Young adults from Heavenly Japan who took part in the second Pure Water Youth (PWY) workshop, held from September 11 to 14, came to HJ Cheonwon each carrying their own concerns and questions. For four days and three nights, they stepped away from their busy daily lives to pray and listen to the Word at the Cheon Il Sanctum. Participants deeply experienced the love of Heavenly Parent and reflected on the heart with which they will guide their lives, their dreams, and their families. This interview summarizes and reconstructs, around the key points, the reflections and changes that participants in the second PWY workshop shared in their own words. — Editor’s Note
“I want to pass on the love I received to the people I meet in society.”
Miyu Yamato (Shibuya Church)
As I built relationships with people in my working life, I found myself struggling more and more with the question, “How should I practice true love?” I was lost, not knowing how to love people, and I joined the workshop because I wanted to learn love again at the center of the providence.
The moment I remember most is when I stepped into the Cheon Il Sanctum on the first day. The lives of True Parents, who have lived only for Heaven, touched my heart, and I couldn’t stop crying. I had always looked at things only from the position of a child. This time, I was able to step out of that perspective and experience, even a little, the sorrowful and anxious heart of Heavenly Parent as He looks upon True Parents.
Through this workshop, I also realized that receiving love is just as important as sharing it. The brothers and sisters who were with me, the staff members who devoted themselves where no one could see, and even the deep resonance of the Sanctum—those four days and three nights were truly a time of receiving love in abundance.
As I received that love, I naturally thought of the brothers and sisters who couldn’t come here, and of our neighbors in society who don’t yet know True Parents. Now I want to return to Japan and pass on the love I received to everyone I meet in society.
“With Heaven at the center, we are moving toward the same dream.”
Tamami Tsugawa (Kyoto Church) and Kodai Okano (Wakaba Church), a married couple
As a couple, we are running toward the same goal of studying law. But we often ran into walls in our daily lives, lost our motivation, and felt discouraged. That’s why we joined the workshop: to place God at the center together as husband and wife, and to renew the heart we started with.
What we felt as we prayed in the Cheon Il Sanctum was God’s unchanging presence, telling us, “I am always with you.” We realized that we aren’t loved only when we achieve something. We are already precious and loved simply for who we are. We became convinced that everything falls into its proper place only when Heavenly Parent, rather than the dreams we want to achieve or even our relationship as a couple, stands at the center of our lives.
Because we took part together, we could share what we felt right after each program, and we learned that a good family isn’t something that happens on its own. It’s a process of continually working at it together.
Even after we return to Japan, we won’t forget the inspiration we received at this workshop. Encouraging each other, we will build a happy family and realize our dreams with Heaven at the center.
The workshop has ended, but the participants’ resolutions continue into their daily lives. One has decided to become a channel through which the love she received flows out into the world. Others have resolved to rebuild their lives and their family with Heaven at the center. We look forward to seeing the love they took to heart over those four days and three nights bear beautiful fruit in each of their own places.
