A mother of four who recently gave birth to her fourth child, Yu Hee-hwa walks alongside young adults as Sun Moon CARP Leader. Since beginning her ministry in 2017, she has continued on this path through her Marriage Blessing, childbirth, and child-rearing, supported by the love of her family, fellow members, and Heaven. WithU spoke with her about her experiences balancing ministry and parenting, her love for the young generation, and the dreams she hopes to realize together with young adults. — Editor’s Note
Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello. I’m Yu Hee-hwa. I was born the eldest daughter of a Korean-Japanese blessed family from the 6500 Couples Blessing. After graduating from high school in Japan, I came to Korea and graduated from Sun Moon University.
After completing the University Witnessing Tour Team program, I received my first assignment as a CARP staff member in 2017. I now serve as Sun Moon CARP Leader, walking alongside our young adult members.
I’m truly grateful that I, having grown up in Japan, began my ministry in Korea and have been able to walk the path of faith together with young people ever since. I still have much to learn and many shortcomings, but in the position Heavenly Parent and True Parents have entrusted to me, I’m doing my best to grow together with our young adults.
You took your first steps as a staff member in 2017. Of the many paths open to you, what led you to choose ministry?
Growing up as a Sunghwa student in Japan, I always carried many questions inside me: “Why was I born as a second-generation member?” “What was I born for, and how should I live?”
I wanted to find the answers, and above all I wanted to learn more deeply about True Parents, so I entered the Department of Theology at Sun Moon University.
My time as a CIG Youth Missionary in college became a major turning point in my life. On the mission field, I came to feel how precious it is to become one with the community of members, testify to True Parents, and live by putting their words into practice.
It was through that experience that I first began thinking seriously about the life of a pastor. Little by little, I came to understand what it means to take the lead in practicing True Parents’ words and to contribute to the providence together with members.
I was also deeply influenced by the pastor who taught me the life and attitude of a pastor during my mission, and by the director of the CIG Youth Missionary program, who poured heart and soul into guiding second- and third-generation young people to send them out into the world. Watching them, I wanted to live that kind of life too, and I decided to pursue ministry in Korea.
Is there an experience in your ministry that stands out, or a moment when your mindset changed?
Ministry has meant many busy, hectic days. Even when I had no room to breathe, seeing the young people I work with overcome difficulties for the sake of True Parents and God’s Will and grow through them would turn my weariness into gratitude. Being able to watch up close as they grow into the future leaders Heaven needs has been deeply rewarding for me.
Once I had children, though, my concerns multiplied. Before, I could devote myself fully to my ministry, but now I also had responsibilities as a mother. Both my ministry and my family were precious to me, yet there were times I felt I wasn’t giving 100 percent to either.
I asked myself, “Am I really doing my best?” “Am I contributing to Heaven’s Will where I am right now?” “Wouldn’t it be more helpful if I stepped aside?” As we went from one child to two and more, those concerns grew deeper.
Yet, remarkably, whenever I was struggling the most, I would encounter True Mother, in a dream or in real life. When I was pregnant with my first and second children, my morning sickness was so severe that I could hardly eat, and in a dream, True Mother served me a meal. That experience still stays with me. I also can’t forget True Mother’s expression and words at a staff gathering, when she urged young staff members to work even harder.
Each time, I felt sorry before Heavenly Parent for still keeping someone as inadequate as me in ministry, yet deeply grateful to True Parents for lifting me up again with their love and words. Holding on to that heart and renewing my determination, I’ve kept walking this path until now.
How did you meet your husband and receive the Blessing? We’d love to hear how you decided on the Blessing and any memorable episodes.
My husband and I were matched by our parents. Actually, we already knew each other. We were at Sun Moon University at the same time and went on overseas mission in the same group, so he wasn’t a stranger at all. Our parents communicated well from the start, and my mother in particular felt a strong conviction about this match.
Maybe because I knew him from school, I never had any uncomfortable or negative feelings about him, so I was able to decide on the Blessing quite naturally. But when it came time for our families’ formal meeting, it was so awkward! (laughs)
We were both preparing for the new semester and could stay in Japan for only two or three days, so the meeting was arranged in a hurry. We definitely knew each other, but sitting across from each other with the Blessing in mind, we could hardly make eye contact, and our conversation was awkward. Looking back now, it’s a funny memory that belongs to just the two of us.
Raising four children must have meant countless decisions as a couple. Amid your busy ministry, how have you and your husband shared parenting and household responsibilities?
