A New Dream Dawning in South America

The head table at the banquet for True Parents, December 7, in the Centro Nacional de Missoes (National Mission Center) in Sao Paulo. Seated left to right: Father Haroldo Ranh, federal Congressman Walter Nory, Vice Governor of the State of Amapa Dr. Ronaldo Borges, father, Mother, Professor Geraldo Luccas, State Assemblyman Jose Maria Eymael, Mrs. Isola Eymael.

Would you like to come to South America with me? I promise it will not be too long; it will be a short trip. But I want you to remember something substantial, so please bear with me.

We have many dreams. We have our own individual level dreams in our fields, whether we are state leaders, regional directors or campus ministers. Usually those dreams are given by Father. We also know that many of the dreams are coming true now, as I witnessed and we heard today.

There is a new dream dawning in South America. That is what I want to share with you. Even before Father went to South America this time, there was a great article printed on December 8, 1994, in the Chicago Tribune, explaining Father’s vision and dream. I will read that article in part. The title reads: “Unification Church Invests Heavily in Uruguay.”

Father left New York on December 5 and arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on the morning of December 6. We did not know until two days after Father’s arrival that a summit meeting would take place in the United States on the same day Father arrived in Sao Paulo. Leaders from 31 South American countries and three North American countries met in Miami and agreed to begin free trade between the continents of America within ten years. However, they need time to work out all the details.

During Father’s stay in South America, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay signed a free-trade agreement that will take effect on January 1, 1995. It is a bit conditional, because they are talking about only 9,000 items, but it is the beginning.

I myself do not know how much we invested in Uruguay, but according to this newspaper Father invested $150 million in Uruguay more than ten years ago. The day is coming when North and South America will become one, and there will be no tariffs or barriers whatsoever.

Father visits Sao Paulo

After he arrived in Sao Paulo, Father started talking to our members. As you know, Father never skips education. About 1500 leaders of Brazilian members came to the Brazilian headquarters. By the way, we have a beautiful, six-story building, the Centro Nacional de Missoes, in a very busy section of Sao Paulo, which has many different lecture rooms. It has a grand ballroom even bigger than the New Yorker’s. Over 1,500 Brazilian leaders were gathered there waiting for Father who spoke for four hours there.

One Argentinean brother, Alejandro, went to Korea to study Korean. At the same time he got his master’s degree in English literature at Yun Seh University.

He stayed in Korea for seven years, and virtually mastered Korean, because he studied Father’s speeches all the time he was learning Korean in Korea. Therefore, he is very familiar with Father’s way of

describing a situation, Father’s way of talking, and the terminology Father uses.

I envy him very much. He was fully ready to translate Father’s talks into Spanish and Portuguese as well. So it was a perfect setup. He translated Father flawlessly. There were a couple of words he could not understand because Father’s terminology sometimes is very unique.

True Parents, along with other individuals who went fishing with them, pose with their catch of Dourado. Left to right: Yoshihisa Inoue, Hyung Tae Kim, Father, Mother, Peter Kim (squatting), two brothers from South America, Ki Byung Yoon.

I do not understand Portuguese, but it seemed as if he was doing an excellent job. Father did not tell him, “Wrong!” because Father does not understand Portuguese either! When Dr. Bo Hi Pak, Col. Sang Kil Han or I translate Father’s speeches into English, he knows all the vocabulary and terminology. If we miss something, he pushes us aside and he speaks in English. He scolds us: “You missed that, skipped that.” But Alejandro had the advantage that Father did not understand Portuguese.

We are in the middle of winter here. That means they are in the middle of summer in South America. That grand ballroom didn’t have air conditioning.

In the middle of the hot summer, 1,500 people were assembled in a big auditorium with no air conditioning. When Father speaks, he uses his entire body, not just his voice. He was just sweating like a shower. One Korean sister was constantly carrying in a glass of water. I think Father drank more than twenty glasses of water in the four hours. Amazingly, because he sweat so much, he did not have to go to the bathroom. Anyway, that much power and heart and love was poured forward to the leaders of Brazil in that hot summer heat.

