Dangbo, Benin Tribal Messiah Center uses True Mother's Rally of Hope to grow

We should be supportive of True Mother’s wish to reach out to one-third of the human population by 2027. This aching desire occupies True Mother’s mind; it should stir our minds, too. Can the daughter of God focus on anything else, anything smaller? Her position is to embody the divine determination of the Creator, ‘’who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’’ (1 Timothy 2:4).

The Creator’s heart boils with extreme patience, and extreme impatience. In a time of a global pandemic, everything has slowed down. We may thus figure out God’s circumstances. ‘’The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.’’ (2 Peter 3:9)

The Rally of Hope is a divine tool to convey God’s passion. People all over the world may experience God’s heart live, at home, through their devices. Yes, I may experience the event, the diligence of God to save me, through my smartphone, tablet or whatever. This desire to be saved and to save can be viral and contagious.

For God, there is no past or future, but a present time of longing and yearning, when he thinks of only one thing, that is, the salvation of all human beings, on earth and in the spirit world. Tribal messiahship means experiencing this divine reality in our tribe. A heavenly tribal messiah represents God on the local scale. And the Rally of Hope combines the universal, global providence of saving all mankind and the local providence of saving this man, this woman, right here.

Whereas the world seems paralyzed by the pandemic, True Mother has reminded us of what humanity should focus upon. Our True Mother is still on earth, and the entire human population should be given a chance to attend her. With the Rally of Hope online, you do not need to gather people in a single venue. You can do something both much wider and more intimate. You can organize a program whereby all mankind, West and East, North and South, can attend the living God and his only daughter.

New technologies offer an opportunity to create a thrilling event, where the living God speaks directly to

all through the True Mother attended by the world’s elites.

Gaining from our first experience

During a Zoom call, held three weeks before the August 9 event, Reverend Emmanuel Allognon, the national leader of FFWPU-Benin, asked the tribal messiahs in Benin if we were confident to gather people to watch the event either live, at 2:00 am, or later the same day. There were various opinions about that. When my turn came to speak, I felt that I had no choice but to make a total commitment. I said that we would gather at least forty-three people in the HTM center at 2:00 am. To consider something different was not even an option.

With God’s grace, the first Rally of Hope attracted fifty-one people to the Dangbo HTM Center. They could connect with the central providence and with our True Parents. It was a magic moment in which they spent the night together as one family under God. To simple people from a rural area came a possibility, once in their existence, to take part in a central event of the providence, not just as individuals, but as Heavenly Parent’s Holy Community. They were particularly proud to see and hear African leaders like President Sall from Senegal and Prime Minister Rafini from Niger (both members of ECOWAS, like Benin). They were struck most by True Mother’s divine mind.

Though we did both, I shall explain how we did the second rally and how God prompted us to do it better, more meaningfully, the second time. Forty-three people attended the second rally on September 27. Quantitatively, it was a bit smaller, but we upgraded the quality and received many inspirations.

The second Rally of Hope had a special focus on young people. About fifteen students of a good level attended the program. We also asked two smart CARP-Benin students to come to support the event. We called our second event “The Night of Success and Hope.” We wanted to match local success stories within our tribe with the topic of global hope for all mankind — a successful Dangbo for a hopeful humanity, if you prefer.

Like the first time, we offered a whole package to the people: they gather on Saturday evening, we serve them a good dinner, have fellowship, and listen to reports of local success in the tribe. They can rest a bit in the center and then watch the program live, during the night.

Linking success stories with rally viewing

We believe that people can trust in a program of hope for a better world if they see signs of hope in their own local community. They want to see Cheon Il Guk here and now, in order to promote a culture of hope worldwide for the future.

