My Mr. Kamiyama Incident

The Mr. [Takeru] Kamiyama Incident started years prior to me even meeting the man.

Unbeknown to all national MFT members Mr. Kamiyama had the Japanese team mothers write down our daily results. We just did not turn in our money as volunteers we were scrutinized examined based on our fundraising results. Mr. Kamiyama knew our daily averages, how much we made, and our fundraising strengths and weaknesses.

I was a teenager when I joined MFT after less than two years of fundraising I decided to go back to where I joined the Church in the Oakland. I did not get permission I took my fundraising money and bought a one-way ticket back to Oakland.

Onni [Young Su] Durst [the Unification Church leader in Oakland], to her great credit, said to all of us going to National MFT, that if we did not want to do it anymore, then DO NOT LEAVE THE CHURCH, come back to Oakland for a new mission.

After returning to Oakland, my new mission was in Alabama and then in New York. I was building boats in the East Sun Building.

To my surprise, Mr. Kamiyama was there along with his South American biological brother who we called Senior Kamiyama.

I had no beef with Mr. Kamiyama I didn’t know him and he didn’t know me. After 3 years building boats in Alabama and 2 years building boats in the East Sun Building, I needed a change in my life.

So I hooked up with David Hose and wanted to be a missionary in Africa, David got me an African mission country and I was ready to go. I simply needed to get permission from my central figure, Mr. Kamiyama.

So with an open heart, knowing how needed I was in Africa to serve with other brothers and sisters, I asked Mr. Kamiyama to approve my plan.

He just looked at me and said “no,” I plead with him and he said “no,” again but I was persistent. He looked at me and said. “You have nothing to offer the African people what are your credentials?”

I told him, “I am a Christian and a Christian Moonie,” he laughed at that answer. He must have thought it was funny. He laughed and literally spit on the ground rubbing his shoes in the spit saying this is what they will do to you in Africa.

I was in complete shock, I became desperate; but he went on I know about you, you escaped MFT. You ran away from it like a baby running back to his mommy. I was horrified that someone could say this to me. It was over 5 years ago but there he was rubbing it in my face. Calling me a coward a chicken, with a small result. By that time I was in a puddle of tears completely blown away, others who were there sympathized with me.

Mr. Kamiyama then said if you really want to go I will send you back to MFT tomorrow for 5 years. I will work you hard you will have special training directly under me. Then when you are sent to Africa

and have great results you will tell everyone, it was because of Mr. Kamiyama’s training why you were so successful.

I hated him after that, I had nothing but fear and loathsomeness for this man, so I decided to escape this cruel leader. Bobby Wilson told me before he left the church for good, that Mr. Kamiyama is no different from Paul Werner; they are the same types of leaders.

I escaped with the help of Rutherford Smith, who needed an experienced boat builder to help him fix all those broken down good go boats in Gloucester. Rutherford was a radical himself who didn’t like church authority so he took pity on me and let me hide out in a garage he was living in Belvedere. It was the place where Father held weekly Sunday services. While there, I met all the guards and observed their lifestyles.

After a few months, I joined Ocean Church and went onto a new brighter life on the sea. No more fiberglass shards cutting my skin at night, no more hot slag dripping on me as I welded up the boats in Alabama. It all became a distant memory.

In Ocean Church under Daikon Onuki, I excelled; I was sent to Ocean Church MFT and spent two years off and on fundraising. I became a team Captain in Los Angeles and fulfilled all of those MFT years in a strange roundabout way.

Later Daikon died of cancer and Mr. Kamiyama took over Ocean Church, I had to face my demons again with this man. I was older more mature and on bended knees I repented to him for my past transgressions in the Ocean Church office before he said anything to me. I did this out of survival not because I was truly sorry for upsetting him. He accepted my apology as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. Yet he knew and I knew a man who keeps your National MFT results knows all about you.