Father gave them the same content he had taught to the Japanese women leaders who came to Korea, condensed into four hours - only two hours, if we count the translation. They could clearly see Father’s effort and heart and love pouring out to them. With that much sweat, Father was completely soaked. The members were deeply inspired and they were so grateful.

When Father asked the audience how many were seeing him for the first time, almost half of them raised their hands. They have been waiting and waiting to see Father and hear words from his mouth directly. Many were in tears 7 although sometimes I could not recognize whether they were tears or sweat. Father truly inspired them and gave them new energy to have a new beginning.

Father ended about midnight. We thought Father would have breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and probably meet the members around 8:00 or so, but at 5:00, Father was already in the auditorium. Almost all of the members stayed there, so they were ready to have a prayer meeting at 5:00, and suddenly Father showed up and talked several more hours. They were doubly blessed.

On December 7, Father gave a banquet for about 200 dignitaries from all over the country. Politicians,

business leaders and scholars came. Our headquarters building has many different rooms, decorated with high-quality wood from Brazil and beautiful moldings. In a smaller ballroom there, Father gave a banquet and spoke to the VIPs.

One of the state universities in Brazil gave Father and Mother honorary doctorate degrees. Father did not even know this was planned until about an hour before the banquet, when our missionary, Reverend Hyung Tae Kim, came and reported it to Father. These dignitaries from the university came with a diploma and honored Father and Mother right there in front of all the VIPs of Brazil. That was a great moment.

Father gives his first speech on the evening of December 6th 1994

Father spoke to them emphasizing the role of conscience. Not everyone present was our member, although they felt very close to us. Father strongly challenged them regarding the role of their consciences.

He asked whether they live according to their consciences or whether they go against their consciences. I think many of them were deeply inspired and even repented there.

Father visits Jardim

The next day, December 8, Father left for a small town called Jardim, about a thousand miles northwest of Sao Paulo.

Jardim is in a semi-tropical area about 150 miles from the Paraguayan border. It was the “boondocks,” without even telephones.

From December 8-19, there was no telephone available. To make a phone call, you had to drive about ten miles and pay to use someone’s private telephone.

So we simply did not bother to make any phone calls. It was a nice experience to spend two weeks without talking on the phone.

This is the best location for farming and ranching in Brazil. Brazil is a little bigger than mainland America. Ranches consist of 1,000 to 4,000 acres of land. One ranch has one or two houses; a couple of miles down the road are one or two houses. This is the kind of countryside we found.

The owner of the ranch in which Father stayed, Mr. Vera, was a very good man. The rancher offered his main house to. Father and Mather, while he and his family spent ten days in a small hut designed for cowboys. Not only that, but every day he cooked the fish that Father caught. He was so. proud that Father and Mather enjoyed his Brazilian-style cooking.

Father speaking at the main temple to international leaders and blessed couples. Alejandro de Souza translates.

Mr. Vera studied Divine Principle during Father’s stay there. That was even more exciting. He has three daughters, who. were inspired to. study Divine Principle too. The farmer president of the Brazilian church gave Divine Principle lectures right there in the house. The family was deeply inspired and they promised that they would came to 21-day workshop in Sao Paulo.

Because of this ranch owner’s hospitality and grace, Father and Mather could stay in his home. The rest of us stayed in the house, in a tent, or in the bus we had brought from Sao Paula. Father did many things besides fishing. He wanted to. investigate the rivers and the ranches in this area of Brazil, which is fertile enough for farming and ranching, even growing fruit trees. It was perfectly set, an ideal location.

As you know, when we bought the ranch in Texas, Father’s goal was to bring the elite from underdeveloped countries and train them in farming, ranching and fishing to. feed their starving people, but somehow the water supply and weather in Texas is not that suitable. Here in this part of Brazil conditions are ten times better than in Texas, so. Father was very happy. Here we can do. a hundred times better than we can do. in Texas. The trees grow very rapidly too. One tree that was fifty feet high was only four years old! They said same trees grow even four or five meters a year.

