Recollection of Fundraising in Chicago in December 1983 and Heung Jin Nim

Rev. Sun Myung Moon made eye contact with me at Belvedere as he asked, “How do you think I felt when I could see it coming?!”, referring to his son, Heung Jin Moon’s departure from this world at the beginning of 1984 due to a car accident.

Here’s what I was doing at that time, since I am recollecting. His accident was on Dec. 22 which generally was not known by many church members at the time. It was Dec. 23 Friday that I had my first dream that I mention December 1983 - the coldest Dec. in Chicago history below.

I was fundraising in the bitter cold of the Chicago wind-chill and winter. Amazingly that was the coldest week in Chicago’s history.

I recall a sister from Sweden was also there fundraising with me on International One World Crusade (IOWC) team 29 with Nico Wheeler as the commander. I was in the habit of praying and then opening the Korean/English Dictionary before going to sleep at night. One night I opened to a word that had the example sentence, “You should fast.” The next morning I asked my team captain if I could start a 7-day fast and prayer condition. He okayed it, but also wanted to check with the commander. I was two or three days into it, when the team captain got back to me and said that Nico had directed that I shorten it to a 4 day fast because the 7 day fast in the winter while fundraising might influence my fundraising results. So I shortened it and finished the 4 day fast.

Considering the record low temperatures, the Swedish sister and I stopped in a Salvation Army shop and bought some heavier used clothing for a couple dollars. In hindsight such weather out in the cold late at night fundraising and doing a 7 day fast might have been life threatening in Chicago at that time.

Upon finishing the 4-day fast, my heart was totally resurrected, feeling tremendous hope for the providence since the Messiah and the Heavenly Forces were at work in America, working to save the world. What could be more hopeful and inspiring than that?

Then on what would have been the 7th day of my fast, a Friday, that night I had a disturbing dream that I was in the hospital, my head hurt and my heart was beating really fast, and I felt like I was going to die. Then I woke up and realized that it was just a dream.

The next night again I had the disturbing dream that I was being wheeled around in a hospital bed with a bottle of white fluid that was intravenously connected. I turned the bottle around and realized that it was poison. Again my head hurt, my heart was beating really fast and I felt like I was going to die. Then I woke up and realized that it was just a dream. The next morning was Christmas Sunday and we were called to the church and heard Sherry Reuter tell us that Heung Jin Nim had been in the car accident.