Michael Balcomb
January 7, 2014
FFWPU USA President
Kwon Jin Moon and Unificationist families greet True Mother at the Cheon Hwa Gung residence, Las Vegas.
On January 7, 2014, True Mother, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, arrived in Las Vegas from Korea at 4pm and received New Year’s greetings from about 70 local church members gathered at the Cheon Hwa Gung residence. Kwon Jin Moon and his wife, Hwa Yeon Chun Moon and Yeon Ah Choi Moon were all on hand for a very enthusiastic welcome. Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, FFPWU North American Continental Director served as emcee.
In celebration of the New Year and the wonderful blessing of having True Mother with them, members prepare and offer a New Year's cake.
“How do we become a True Owner?” she asked. “Can we just tell people, ‘I am the owner, so you must respect me!’ No, we have to earn respect, and we do that by becoming true representatives of True Parents. We become true sons and daughters of filial piety when we are willing to risk our life to fulfill our responsibility,” she said.
A recurring theme of Mother’s first speech of 2014 in America was the urgent need for outreach, especially to young people. She explained how very encouraged she had been by the testimonies given by the 40 “Top Gun” participants at the workshop for young leaders in Korea held late last year. We later received a slim volume of testimonies in English, which will soon be available through hsabooks.com.
Mother spoke at some length on her vision for 2014 and the opportunities that lie ahead. Her address began with a recitation of the New Year’s Motto in English, which reads:“Let us become true owners of Cheon Il Guk who practice true love in resemblance to our Creator, the Heavenly Parent!”
In her final exhortation, Mother urged everyone to make a new commitment to the Vision 2020 project, starting this day in Las Vegas and spreading throughout the United States and the world. “It is time to show our actual results and good outcomes and offer everything we have to our Heavenly Parent,” she concluded.