Perhaps I am ignorant about tropical fruits and that is why I was amazed; but in the front yard of the rancher’s house were abundant fruits, including pineapples, papayas and mangoes. They had maniac, a sweet potato-like food, which is a staple food far people in Africa. The rancher cut a pineapple from their front yard and served Father and Mother. This pineapple had no. inkling of sourness, just pure sweetness. I never tasted anything like it before, Father and Mother loved it, so. we had to get more. We almost skipped dinner because we ate too much. There were papaya plants in the front yard with fruit the size of small watermelons! We could not believe it until we tasted one, It was just like regular papaya, sweet and delicious.

We were not close to the Amazon River, which was a few hundred miles north: but water is abundant for farming, ranching, or whatever. The weather is quite warm there.

Someone told me that the cowboys are paid only about $115 a month, If one of the caws is missing, the owner usually sends a cowboy out to. find it. He goes out in the morning and he looks around, If he finds mangoes, he eats mangoes and sleeps in the shade, corning back three days later with the cow. Now you know why they get paid small salaries. But that is the kind of atmosphere in this place. So, Father says, now we have to change their mentality. That is where Father’s dream comes in.

Father took a look at a ranch which included about 750 acres of land. Even in that ranching region, this

triangular shaped piece of land was considered to be a gold mine because it is bordered by two. different rivers. At the tip of this triangle, two rivers merge and create a bigger river there. The right-hand river is called the Ria Plata; plata means silver, and the water is silver-colored, You can see thousands of fish just swimming and jumping there. On the left-hand side, the river is reddish in color because of the red mud it carries. Of course various rivers have this kind of muddy water, but the uniqueness of this land is the merging of the two. different qualities of water. Clean water and muddy water bath have plenty of fish.

True Parents cut the cake at the welcoming ceremony in the Centro Nacional de Missoes in Sao Paulo.

Fishing for Dourado

Our target was a fish called Dourado. Those who. have experienced striped bass fishing in the Hudson River with Father remember the large striped bass we caught. I think these fish belong to. the bass family, but the entire body is gold in color also. and the tail has different colors. This particular fish has a set of sharp teeth, like the piranha, and is vicious, When you try to unhook the fish, if you accidentally put your finger in its mouth the fish will cut your finger off.

Its teeth are that sharp; razor-sharp. To catch this fish, we had to put a long wire leader at the end of the line; otherwise, the fish would cut the line and escape.

When the fish is hooked, it jumps at least three times before you can pull it in. These fish are very strong and aggressive, and very hot-tempered. As soon as they feel they are hooked, they jump. They usually stay in a fast stream, so a tremendous amount of energy is needed for them to jump; but they do it not just once but three or four times. And they fight. They are very smart, because once they realize that they are hooked, they hide behind rocks. The riverbed has all kinds of rocks and holes, sometimes several feet deep. Therefore, immediately they hide, and when you yank the line it gets cut on the sharp edges of the rocks.

I was fishing at one hole all morning. I hooked five fish, but I lost all of them, sometimes because my line was cut and other times because the fish ate my bait and got away. I was very disappointed and depressed. Then Father came. I told Father, “Father, I lost five fish right there in the fish hole, so will you try?” Father smiled, walked over, and started catching fish right away. I watched him. Later on he said, “You see, you have to be smarter than the fish. If the fish hides behind the rock, do not fight the fish right away.

Take it easy and let the fish feel relaxed. Give it a bit of line so that the fish feels, “Oh, what’s going on? I thought I was hooked. Did I get free?’ The fish waits a few minutes and then comes out to find out what is going on. That is the time you have to yank it and hook it strongly.” But even after Father told me that, I failed many times.

This particular river is about fifty feet wide depending on the water level; but on the banks there, bamboo grows fifty to a hundred feet tall. There are thousands and thousands of them along the banks and also tall

trees hanging over the river.

If you know where the fishing hole is, you have to cast your line precisely. But that is not easy because of the bamboo and the overhanging tree branches. Your line gets stuck on the tree branch or the bamboo. I tried many times and failed.

Then you have to swim out and cut the line, which is a big headache. It takes time and you lose your enthusiasm to continue fishing.

