CARP USA: Returning to My First Promise — Jinil Fleischman

It’s the middle of the night. You let out a deep sigh as a lonesome tear rolls down your cheek. “Why did I even decide to do this?” sniffling, you ask yourself.

You feel exhausted, worn out and daunted by the pressure of the lofty goal ahead of you. Can you do it? Can you accomplish what your heart is calling you to do?

I understand. I’ve been there. We all have.

As I went through the journey of figuring out the creation and official establishment of a new CARP chapter at Princeton University, my college, I had many such nights.

Yujin proudly holds her home country Kenya’s flag.

I asked myself why I had chosen to go about the task in the first place, questioned why I even let people know of my intentions, wondered whether I could do it all before I graduated…

I could go on and on about the barrage of negative thoughts and doubts that filled my mind and how “grueling” the whole process was but no. I choose not to. Instead, I choose to share the valuable lessons that I learned along the way and hopefully, hopefully, they will also help you along your path. Returning to Your First Promise

Remember the voices we were just talking about? Those negative ones that wouldn’t relent? Well, there’s a way to quiet them. To still them. To control them.

See friend, when that snake-like thought that seeks to steal your solace comes slithering, don’t meet it head on just yet. Instead, pause, turn around and run back to your first promise.

And when you get there, remember your “why”.

As clear as day…

Hands on my knees, I faced the altar before me, hot tears streaming down my face. I had just made a promise, no, a wager with the Most High.

“If you let me get into college and go through it, I will offer my campus to you,” I said.

“I will establish a CARP chapter there if it’s the last thing I do,” I offered my determination to Heaven.

It was a crazy idea, spurred on by the words of beloved Father Moon that I had read before: “Take care of your university and I’ll be responsible for the world.”

I felt he was talking directly to me, and so, like a filial child, I listened. Listened and hoped.

Some time later, I received an acceptance letter from Princeton University and I remembered my promise. Heaven had listened to my prayer and fulfilled its part. Now it was my turn to hold up my end of the bargain.

I would be traveling thousands of miles away from my home country Kenya to study in a foreign land. Truth was, I didn’t know a thing about what CARP looked like there and whether it even existed. But I had made a solemn vow and I intended to fulfill it if it was the last thing I did…

And so friend, whenever I wondered what to do; whether it was how to write a club constitution, where to get enough people to sign my club interest form, or on cold autumn nights when I walked around the campus and prayed for it, I remembered my promise. And slowly, gradually, as I re-determined myself, that sly serpent backed away from me and up ahead I could see the substantial realization of my goal just a stone’s throw away.

The Power of One

There’s an old Swahili adage that goes “Kidole kimoja hakivunji chawa” which translates to “One finger cannot kill a louse…”

It is a saying that reminds us of the power of unity and the need for cooperation and collaboration for even the smallest things. Success, it suggests, cannot be accomplished alone.

It’s a wonderful teaching, certainly. But sometimes on our journey, we feel alone because we simply just ARE.

What do we do in times like that? In times when we look around our campuses and it seems like no one else shares the same values, moral standards, passions, or ideals; times when we are bombarded with persecution for holding a different set of beliefs; times when friends shun us for being “strange”?

I can only tell you what I did.

I thought of Father Moon who, at the tender age of 16, received the incredible call from our Lord Jesus to continue God’s mission to bring World Peace.

I thought of the incredibly lonely path that he and his wife, Mother Moon, walked as they fought to pry this world from the grip of evil and sin and restore it into a world of peace and goodness on behalf of God;

I thought of all the trials and tribulations they encountered, the persecution and the ridicule, the false imprisonments and the slander, the misunderstandings and the criticisms, all for upholding the Will and Word of God;

I thought of the countless victories they achieved in spite of it all, the love they demonstrated towards even the vilest of their opponents, the life-changing truth shared across the world through the Divine Principle, the numerous peace organizations formed worldwide (including CARP!), and all the couples across the globe they gave the Marriage Blessing through their ministry, and now working to realize a vision of world peace through ideal families;

I thought of all that and as I did, it dawned on me that had Father Moon at 16, regarded himself as but a lowly child in the then war-depraved country of Korea who could do nothing to change the world, then he would have never accomplished all the great things that he did, and you and I both would certainly not be having this conversation.

And so friend, in reality, Heaven really only ever calls one person because that is all Heaven needs.

Though you are “alone,” as long as you heed the call and pledge to remain loyal through every trial, sincerely and passionately going forward to pave the way of righteousness for those that will come after you, all of Heaven will be with you.

The Way Prepared

I know what you might be thinking

That’s inspiring, yes. But the thing is, Heaven is “up there” while I’m “down here” in the physical world dealing with AcTuAl problems.

But here’s one last thing I learned that you need to know.

Heaven will never set you before a path unprepared. NEVER.

When I started out, I thought I was the only one on campus with a Unificationist background who was familiar with the teachings of the Divine Principle. But somehow in the first week of being at Princeton, I met Yoo Shin Tanai , another young Unificationist. We happened to be attending the same small group orientation program during our freshman year orientation. There were countless programs for the ~1,300 undergrads to choose from and somehow he and I ended up in the same one.

