Anyone Can Spread the Word
A new door is opening for witnessing efforts with stories that show that no matter the barriers of age or language, reaching out to teach others the Divine Principle can be very successful. It has been a year and a half since Hisae Mori, Kodan leader of District 11, started setting up book tables at West Valley College in Saratoga, California. She began this project by showing students YouTube videos that demonstrated what the Divine Principle was about, because this was the best way to communicate due to her language barrier in English. Inspired by witnessing efforts in Brazil and Los Angeles, Hisae developed her own personal approach and since then three students (named Gabe, Rebecca, and Rebekah) have constantly been stopping by the Book Table with keen interest in the Divine Principle.
Gabe, Rebekah, Hisae, and Rebecca at the Book Table.
These students now study the Divine Principle on their own once or twice a week. Recently another Unificationist, Daniel Bond began helping Hisae once a week. This was a very important step forward for the Book Table, because with another young Unificationist there, connecting with the other students became much easier. As a result of this development, Hisae encourages youth to start witnessing more, because they provide a valuable connection to other college-aged students who are not familiar with the church, making the process much easier and more approachable. “It creates a friendship-based relationship which is important to witnessing,” explains Hisae, “so younger generations in my opinion are the key to witnessing.”
Two guests of the Book Table, Gabe and Rebecca, prefer to read the 12-hour chart because it is very easy to understand with English and Japanese descriptions in a parallel structure, side by side. Rebekah likes to read the original Divine Principle and does so diligently. Hisae provides the Book Table on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The three students have always been stopping by the table, even when they do not have classes for the day. They have also been meeting outside of school, having dinner at Hisae’s house and spending some time discussing the Divine Principle.
District Pastor Rev. Kevin Thompson and his wife attended the first open house of the Book Table at West Valley College to meet the students who were interested in learning the Divine Principle. It was very amazing for everyone to see Gabe, Rebecca and Rebekah read the Divine Principle, ask themselves questions and obtain the answers by themselves. “I have noticed a very good outcome from this witnessing method in that it helps them deeply and spiritually understand the Divine Principle, even under the difficult circumstances of being guided by someone like me who cannot speak their language fluently,” says Hisae. “I would like to convey my testimony that witnessing can be successful even by a person who cannot speak English fluently.”