Our first success story was given by Oumarou and Falilath Asso. Both are Fula people from the north of Benin and are Muslim. Fula people often experience discrimination in Benin. But Oumarou has been a brilliant student and is now completing a PhD in Mathematics in Dangbo’s prestigious Institute of Mathematics and Physics (IMSP). It is the top institution of scientific research in Benin, just two miles from our HTM center. The very rural and illiterate people of our tribe seldom have a chance to interact with a man of this quality. Especially since he recently received the Blessing. I met him a year after I had completed the 430 couples in Dangbo.

One day, at 4:00 pm, I was alone in the center and had a sudden craving for a local donut. On that day, this physical desire could be used for a higher purpose. As I bought my donut from a street vendor, I saw a bright young man, also buying a donut. ‘’Aren’t you a student at IMSP?’’ I asked. He answered that he was in the doctoral course there. The next day, he came to visit the center.

‘’Let us talk about divine mathematics,” I said. “I shall tell you how each number, from 1 to 10, is connected to peace building.’’ Oumarou enjoyed the explanation and came to study the Principle. When I

came back to France after two months in Benin, we occasionally kept in touch, and in February 2020, I heard that he and his wife Falilath had received the Blessing.

I came back to Benin during their forty-day separation. A few days later, they completed the three-day ceremony. They came to see me with their two-year-old son Al-Assid. They looked happy, but Falilath had two requests. ‘’I love my husband, but I want to move from this town, Dangbo, and live in a better place. Also, I want to work, to have my own income and not depend only on my husband’s salary.’’

She was wearing a Muslim veil and had a very bright smile. Oumarou suddenly look downhearted. I then sat under the table, like an animal. And then, I sat on the table, watching both of them. ‘’Papa, what do you mean?” asked Oumarou. I replied, “Do you prefer your wife under the table, or on the table?” “On the table, I guess…. Yes, on top of the table.” “Then, move from Dangbo and let your wife have a job. Make your wife two times happier.’’

That was a Saturday evening. On Monday, Oumarou called me over the phone. ‘’Papa, we have moved already.” “What?” “Yes, after hearing your advice, we searched for a much better apartment. It is two times more expensive, but Falilath is very happy.’’ Within twenty-four hours, on a Sunday, they had managed to cancel the first rent payment, make a contract with the new owner and move everything from one house to the next. At first, I felt that it was a divine fairy tale or soap opera. Then I became more serious and thought, ‘’My God, the three-day ceremony had a powerful impact on a Muslim Fula couple.’’

I immediately went to see them in their new house and blessed it with holy salt. They now live in a very nice, small three-room house, with all the conveniences. A few weeks later, Oumarou helped his wife open a shop, near their house, fulfilling her two dreams. Their simple love story moved the participants.

Vision-driven lives

The next speakers were Victor and Firmine Topkanou. They were the very first couple to receive the Blessing in Dangbo, in April 2018. They completed the forty-day separation and three-day ceremony. Victor has a real gift for traditional medicine. After the blessing, he began his own practice in a nice building, eight miles from Dangbo. His clinic is modern and bright and consists of four treatment rooms. But Firmine had two miscarriages and the young couple was a bit discouraged. Finally, a few weeks before the Rally of Hope, she delivered a baby boy.

Through these two testimonies, we wanted to show what makes a successful life. These two couples are both guided by a vision. They say that the Blessing has profoundly changed their lives and they have experienced a new beginning and a greater happiness. After the two testimonies were over, the first part of the program ended and almost everyone found a place in the HTM center to lie down and rest.

I myself was following the rally in France, from home, but was kept informed constantly, through WhatsApp. I was overjoyed when I received the pictures and short videos of the people watching the program, especially when they were watching True Mother. The preparation of each rally involves much stress. But when everything is over, we feel joy.

Between the first and the second Rallies of Hope, the volunteers in my tribe held a blessing of eight couples in the HTM center. This Blessing Ceremony was prepared with unusual care and attention, and we followed each couple well during the forty-day separation. As a result, all the eight couples did the Three-Day Ceremony well. We saw it as a sign that the Rally of Hope marks a new beginning for HTM activities in Dangbo.