’s love of nature because of the wonderful feeling of God’s love one can receive. Even though Las Vegas was an incredibly fun trip, the true meaning for this experience was to receive the message of God through True Mother. True Mother spoke of the importance of human history when celebrating Christmas and our responsibility to bring back God’s words and true purpose of one family under God. The foundation that True Parents have formed will hopefully be successfully continued by the efforts and love of the Aloha participants as well as the rest of the true sons and daughters of the world. 

Soonmee Iwasaki

First and foremost, I want to sincerely thank Heavenly Parent, True Parents, my wonderful brothers and sisters, and staff for making the Christmas Party one of my few profound experiences. It was such an honor to be able to spend time with True Mother in Las Vegas. Before arriving, we (the Aloha participants) set conditions to prepare ourselves to meet True Mother. Ever since the Hawaiian Aloha Reunion workshop, we have kept in touch through Facebook and Skype. It has been at least four months since we all physically met each other. I, personally, have never been able to keep in touch with people from workshops for that long. I am so grateful to True Mother for her ever-expanding heart and unconditional love. True Mother is the one who brought us all together. The Won Mo Pyeong Ae Foundation offered to pay for our stay in Las Vegas; I knew True Mother was behind this. All we had to pay for were our plane fares. I cannot express enough how grateful I am to be part of this movement and have True Mother and my loving brothers and sisters in my life. I feel so blessed to have had the privilege to sing to her, perform skits, listen to her sing live, and even shake hands with her within the last four months. If True Mother were to charge us for all the love she’s poured into us, we would be in an immense amount of debt. But she is a woman who lives by the motto of unconditional love: “Forget that you gave, and give again.” I hope to one day be able to return the joy to you, and all the love you’ve invested in us, with interest. Thank you, True Mother. 

Gunguk Kim

I would like to thank True Parents, my parents, and God for this opportunity. Without them, I would not be writing this testimony regarding my experience in Las Vegas. The Aloha workshop in Hawaii helped me truly reconnect with God’s word and to understand how important it is to become great filial sons and daughters in today’s society. Las Vegas was another eye-opening experience for myself. Externally, it was so wonderful to be able to reconnect with the wonderful brothers and sisters from Hawaii. Internally, I was able to better understand my father’s hard work for True Mother and our church. Listening to True Mother’s speech in both Hawaii and Las Vegas made me realize that she truly wants us to become great people. It seems very simple, and it really is. Religiously or not, she wants us to become great leaders who can love, give and teach others. It is so true how different Unificationist-born youth are from other people. Like True Mother repeatedly states, “We are like pure water.” Both times she stated this in her speech in Hawaii and Las Vegas. I wondered what exactly this meant, but the opportunity to spend time with the wonderful brothers and sisters from Hawaii and Las Vegas really showed me what True Mother meant by “pure water.” Every Aloha participant is so warmhearted and has a kind spirit. We all have a dream to become filial sons and daughters, and thus we are able to relate to one another. We all want to become a better version of ourselves and to serve others before ourselves. The opportunity I was given really showed me why our church is so special and why it is so important to follow in our parents’ footsteps. I’m very thankful that True Parents are investing so much time and energy to allow our Unificationist-born young people to be able to experience life. I really hope many other young people have the opportunity and strive to become great global leaders in today’s society.

Adam Kasbow

My time in Las Vegas was too good; it is hard to write about. I’m so grateful I got to meet my friends from the Aloha Reunion again. We had a great chaperone, Karlsun Allen, who took us everywhere we went. Once we met up in the South Point hotel, we went to the Hoover Dam and got carried away at how great it was. The next exciting thing was “The Strip.” It was so lively and busy; I really like that kind of place. My father, who went to Las Vegas for the American Clergy Leadership Conference, said the games are just noisy and irritating, but my reaction was that they’re exciting! The next activity was really breathtaking: Cirque du Soleil, which was done very well by the crew. It was about the Beatles. Even though they weren’t the kind of music genre that I liked, after the show I just wanted to listen to Beatles songs. But the best and most important part of this entire trip was being able to attend and sing in front of True Mother at her Christmas party. I really hope she enjoyed it. This was a great trip, and I really owe it to True Mother.