Coincidence? I think NOT. More like Heaven’s guidance.

Together, Yoo Shin and I began working towards establishing a CARP chapter on our campus but before we knew it, COVID-19 broke out in the spring semester of our freshmen year and everyone got sent home.

However, even under those unfortunate circumstances, we happened to learn about and got to meet people from the Unificationist community who either lived in Princeton and/or were alumni affiliated with the university. We were surprised by how many there were and overwhelmed by their desire to support us through our process.

Most, if not all, had experience with CARP or leading small groups of faith. They shared incredible insights, advice, and resources to help us out.

In the end, were we really alone? NO. There were already people prepared to help us - and more and more certainly showed up along the way.

Friend, if I begin recounting the number of times we sat down and thought “wow, we thought this was going to be impossible but somehow it all worked out,” you and I will be here for quite a long time.

Yujin giving a talk at a CARP Café event.

So to make a long story short, heed the call in your heart. And as you go forth, you will be in awe as to how much has already been prepared for you to succeed. When you encounter difficulty and are tempted to give up, remember your first promise and you will find within you the strength to continue.

Have a great one.

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THE DIVINE PRINCIPLE

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PREFACE • Preface

• Introduction The text which you hold in your hands contains the Divine • Chapter 1 I Principle, the teaching of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. The The Principle earliest manuscript of the Divine Principle was lost in North of Creation Korea during the Korean War. Upon arriving as a refugee in • Chapter 2 I Pusan, Reverend Moon wrote and dictated a manuscript The Human

Fall called Wolli Wonbon (Original Text of the Divine Principle). He

then guided Hyo Won Eu, the first president of the Unification

Eschatology Church of Korea, to prepare more systematic presentations of

Chapter 4 I his teaching with biblical, historical and scientific

The Messiah: illustrations. Reverend Moon gave President Eu special His Advent instruction regarding the content of these texts and then and the checked them over meticulously. These efforts resulted in Purpose of His

Second Wolli Hesul (Explanation of the Divine Principle) published in

1957 and Wolli Kangron (Exposition of the Divine Principle)

published in 1966. For the past thirty years, Wolli Kangron has

Resurrection been the text of Reverend Moon’s basic teaching.

• Chapter 6 I Exposition of the Divine Principle is the new authorized

Predestination English translation of Wolli Kangron. The first English • Chapter 7 I translation, The Divine Principle, was made in 1973 by Dr. Won Christology

Pok Choi. Dr. Choi labored with considerable erudition to • Introduction to

Restoration select the proper terminology and convey the complex

• Chapter 1 I thought of this text. Aware of its sacred nature, she made a

The point of producing a literal translation. Through this work, she Providence to laid the foundation for the teaching of the Divine Principle in Lay the the Western world. In recognition of Dr. Choi’s pioneering Foundation for work, when Reverend Moon commissioned this new Restoration

translation he requested that the translators seek out her Chapter 2 I

Moses and advice. She gave constructive guidance and played an active

Jesus in the role in improving the translation. In a real sense, her hands Providence of have guided this project. Restoration

For this version, the translators have sought, above all, to • Chapter 3 I

The Periods in accurately render the meaning of the Korean text into clear

Providential English. The style of the Korean text, in keeping with the most History and erudite efforts of that generation, employs long and the complicated sentences with numerous embedded clauses Determination expressing complex relationships. It is simply not possible to of Their

Lengths express every nuance in the compact, linear structure of

• Chapter 4 I modern English. Whereas modern English wants to pin down

The Parallels every thought in an unequivocal proposition, the Korean of between the that time often renders thought loosely and dynamically, Two Ages in utilizing metaphor and context to convey meaning. Wherever the Providence a literal translation would not adequately express the thought of Restoration

and argumentation of the text, we have rearranged the order • Chapter 5 I

The Period of of thought in a manner more suitable to the Western mind. At

Preparation times we used creative phraseology rather than dictionary for the Second definitions to evoke comparable understandings, feelings and Advent of the cultural associations. Messiah

Chapter 6 I Furthermore, the Divine Principle employs some technical

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Advent common words. Wherever possible, for this translation, we

drew from common English vocabulary rather than invent new

theological terms. Hence, ordinary words may be invested

with distinctive meanings, for example: “indemnity,”

“condition” and “foundation.” Proper understanding requires

attention to their particular usage in the text.

The time and cultural context of this book was another issue

for the translators. It was written in the 1960s, when

communism was still a worldwide menace and Christianity

was still confident of its cultural superiority and continuing

expansion. Although these and other conditions of the time

may have changed in the intervening decades, we have

preserved the original perspective of the text. God’s

providence continues to advance precisely as explained in the

Divine Principle.

In one sense, this new version seeks to accomplish more than

a conventional translation. In the 1960s, when Korea was still

recovering from the ravages of the Korean War, there was a

paucity of historical and scientific texts available for study.

