Latest Update from GPA’s CIG Missionaries

Contributed by Joshua Holmes

Long time no see everyone!

First of all, I have to apologize for not updating as consistently as promised. We are determining to do better!

The Cheon Il Guk Missionaries in training have been on the move! We spent the last week and a half in Manila, Philippines! We are supporting the local World Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (W-CARP) chapter at the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP). We are directly led by the National W-CARP president, Mr. Rene Langansan, and the TUP CARP director, Mr. Errol Del Monte. After coming off of a very successful 50 days in Bohol, we felt spiritually alive and excited to face our next challenge.

Manila caught us by surprise, however, because everything aside from the vision is different. The greatest challenge we face now is maintaining our absolute faith, love, and obedience towards True Mother’s Vision 2020 while being tested by difficult and changing situations.

These words from Rev. Moon ring clearly in our hearts: “When reality gives you no reason to have faith, still choose to believe.”

We are so grateful because we would never have experienced this degree of challenge and opportunity for faith anywhere else. Clearly, True Mother is asking the CIG Missionary Trainees to be owners. How desperate can we be? How much can we love? This is truly the path of a missionary, and for that we are so grateful.

So, what have we have been up to in the last two and a half weeks?

We have spent most of our days doing full-time outreach and lecturing on the main campus of Technological University of the Philippines. However, since it is summer break, we are only able to work with a very limited amount of students. We use an office on campus as our lecture and information room. Both TUP CARP directors, Mr. Errol and Mrs. Jovy Del Monte, Filipino Unificationists, hold faculty positions on campus.

We have also held:

1)      A Three-Day Divine Principle Seminar at the Sun Hwa International Academy (SHIA). The focus for the nine participants who joined us for the seminar was to discover their true selves through studying the Divine Principle. This was our first workshop held in Manila and although the workshop was small, it laid a powerful foundation for our subsequent activities.

2)      A Peace Forum for the University Student Government (USG) at TUP in Taguig. We lectured on Universal Peace Federation’s (UPF) Five Principles of Peace and CARP’s Vision and facilitated interactive activities focused on leadership-building and networking.

3)      A One-Day Leadership Seminar at the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) Philippines National Headquarters in Quezon City. Fifteen participants attended, and we worked alongside Universal Peace Academy (UPA) missionaries to put on the seminar. The seminar covered topics such as UPF’s Five Principles and an introduction to the Divine Principle. We hope that this seminar will lay the foundation for a strong three-day seminar starting this Friday.

If you want to keep following the Cheon Il Guk Missionary Trainees’ projects and endeavors be sure to check out our Facebook page.