We both grew up watching our parents stay busy with their ministries. My husband’s parents served for many years on overseas mission and in Japan, and my parents were often away from home because of church work and their jobs.
So even as we both serve in ministry, there was one thing we wanted to protect: we didn’t want to pass on to our children the loneliness we felt growing up. As much as possible, we’ve arranged our schedules so that one of us can be with the children.
Of course, it hasn’t been as easy as it sounds. My husband serves in an organization and I’m in pastoral ministry, so our busiest seasons often overlap. Each time, we tried to find a way. We adjusted our schedules, and on days when it was simply impossible, we brought the children to work and spent the time together there.
Looking back, it’s been a whirlwind. Still, while continuing our ministry together, we’ve done our best in our own way to protect our time with the children.
There must have been times when your roles as a mother and as a staff member collided and you hit a breaking point, physically and emotionally.
Many times. It felt like as soon as I’d barely gotten through one hurdle, another would come along.
I was so grateful to be able to walk this path of ministry during this precious time when True Parents are with us on earth. That’s exactly why I wanted to work even harder and contribute just a little more to God’s Will.
But the more I poured myself into ministry, the more I had to face the reality that I was neglecting my family. When we were both busy and exhausted, my husband and I would get on edge and argue, and when I thought of our children growing up watching us like that, my heart grew heavy.
I asked myself again and again, “Am I doing this right?” Whenever I did, I tried to recall, one by one, the things I’d been given to be grateful for: a husband who serves in ministry with me, children I love, and the love of Heavenly Parent, who still lets someone as inadequate as me walk this path.
In that way, I steadied my heart by remembering the heart of Heavenly Parent, who lets me walk this path “in spite of everything.” Above all, I’m truly grateful to my husband. He never once complained about having such a busy wife and mother, and he quietly helped me, always by my side. He has always cared for the children with love, too. Without him beside me, it would have been far harder to continue in ministry all this time.
Balancing ministry and parenting sounds incredibly demanding. Were there people around you who helped?
When I was pregnant with my first child, there were still no clear policies on parental leave or returning to work for female staff members.
I remember feeling lost, wondering whether I could continue my ministry after giving birth. But then someone reached out to me first: the wife of an elder pastor who ran a daycare center.
“I’ll look after the baby. You keep working hard in your ministry.”
She contacted me herself and said those words, and I still can’t forget that day.
Thanks to her, my first and second children were able to attend the daycare from about 100 days old, and she and the members there cared for them with such devotion. On top of that, I was so grateful that more than five second- and third-generation blessed families lived near our home, people I could ask for help at any time.
My supervisors and fellow young staff members also understood my situation, affirmed the meaning of my work, and offered me so much consideration and help. Looking back, it wasn’t by our strength alone as a couple that we raised four children and continued in ministry.
It was possible only because of the love and help of so many people. Even now, when I think of them, my heart is full of gratitude.
In raising four children, where have you grown or changed the most, as a mother and as a person of faith?
Having and raising children has greatly changed the way I see young people. Going through pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting myself, I gradually came to understand how much love and devotion parents pour into raising even one child.
Then each young person I meet in my ministry began to look new to me. “How much must this young person’s parents have loved them, from the time they were in the womb until now?” With that thought, I couldn’t help but treat them differently. Every single one felt so precious.
Naturally, another question followed: “If our own children are this precious to us as parents, with how great a love must Heavenly Parent and True Parents be looking at their second- and third-generation children?” I realized that just as much as they love them, they must hope for them to grow well, and worry about them just as much.
From then on, I felt the importance of educating our children even more deeply. I resolved to teach better and love more in the position I’ve been given, so that young people can grow and stand on their own in the right way.
In the past, I mostly wrestled with “my growth” and “my faith.” Now that I’m a parent, I think more about “How can we grow together?” and “How can we become children who bring joy to Heavenly Parent and True Parents?” That, I think, is the biggest change in my faith since becoming a mother.
What vision is Sun Moon CARP currently pursuing? What activities are you carrying out with young adults to realize it?
Our vision is to build a Sun Moon University that, in accordance with Heaven’s Will, brings joy to True Parents. To that end, Sun Moon CARP runs a range of activities, including the Sun Moon CARP Center, where young adult members live their faith together and grow.
Through the devotion team, witnessing team, worship and praise teams, service team, and others, young people offer devotion and take action in their own roles as they build community together.