This hindered President Eu in his efforts to accurately frame

the scientific and historical examples which he employed to

illustrate the operation of the Divine Principle in nature and in

history. As authorized by Reverend Moon, and with Dr. Choi’s

guidance, the translators drew upon the knowledge of

scholars in various fields and made minimal, necessary

changes in certain scientific, historical and biblical

illustrations. Nevertheless, throughout the translation, we

adhered strictly to Reverend Moon’s wishes that the integrity

and purity of the text be maintained. Finally, the new

translation has been carefully and extensively reviewed by

church elders Rev. Young Whi Kim and Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak

and has received their blessing.

In the deluxe color coded edition, the colors are based upon

the 39th Korean edition of Wolli Kangron with colors prepared

by Mrs. Gil Ja Sa Eu. The main ideas are shaded red, topics of

second rank are shaded blue, and topics of third rank are

shaded yellow. The reader can grasp the main thread of the

teaching of the Divine Principle in a short time by reading only

the red text. Reading the red and blue text together provides a

richer framework; reading all three colors together gives a

rather full exposition including many examples. To get the

fullest meaning, the text must be studied in its entirety. Yet

even when reading the full text, attention to the passages in

red can help to clarify the thread of the argument.

Exposition of the Divine Principle expresses a truth which is

universal. It inherits and builds upon the core truths which

God revealed through the Jewish and Christian scriptures and

encompasses the profound wisdom of the Orient. Through

this translation, we hope the deep message of the Divine

Principle may be better understood in the Western world.

The Divine Principle Translation Committee

INTRODUCTION -+

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We had an amazing 2021 - 2022 schoo l year’ Chec k out our Annual Report here. And DONATE to support future act ivi t ies ’

February 19, 2022 news, newsfeed °’ Search

Contributed by Yujin Ango/io

STUDENT STORIES

ALUMNI STORIES

Year in Review

International Trips Yoo Shi n (left) and Yujin (rig ht) in fro nt of Princeton’s historic Nassau H all.

CARP Princeton was o fficially approved as a new stude nt gro up on February 9th, 2022 at Princet on University! The fresh chapter w ill be led by Yujin Ango lio as the c hapter p reside nt --

and Yoo Shin Tan ai as the chapter vice-p resid ent, b oth j un io rs in their university. Th e school’s Student Group Recognition Committee (SGRC) app roved t he ir g ro up upon re ce ivi ng requ is ite docu ments, an interv iew meeting, and delibe rat io ns by the Senat e o f th e Und e rgrad uat e Student Govern me nt.

Yuj in and Yoo Shin sere nd ipito usly met during their first week of t heir freshman yea r in 2019 and p lan ned to estab lish a CARP c hapter on t hei r campus ever since. Despite a setba c k to the ir pl ans due to the pandemic, they spent t he last two and a half yea rs setting the f oundation necessary fo r the fulfi llme nt o f their goal. They formed connections w ith like-minded frie nds and diffe re nt fa ith g roups on ca mpus, support ed established CARP chapte rs, atte nded CARP leade rship retrea ts, and received support fro m Princeton staff and CARP-a ffiliated alumni.

The support and g uidance of these staff and alumn i w e re w hat kept Yuj in and Yoo Sh in determined t o fo llow t hro ugh w ith th e ir in itial plans and est ablish a c hapter o n campus. CARP Princet on wanted to o ffe r t heir sincere g rat it ude t o suppo rte rs like CARP vice-chair of th e boa rd o f directors Dr. Robe rt Beebe, and CARP al u mni Mr. Jeffrey Kingsley. Special th anks also goes t o CARP chapte r su pport co o rdi nato r Mr. Chungbo m Katayama fo r guiding th e m as a youn g, pioneering chapte r, CA RP p resident Mr. Ji nil Fleischman fo r always e ncourag ing t hem and o ffering direct io n and guidance along the wa y, and t he CARP New Jersey’ hub w ho offered moral support a nd st re ngth t o t hem t hro ug hout t his process.

U pon nu me rous spiritual devoti o ns such as prayer wa lks aro und t he campu s, th e chapte r estab lishe d a praye r ground in t he school’s Prospect Gardens w ith t he support of the CAR P N ew Jersey’ and the Fam ily’ Federation comm unity of Clifton, New Jersey.

The two c hapt e r p ionee rs anticipate doing g reat things on the Princeton campus such as weekly CARP talks, o ne-o n-o ne Divine Princ iple study sess io ns, serv ice activities, and collaborations w ith o th e r gro ups for inte rfaith d isc ussio ns. It is their hop e that these efforts w il l aid in the p romot io n and pract ice of universal values and p rinc ip les amo ngst fe llow st udents, resulting in positive change to their campus culture .

Cong ratulation s, Yuj in and Yoo Shin o n t he estab lishment of CARP Prin ce ton! We w ish you both the best in your fut ure ende avors as you lead your chapter to gre ater heights.

CARP New Je rsey members at a d inner ga the ring ce lebrating the establishment of CARP Princeton, thei r third c hapter.

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