Then I watched Father. Father would stand about thirty feet away from that fishing hole and cast through a ten-foot gap between the tree branches. The bait was a heavy, catfish-type of eel weighing two or three pounds. With a two- or three-pound bait on the line, the distance and angle and power of casting had to be exact. Sometimes I saw Father’s line get tangled on the tree branches. We would usually pull on it and cut the line. But Father would swing the heavy bait back and forth and yank it off the branch at the peak of its swing. You may say this is a fisherman’s story, but this is a true story.

True Parents take a lunch break, attended by leaders who accompanied them during their stay at the farm.

A golden omen

This story may be hard to believe, but it is a true story, too. It happened exactly in front of my eyes, on December 10, at exactly 7:00 p.m. We were coming back from fishing on a river about three or four miles away. Because the river is treacherous, sometimes shallow and sometimes swiftly flowing. we were going only about five miles an hour in an aluminum boat about eighteen feet long. Our driver, Mr. Ki Byung Yoon, was sitting in the rear, handling the boat, Father was in front of him, and I was sitting in front of Father, with Reverend Hyung Tae Kim. Our backs were to Father, facing the front of the boat. As we were watching out for debris or dead trees in the middle of the river, I suddenly heard a fish jumping in the boat. I knew we had taken all the fish out of the boat before we left the fishing spot and put them in the second boat. However, I heard one flopping around right behind my back, and when I turned I saw that a twelve-pound Gold Dourado had jumped out of the water and landed in front of Father’s knees. Does it sound like a fisherman’s story? It is a true fisherman’s story.

I realized immediately that the fish had never been hooked, and it was jumping a foot or two trying to get out of the boat. But it did not realize whom it was dealing with. Knowing how vicious these fish are, both Reverend Kim and I tried to put the fish down on the boat bottom so that we could somehow contain it and not lose it. Accidentally I put my thumb into its mouth while I was pushing it down and it bit me. I was holding my thumb to stop the bleeding, yet still working. We had to punch this fish on the head to subdue it. That is the way we got this Dourado. Who in the world can believe that this big fish jumped out of the river at sunset and landed in front of Father? I felt it was a good omen. Father’s comment was: “Probably ever since this river was born, no one has had this kind of experience on it.” Back at the house,

we told the owner of the ranch and he was surprised.

He said, “I never heard of such an experience, but one time while we were chasing after a Dourado, it jumped out of the water and accidentally hit my wife’s cheek and then fell back in the water, but I never saw anyone catch a fish like this.” That was a good sign. Now Father’s dream is dawning in South America. It is a golden dream, not just a regular dream. That is what the omen says, I think.

Father and Mother fished for ten days; sometimes it was a good day and sometimes not too good. If you can catch a fish every ten or fifteen minutes, it becomes boring. Fishing has to be sometimes slow and sometimes good. The variety is attractive. Father caught about seventy fish, and Mother caught about fifty. They tied for the biggest fish, weighing twenty pounds. My total-do not ask me — was less than twenty, but I tried.

Father speaks on the topic, “What is the Meaning of True Family?” Mrs. Jung-hee Han Kim translates into Portuguese for the guests of the banquet, which seventy dignitaries attended.

Visit from a Paraguayan senior statesman

National television stations announced Father’s arrival in Brazil. They did not have any access to Father, and they did not know why he was there, so their final comment was: “Reverend and Mrs. Moon just arrived in Sao Paulo. However, no one knows what the purpose is. We hope we will be able to find this out in the coming days.” That was their report, because they did not know anything else to say. There was no criticism whatsoever, just a factual report. Then, after a couple of days of teaching in Sao Paulo, Father quietly moved out of Sao Paulo and came to the ranch, so no one knew where he was.

Yet some of our friends in Paraguay got wind that Father was in Brazil. A senior statesman from Paraguay had come to our Summit Council for World Peace in Seoul last April, and he was deeply inspired and impressed by Father’s organization and the goals of the conference.

When he heard that Father was in Brazil, he extended his invitation to Father to come to Paraguay, writing to the Paraguayan consulate in Sao Paulo and asking them to give a visa to Father. However, Father said, “Originally I did not plan to visit Paraguay, so I will not go.” The senator requested again, through our missionary, but Father said, “No, not this time. Probably next time.”

