Stories from the Road
William Stoner – Memphis, Tennessee
On Wednesday, July 3rd, my wife, Mary, and I participated in the bus pilgrimage in Memphis, Tennessee. After the prayer at the Holy Ground, we followed the bus to Pastor Tyrone Davis’s Prospect Christian Methodist Episcopal Church for lunch and fellowship. Dr. Michael Balcomb, current president the Family Federation for World Peace (FFWPU USA), shared a testimony of when Pastor Kevin Thompson met the first president of FFWPU USA, Mr. Ross, who drove True Father across America to create the first Holy Grounds.
Dr. Balcomb then emphasized how Mr. Ross struggled with the decision of either staying with True Father on a very cold winter day when he was creating the Holy Ground in North Dakota, or returning to the warm car. True Father felt great joy when Mr. Ross decided to stay with him in the cold instead of thinking of his own comfort. True Father told him that he didn’t understand how important his offering was, and expressed his satisfaction by placing his hands over Mr. Ross’s ears to warm them up. Dr. Balcomb began searching the crowd to find a pair of willing ears to use for illustration. Because I was sitting closest to him, Dr. Balcomb chose me as an easy target. When Dr. Balcomb placed his hands over my ears and explained how Mr. Ross brought great comfort to True Father, I received a very deep inspiration from God on three levels:
1) At the Holy Ground in St. Louis, Montana, I began to bring offering whenever I prayed at that site. During the 40-day prayer condition prior to the start of the God’s Hope for America pilgrimage, I felt inspired not only to pray for the success of the bus tour but, more importantly, to pray that each family could make a substantial offering of inheriting True Father’s heart and mission to restore America. When Dr. Balcomb placed his hands on my ears, I felt that they were actually the hands of True Father, and that he spoke to my heart by saying, “Thank you for your offering!” I felt that True Father was thanking all the American families who were seriously reaching out to him.
2) Many years ago, I was sitting on the floor at East Garden with the other American regional leaders as we were listening to True Father speak. On this particular day, he was telling us how American Unificationists need to become more serious about their missions. I wanted True Father to feel greater hope for the Americans, and I also wanted the Unificationist families in my region to make a deeper connection to True Father. I was unaware until that moment with Dr. Balcomb that I had been carrying a great burden all these years, because we were unable to give True Father what he needed. When Dr. Balcomb placed his hands on my ears, I felt this burden lifted.
3) On a different level, this inspiration brought me closer to my biological father who is in the spirit world. During his last years on earth, he was constantly criticizing me for spending more time with True Father than with him and for not making more effort to create financial success for my own family that I had just started. When I felt True Father’s presence through Dr. Balcomb, all the disunity of heart was gone and I felt very close to my physical father. It was as if he was smiling and saying, “Thank You!”
Rev. Jun Orikasa – Oklahoma
True Father expressed his love for each state by visiting each state and making Holy Grounds. Through this, I realized that loving one nation doesn’t mean just loving the nation vaguely. Through this Holy Ground pilgrimage, I was inspired by testimonies from people on the bus and all those who spoke at the stops every morning and every night.
This road trip is a real revival experience for me. We visited some important historical places. I felt that every place is connected to God’s providence. And through talking with people on the bus, I felt that True Father was speaking to me through them. I am really grateful to True Parents. I could never have imagined the chance to go on this kind of revival tour! I feel that this tour really was inspired by True Father directly. After the tour, I will try to have a revival for the Oklahoma members using a similar concept to the Holy Ground pilgrimage.
Here is an excerpt from a letter my eldest daughter, Konoka Orikasa, wrote to True Mother:
“I don’t know what exactly I was looking for when I decided to follow True Father’s footsteps across America. It wasn’t because I was trying to impress my dad, skip camp, or see states that I’ve never been to. But perhaps I was just doing what I was asked to do.
Many times I fell down as a kid. But I always stood back up. Seems like I forgot to stand up lately, but when witnessing, even if no one ever shows up that Sunday or sometimes even deny bookmarks and flyers, all I can do is try. Thank you for having me along as a little part of heaven went across USA.”