FFWPU UK: An Experience On Ocean Challenge - An Unforgettable Dream — Ginger Nicholls

Read the moving testimony of our sister Ginger Nicholls’ experience with Ocean Challenge…

Graduating from Unification Theological Seminary in 1987, our class was sent to Ocean Challenge in Gloucester, Mass. for a few months over the summer. Though it was 37 years ago, when I was 28, I can still recall the excitement and special memories of those days. Knowing that Father Moon spent so much time on the ocean and rivers fishing, it was a chance to resonate with him. For me the love of fishing and being on or near water was already a part of my soul, as my father had taken us fishing on lakes in Wisconsin. I was used to the idea of sitting quietly, for long periods of time waiting for the fish to nibble the bait. And being on or near water was a very comforting experience for me.

So being given the opportunity to join Ocean Challenge was a blessing that remains precious in my mind and heart. Our daily routine was to awaken at 3am, and immediately begin our preparations to get the boat, bait and necessary gear ready and loaded including lunch, raincoats, etc. so that we would be out on the water usually by 4.30 am while it was still dark. Our days on the boat were long, from 4.30 am to about 6 pm when we would have to drive back, unload, clean up, have dinner, attend meeting and then quickly and easily fall asleep on the carpeted floor of a small room crammed with seminarians and staff - all women of course. After some time, we were given a house in the harbor for about 8 of us to share mostly for sleeping.

First challenge to overcome after the early morning rise was to get used to being on a boat on the ocean without getting seasick. I was fortunate. I never got sick. “Rest your eyes on the line of the horizon.” That worked for me. Next was getting used to using a bucket on the boat for your toilet and then emptying it into the ocean, hoping the remains did not float over to another boat! Finally, we had to spend time fishing for and then cutting up small dog shark to be used for bait for catching the tuna. (chumming). The enticing smell of the bloody chunks of fish attracted the tuna. No, it was not for the fainthearted! Father Moon called it leadership training for more than one reason. You had to learn to adapt to all kinds of

NEW ~ OPE FISHING WORKSHOP PORTO 2024

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June 19, 2024 I Activities, Announcements I Events, Fishing, New Hope, Ocean Church, Summer Workshop, True Parents, Workshop, Youth

New Hope Fishing Workshop 2024: Apply Now! After a very successful fishing workshop last summer, the team returns to Porto with another workshop! Find out more below!

Apply Now! Limited Spaces!

Building upon last year’s success and the recent staff retreat in the UK, t he New Hope team is now organising to host a second workshop in Porto, Portugal. This time, t here will be t he opport unity to camp, adding another level of advent ure, im mersion and more possibilit ies to better understand the legacy we are standing upon.

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce and encourage young adults to inherit True Parents’ legacy of Ocean Providence, providing an opportunity to connect with nature and with one another. It’s an alternative style of workshop that can perhaps cha llenge you in new and excit ing ways.

The workshop is open to both experienced fishers and novices. All you need is curiosity and a passion & openness to learn 1

We will have a maximum of 15 participants, so there will be a small selection process. Please do not book your flights before receiving confirmation from our staff team! More inform ation to follow soon!

For who? Young Adults, 18+ When? 30th August to 4th of September Where ? Parque de Campismo de Salgueiros, Porto, Port ugal

Early Bird Fee (by 12th July): €210 Regular Fee (by 1st August): €230

If you have any questions, please email the team at newhopeinitiatives@gmail.com

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weather with the realization that the ocean could be as embracing and peaceful as a mother’s breast, while at the same time, during a storm or even windy day, the waves could make you feel that your boat was going to be flipped over and you swallowed up in its darkest depths. At times we learned to turn to Heavenly Parent for solace and protection.

Tuna were very heavy and very strong. The Bluefin tuna found near Gloucester were on average 6.5 feet long and weighed 500 lbs. My greatest concern was to not get my foot tangled in the pile of nylon rope attached to the harpoon. A harpoon would be used to secure the tuna - usually near the end of reeling one in - but the tuna would give its last fight determinedly swimming out to sea at high speed, dragging the rope after it. That summer we had too many boats out to safely fish for tuna. At least that was the response given as to why nobody caught any tuna that summer. However, our sisters’ boat hooked a 7 foot blue shark and as we took turns trying to reel it in, the line got caught up with a nearby brothers’ boat. We were torn between the challenge of reeling in such a heavy, ferocious fish, and wanting to share the challenge with the brothers’ boat knowing that they were watching enviously. We decided to hand things over to let them finish the job and share the excitement.

You can imagine how it must have felt spending long days after days in the hot sun or windy weather without hooking a tuna, never mind reeling one in. We had several days of variation when we took our boats onto a nearby river and caught smaller river fish. I also remember being on one boat on the ocean catching small fish and then a Japanese brother cut it up and we all tasted some fresh raw fish - delicious, even without soya sauce or wasabi.

I had started on an all brothers’ boat but soon was moved to a boat with just two other sisters; one Swiss sister was the captain, with two of us Americans. Rain or shine, we took the boat out, spending long hours together, sometimes dozing off in the warm sun. We saw whales and dolphins, stingrays and jelly fish, a dream come true. But the most memorable, was when we did a 3 day overnight trip on the boat. We slept on cushions on the boat seats, under a canvas tarpaulin that covered half the boat. One of those nights, there was a wind and rain storm. It would have been too scary to be out in the middle of the ocean and probably not very safe, though the boats seem unsinkable. We were allowed to dock the boats near enough that we could see land.

That night the wind whipped our boat from one side to the next, thunder crashed and roared and the rain belted down on the canvas creating a symphony of sounds through which we found it difficult to sleep. Rain came through our temporary cover and we were soaked through. In the early hours of the morning as I found myself drifting into sleep, Father Moon visited me in a dream. He sat next to me and looked deeply into my eyes. “In your eyes, I see such purity.” I woke up and tears flowed down my face as I felt Heavenly Parent’s love embrace through my Father. It was an unforgettable experience, my unforgettable dream. I encourage anyone who feels a calling to experience, even for a day, the wonders of ocean fishing and ocean life.’

Ginger Nicholls

Feeling inspired? Find out more about the upcoming New Hope fishing workshop for young adults here…