True Mother has told us to raise the young people who come to Sun Moon University as future leaders and as Pure Water. I believe those words show us not only how to care for our young generation members at Sun Moon University, but with what heart we should look upon and nurture all the young people who study here.
I hope our young adults grow into children who resemble True Parents and go out into the world to become a light. Above all, I want to join them in practicing a life of living for the sake of others through their studies, faith life, and activities, and in making Sun Moon University a school aligned with True Parents’ Will.
What kind of community would you like Sun Moon CARP to become, and how do you hope it will grow?
College is a time when you face so many concerns and choices. You have to study, prepare for your career and job search, and there are worries about relationships and the Blessing too. It would be wonderful if everything went as planned, but in reality there are many moments when you run into difficulties.
I don’t want young people to go through those times alone. As they live their faith together and take part in public activities at Sun Moon CARP, I hope they can feel Heavenly Parent and True Parents, who protect them, love them, and lead them on the path of God’s Will.
Even when hardships come, I hope they build the strength to overcome them one by one, centered on the Word, devotion, and practice. In that process, I want to create a good environment for them as a young staff member myself. I want to do my best beside them so they can take on challenges freely and get back up even if they fail.
And whatever they end up doing after graduation, wherever they go, I hope they remember one thing: “How much love and devotion Heavenly Parent poured out to help just me grow.” I hope they hold that love in their hearts and live, wherever they are, as children who fulfill the dreams of Heavenly Parent and True Parents.
In the end, what I hope for most is that all of us grow together and become children who show filial devotion to our Parents.
Is there a dream or calling you hope to fulfill as a staff member?
Honestly, balancing ministry and raising four children, just getting through each day is often overwhelming. I give my all to one day, then a month, and before I know it a year has passed, so I’m still figuring out what my own “dream” is. (laughs)
But there’s one wish that hasn’t changed since I first began my ministry: to help True Mother smile brightly, free of worry and concern, while she is with us on earth.
That is the greatest dream I hope to fulfill. I’m still thinking deeply about what results I can bring about in my ministry toward that end, and what I need to do better.
I wish I could confidently say something impressive like, “I will build a church that grows together with its community of members!” But honestly, I think I’m still in the process of learning.
I want to be a staff member who contributes to God’s Will without neglecting my family. To do both well, I feel I need much more devotion and determination.
I don’t know how young people will remember me someday. But even with my shortcomings, I want to be remembered as a staff member who always wrestled with things alongside them, worked hard alongside them, and did her best in her place to the very end.
What would you like to say, as someone who has gone before them, to young adult members and younger female staff members who are about to receive the Blessing, have children, and raise them, and who worry, “Can I really manage both work and family?”
I’m still searching for that answer myself, so it’s hard for me to confidently say, “Here’s how to do it!” (laughs)
Every couple and every family is in a different environment and situation, so I don’t think there’s a single answer that applies to everyone. But one thing I’d like to say is this: look honestly into your own original mind.
Worrying, “Will I be able to continue in ministry?” is important, but before that, I hope you’ll ask yourself, “Do I truly want to continue in ministry?” When you look back at where your sincere heart really lies, I believe that in that process you’ll meet Heavenly Parent, who is always helping and guiding you.
For me, raising my children often makes me want to work even harder in my ministry. When I think of the world my children will live in, I feel that I, here in this position now, need to make just a little more effort.
And above all, I hope you’ll cherish and love the husband or wife Heaven has joined you with. Whatever work you do, if you understand each other’s hearts, become one, and strive to build a family that brings joy to Heavenly Parent and True Parents, I believe a way will surely open.
Finally, is there a message you’d like to offer True Parents?
I still vividly remember the day I gave birth to my first child. When I held my baby in my arms for the first time, I thought of True Mother and couldn’t stop crying.
Only then could I feel, even a little, how hard pregnancy and childbirth are, and how much love and sacrifice it takes to carry a small life and bring it into the world.
Then I was overwhelmed by the thought that True Mother bore this entire process alone, embraced everything and overcame it, and is leading the providence even at this very moment.
I’m still young and have many shortcomings. But I’m deeply grateful that you have entrusted precious children to our family and allowed me to feel, even a little, the heart of a parent.
Because I’ve come to know that love, I want to live even more earnestly for the Will of Heavenly Parent and True Parents. Our family will grow together with the Pure Water whom True Mother has raised with boundless love, and we will prepare for the young generation who will live attending Heavenly Parent and True Parents.
Though I’m lacking, both in my ministry and as a mother of four, I will keep learning and striving so that our family can grow into one that brings joy to True Parents.
