Early morning preparations for the Hyojeong Cheongpyeong Special Event 2018 American Tour began Wednesday July 25 with staff from Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center in South Korea and headquarters staff from Family Federation for a Heavenly USA and Northeast Subregion members working together with many volunteers to set the tent, stage, and registration for the weekend festivities.

“Everything went smoothly,” said Demian Dunkley, Family Federation USA Northeast Subregional Director. “Preparations on the first day went until 2:30 a.m. and concluded with a heartfelt closing prayer.”

“Thank you Dr. Ki Hoon Kim for your support,” continued Demian. “Our team and many volunteers did an amazing job supporting various aspects of the program. I am very grateful to them all. This event embodied True Mother’s statement made after True Father ascended into the spirit world on how she wanted to go back to the spirit of the early church. I feel that through the experience this weekend with all our families together at Belvedere we could feel that early spirit of the church, and people testified to that. There was a feeling of becoming one!”

Rev. Jim Hwa Chung, Rev. In Pyo Moon and Brother Ryuichi Kishimoto of the Cheongpyeong staff were so patient and accommodating with the prep team. They checked and guided everyone very calmly to successfully accomplish the entire program with a heavenly atmosphere. The families who gathered expressed much gratitude and respect for them and a desire to encourage more participation in the grace of Cheongpyeong in the future. Rev. Richard Buessing, President of Family Federation for a Heavenly USA, delivered wonderful messages and conveyed the heart of True Parents so beautifully.

It has been so long since the last time America held a Cheongpyeong event and there were many aspects that had to be learned or re-learned, such as filling out Ancestor Liberation and Blessing Forms and understanding the importance of participating in the chanyang session. With only two weeks to go, Demian lead the charge to call all of the families. Each local pastor put together a calling team and called all of the families in their communities that they could. To further inspire people, a prayer call was hosted each night on the last week of the event.

The event was blessed to have Yasuharu To, a college-aged young Unificationist who attended several workshops in Cheongpyeong. He was able to recruit and lead a full chanyang (devotional singing session) team—which included 15 vocalists, drummers, card holders, and pianists—of fellow young Unificationist volunteers in just two weeks! Most of these volunteers had no prior experience.

Over 1600 people attended the event at the beautiful grounds of the Belvedere Estate on July 28 and 29. The weather was wonderful even though terrible thunderstorms had been forecast. With space for families to gather, children to play, and the whole Northeast community to come together as one family, the spirit of the early church filled up the weekend. Many people shared how they felt Belvedere had turned into Cheongpyeong.

Beryl Green of New York City said of the energy she experienced that weekend, “This is the church I joined!” Archbishop Dr. Sulanch Lewis-Rose, National Co-President of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) said, “This is wonderful. I feel so comfortable here.”

Dr. Taj Hamad, Director of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Office of United Nations Relations and the Chairman of WANGO (World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations), brought a new Unification movement member who used to be a Jehovah Witness who converted to Mormonism before meeting Dr. Hamad. He shared, “This is the highest spirit group of people I have ever met.”

Everyone shared how grateful they are to True Mother for allowing this special grace by sending the team from Cheongpyeong to help us liberate and bless our ancestors.

“I was moved to be able to mobilize and encourage Unificationists to come and also to reach out to others and invite them by setting up calling teams to reach out to every person on our membership list. We felt moved into action and into living for the sake of others. During the chanyang session, I could feel the struggles of our older Unificationists. I could feel such a complicated spirit world around them, but when I looked at the faces of the young second generation Unificationists on the chanyang team, I could feel their determination to break through. I could feel their pure and earnest hearts longing to crack through the cement of evil history for the sake of all Unificationists worldwide. Through them I could feel the precious fruit of True Parents’ work like an extension of True Parents’ love. I cried a lot when my family was liberating our ancestors. I could feel my ancestors strongly and I felt overwhelmed with gratitude to True Parents. I felt totally rejuvenated. I am so grateful to have participated in this incredible experience with everyone this weekend! I am sure the Cheongpyeong Tour will sweep heavenly fortune right across America. Thank you so much True Parents!” —Demian Dunkley, Northeast Subregion Director

“Today I have felt one heart between the Korean team from Cheongpyeong and our American team from headquarters and from the Northeast Subregion. The speeches today were heartfelt and the education that we received was precise and deep. Overall the spirit was high. I felt like electricity was jumping from my fingers during the chanyang sessions.  It was a beautiful event.” —Chris Hempowicz

“I can’t thank True Mother enough for sending the Cheongpyeong Team to America. Right before the chanyang session, I was asked by Rev. Buessing to help the Cheongpyeong Staff. During the chanyang session, I was able to understand God’s heart deeply. When I prayed for one individual, I felt the heart of True Mother wanting to heal and liberate everyone. When we were preparing for the program, we experienced amazing miracles. A few days ago I heard one Christian minister had registered for the liberation ceremony. Since that minister never attended any Divine Principle workshop, I was a bit worried about how she would understand Cheongpyeong. So I invited her to church and met with her. When she came to meet with me I wasn’t fully prepared to teach her but when I started talking to her, I could convey the meaning and importance of Cheongpyeong very well. Today, during the chanyang session, I suddenly felt the spirit of Jesus and Jesus told me that it was he who had talked to the minister through me. A couple of hours later one person came to me and told me that Jesus was with me. Jesus is helping us to guide Christian minister. —Manoj Jacob, Pastor of District-3 (New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania)

Read more reflections and testimonies below to grasp the heart and experience of the weekend from those who experienced it.

“My heart was filled with emotion during the closing song following the first chanyang session. Immediately the spirit hit me with the awareness of sacrifice and the lonely path True Father went through in order to fulfill the Will of God. I was brought to tears by the sacrifice made by our True Parents. I felt grateful as well as repentful. I believe God made this feeling of repentance available to me so I might heal from my complaints and cut myself off from that negative energy and have more power. I have hope God has given me a gift to be more light in my spirit.” —Pastor Darryl Franklin, Elizabeth Family Church

“Our family was able to stay at the Clifton Church Personage after the event. We were all so exhausted from a long day. My wife went to bed at 12:30AM. In the middle of the night she was woken up by the sound of drums and other instruments. She tried to find out where the noise was coming from and thought it must be from the church center next door. But at 2AM? Music played for a while. Then the sound of the drums and the other Brass Instruments suddenly stopped.  She realized that the sound of band happened inside of her head and it was the resounding joy of our ancestors rejoicing and playing music and she could see many faces of our ancestors in the back of her eyes. Today, my wife has been feeling deep gratitude. She says that feeling is coming from our ancestors.” —Shota Iwasaki

“I’m so grateful to be a part of this tour. I felt God’s love and True Parents’ love for the families in American. After I registered for the event, I was shocked to find I has so many ancestors I had not fully liberated. I had a long way to go, but now I had a hope to keep on going. This time I decided to liberate Scott Joplin and his wife. Since joining the Sunday Service worship band, I learned jazz music and became interested in jazz and ragtime. I started practicing Scott Joplin’s songs (it’s hard). I learned his father was an ex-slave and he had a really hard life because he was black. But he kept making/playing beautiful music until he died. Since I came to this country I was helped by black people both physically and spiritually so many times. I thought it’s now my time to offer a small condition to help them. I was so glad that I could attend this event with my family. I witnessed a spirit of unity and harmony here, and I came to understand everything is possible once we start our baby steps.” —Akemi Hirose, Clifton Family Church

Read more reflections and testimonies below to grasp the heart and experience of the weekend from those who experienced it.