April Showers Spring May Flowers in Las Vegas
Inspired by the successful outreach events held in their homes and church over the past month, the Las Vegas Family Church shares its experiences of bringing together members of the local community to experience True Parents’ vision of true love and family.
WFWP Get-Together
On April 23, 2016, Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) held an informal “Getting to Know You” meeting at the Las Vegas Family Church. Ten Unificationist sisters and two guests attended the intimate gathering, which was the ideal set-up to invest in guests and get to know them better while sharing about the members of WFWP and the work they do. It proved to be a beautiful coming together of hearts, with each person sharing about their talents and interests and expressing their dreams and goals in life. With this in mind, they discussed how they could contribute to future WFWP activities.
The WFWP members were grateful for each person’s participation, with one guest saying how much she valued the women who first introduced her to the Divine Principle, Hope Igarashi, and the many small ways in which Hope consistently lets her know that she is loved and appreciated. Another guest, who Sera Hirano met when witnessing about True Parents’ birthday celebrations earlier this year, was just astounded to find such love and warmth in each person’s testimony. She expressed that she wants to connect her two grandsons, who are 18 and 22, with the various young people’s groups offered at the Las Vegas Family Church.
WFWP wants to continue to help and support the mothers and sisters in their community and by extension, their husbands and families, in any way possible to build a strong local community that can bring joy to True Parents.
430 Sharing Night
On May 4, 2016, outreach for this Summer’s 430 couple Marriage Blessing Ceremony in Las Vegas got off to a flying start! Representatives from six of the newly formed local outreach teams met for what turned out to be an exciting and uplifting opportunity for reflection, testimony and discussion. The first of what will be weekly meetings known as “430 Sharing Nights” was marked by heartfelt reports of group bonding, outreach successes and planned follow-up programs. It was clear that by the end of the evening, all who attended felt even more inspired and confident to work together toward future success.
In response to the many requests for educational and fellowship opportunities for new contacts, brief announcements were made about upcoming events to be held by local WFWP, Universal Peace Federation, Family Education and Empowerment Foundation (FEEF) and CARP organizations along with details of ongoing Divine Principle educational programs and online resources. After a final, lively discussion including suggestions and points of constructive criticism about recent efforts to create a guest friendly worship service, the meeting ended with a powerful prayer for the success of the new outreach groups and their efforts.
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta
On May 5, 2016, the Igarashi family held an impromptu Cinco de Mayo-inspired Mother’s Day fiesta at their home. Although invitation flyers were handed out in the neighborhood only a few days prior the event, the hard work of all involved paid off and as the day went on, more and more families came.
Mrs. Igarashi shared a short message about Mother’s Day, expressing how the ideals of unselfish, unconditional and sacrificial parental love originate from God’s heart toward us as His children, regardless of our race, religion or ethnic background.
In celebration, gifts were given to all the mothers and a feast of potluck food was shared against a backdrop of music, karaoke, piñata bashing and a lively mexican hat dance performance. The day’s festivities ended with everyone joining together and holding hands in prayer.
Divine Principle Seminar
On May 7, 2016, 18 people gathered to hear a Divine Principle seminar given by Rev. Andy Compton. Three of the guests were invited through the Universal Peace Federation and “were moved to tears when they heard the Divine Principle and appreciated it very much” said Mrs. Leslie Rigney.
Later that day, Rev. Compton and his family hosted a Spring BBQ at their recently renovated home in Henderson. Undeterred by the intermittent rainfall, thirty neighbors, friends and Unificationists gathered together.
After Rev. Doo offered an opening prayer, everyone tucked in to a smorgasbord of delicious hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken, grilled by Rev. Compton and his neighbor, Alex. Guests brought an array of treats and everyone ate to their heart’s content!
Between rain showers, everyone assembled for a group photo and the young children and teens played ping pong. Much fun was had by all in guessing the number of beans in a pitcher and the combined weight of two rocks that Andy had found at the top of nearby mountains, with bags of chocolates given as prizes to the under 12 and over 12 winners.
After dinner, karaoke began indoors. Ted Igarashi, who brought the equipment, beautifully sang a few of his favorite Japanese songs and guided the joyful exchange of musical talent. Several of the guests and Unificationists sang together and some even danced! The final song, a lively rendition of “Guantanamera”, was sung by all, creating a warm bond of heart.
The BBQ ended in prayer and everyone left having experienced a delightful evening of harmony and friendly conversation – a taste of how life should be!