On December 15, the senior statesman showed up at the ranch. We were caught by surprise. He had chartered a plane from Asuncion, Paraguay, and flew to the border between Paraguay and Brazil; then he drove three hours from the border to where Father was. He came, so what could we do? Father could not tell him to go away. Father invited him to dinner. We had dinner together and talked. Father gave him internal guidance about educating people in Paraguay both internally and in practical matters. He talked about strengthening the country financially.

The next morning the statesman came from a local hotel to join Father for breakfast. The breakfast table was set on the porch, because the weather was so hot. Father was already sitting at the table when I got

up, so I bowed in greeting from about ten feet away. Father seemed to be praying, with his head down. I waited around, but not too close to Father in order not to disturb him. The statesman came, so I greeted him and led him to Father’s table, where he sat down. Still Father did not lift his head. Then I saw a piece of paper on which Father was writing something; he was totally focusing on writing. It was awkward for the dignitary to be sitting at the table with Father not even looking at him. A while later Father lifted up his head and of course greeted him with a big smile. Then he handed over a handwritten proposal to the country of Paraguay. That was what Father was working on.

It was an impromptu situation. Father just wrote it, and I had to read it in Korean while Alejandro translated it. Later he made a written translation. The essence of Father’s proposal was the following: If the government will provide land with rivers and abundant good soil, I will maximize my power in every field - academic, political, economic - and bring everything there to build an ideal community, God’s ideal city.

Father said that the land will be divided into 160 different regions, representing the 160 nations in which we have our missionaries. We will take responsibility to develop each section of the land, for ranching, farming, raising trees, fish farming, or whatever. We will educate the leaders, particularly the agricultural leaders, in using modern technology.

Father said: “My lifelong goal is to build peace on earth. In order to do that, I must help the starving people in Africa, particularly those in underdeveloped countries. Almost 20 million people are dying of starvation every year. Why do they have to die while there is land and water? Because they are not educated. They do not know what to do. They do not have good leaders.”

Father wants to bring leaders or potential leaders from those countries and educate them in Paraguay or Brazil. The weather is similar to that on the African continent. We will teach them how to survive and help other people to survive. There is no reason for them to die of starvation. That’s the goal that was explained to this senator.

I was shocked. I felt the statesman would be shocked. But amazingly, he was positive. He said, “1 will go back to my country and talk to the congress and the president. We will discuss this matter fully, and we will submit it to the congress. Then we will let you know.” He was very hopeful that he would be able to succeed and offer this land to Father. We bought the 750-acre ranch where the two different rivers meet and merge.

Father’s goal is to develop that area. We will buy much more land there, and develop it. People who are interested in fishing, hunting and sightseeing will be attracted to come there to enjoy fishing, hunting and ranching. We will build many fishing spots alongside the bank of our property, which is about three miles long. Then we will expand our acquisition along the two rivers. We will develop an ideal ranch or farm and then extend it to the Paraguay project.

I am sure that later on Father will tell you to come there and become a cowboy or farmer. I am sure we will have an opportunity to visit there and be trained as a rancher or cowboy or farmer or fisherman someday, as long as Father’s interest is there.

Montevideo, Uruguay. In this quiet, little country, associates of Reverend Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church have found a financial heaven. After thirteen years of slow and steady work, the Unification Church group is among Uruguay’s leading foreign investors, possibly number one. Members own the country’s largest hotel, one of its leading banks, the second largest newspaper, and two of the largest printing plants. Today their most visible project is underway in downtown Montevideo, a 24-story convention center and expansion of the Victoria Plaza Hotel. The project, in the works since the early 1990s, is expected to cost as much as $86 million by the time it is completed next year. All told, Moon’s associates have invested as much as $150 million in Uruguay. The businesses scrupulously avoid scandal and have an impeccable reputation for efficiency. “They are treated just like any other multinational company,” said a journalist who has worked for Moon’s Ultimas Noticias newspaper, as well as other newspapers. “Our group is interested in working throughout the world,” the official said, “but what Uruguay offered us was stability,” and I think the group’s feeling is that this is a country of the future, particularly in the service area. That is especially true with the planned January 1 start-up of the free trade agreement among Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. Many believe, and Uruguayans fervently hope, that Uruguay will become the political and economic seat of the free trade, similar to Brussels’ role in the European union.