Hyun Jin Nim

Heavenly Father,

We know that today -- December 24, 1986 -- is the time when the whole world is joyously celebrating Christmas Eve. May that joy expand here in full glory.

On this evening, our family is gathered together with Your children from countries all over the world in order to celebrate Hyun Jin's engagement. We want to dedicate this day in congratulations before You, Father. Please take direct dominion over us this night.

Heaven and earth, please be seated here together. Please be with us throughout this entire celebration and please allow this day to be a memorial day on which we can raise the banner of victory for being able to participate in this age of glory.

Please allow Hyun Jin's couple, as future husband and wife, to become the True Family's representatives who can proudly be shown to Father's country and Father's world. Let them become a true couple who can be loved as our third son's family, who can maintain their dignity, and whom You, Father, will always cherish.

I eagerly hope and want You to allow this couple, even though they have experienced difficulties in their lives, to become one in mind, to attend Heaven, and to become a representative family in erecting the proper laws according to the tradition that True Parents have set down.

Father, please joyfully receive this happy day, and please reach out Your hands in the same benediction toward all Unification people who would like to know, but do not yet know, of this day.

I eagerly ask and want You to fill their environment with many blessings of all kinds.

I eagerly ask and want You to willingly receive this celebration banquet tonight. Please let this be a day You can be proud of in our church and in our world.

We hope that victory and glory will be with this couple for a long, long time.

I pray in the name of True Parents.

I have been serving the True Parents' family for the last 16 years, and I have countless memories about Hyun Jin Nim. Tonight I want to share just two important aspects about him.

One is his incredible talent in equestrian sports. Hyun Jin Nim has become quite a star in this field. He is known as the Oriental Rambo because of his outstanding courage. Even professional trainers and coaches who keep a close watch and are involved with everything going on in this sport have been saying that they haven't seen anyone like Hyun Jin Nim. He started riding horses just three years ago, and he is better than anyone else his age or with his experience. In American equestrian history, nobody with only three years of riding experience ever competed at the American Grand Prix horse show, but Hyun Jin Nim did.

Let me explain briefly why I can say he has a tremendous amount of courage. Hyun Jin Nim has been competing in the jumping class, and there is tremendous risk involved. When you and your horse go over an obstacle you are about 10 feet off the ground. You feel like you're jumping down from the top of a building. And in order to clear the fences, a horse has to be moving at about 15 or 20 miles an hour. The rider has to be completely united with every movement and every breath of the horse.

Ability to Overcome Fear

Think about the feeling of fear that always with a rider. There is not just one obstacle but 14 or 15 per course. Hyun Jin Nim has always shown incredible ability to overcome fear. Professional people immediately recognize this. Because of his courage they automatically called him Rambo; he himself did not ask to be called that. Wherever he competes, people say, "Here comes Rambo." Even the speaker announces: "Next is Rambo"

There is an Olympic-class horse named Out of This World, known to be very strong, restless, and tough to handle. Even seasoned riders who have tried that horse have given up on it. Hyun Jin Nim's coach recognized his talent and gave him a chance to try the horse. When Hyun Jin Nim got on, the horse sensed his spirit and could feel that the man riding him was not afraid. Hyun Jin Nim was the only person who could bring that horse under control. He is still a young rider, but because of his skill, he is the one who will be riding Out of This World in the Olympics in 1988.

There's one more aspect of Hyun Jin Nim's character that I would like to share with you. In the wintertime, most equestrian competition is held in Florida, so last year in the middle of February, Hyun Jin Nim and I went down there for a horse show.

On the day of the competition we got up at six o'clock, and before we went to the ring we decided to get some breakfast at Burger King. When I was about to sit down, I noticed Hyun Jin Nim speaking to a woman about 50 or 60 years old, an employee of Burger King, who was mopping the floor.

She looked tired and bent over. Hyun Jin Nim hadn't been able to ignore her. His heart just went out to her. He was reaching for the mop and saying, "Please, let me take the mop and I'll mop the floor." He just couldn't bear to see her do such heavy work.

At first the lady thought he was joking, but then she realized that he was serious. So she said, "Young man, I know you have your own schedule to follow, so please go eat. This is my job. I'll be all right. I really appreciate and thank you for your concern, but I'll take care of this and you just go on and do what you have to do." And there were tears in her eyes.

When I saw this scene I didn't dare interrupt. I didn't say anything. I just sat in the chair, watching in tears. Here was another aspect of Hyun Jin Nim -- his incredible concern for others. His heart is so deep that nobody can measure the depth of it.

Compiled from tapes of two occasions then Rev. Kwak shared his thoughts about the engagement.

Jun Sook was born on January 23, 1968 (lunar date, December 24). During her whole life I never had any worries about her. She never once gave me any cause to be concerned about her health, her grades, her lifestyle, or her relationships with our family or with others. She was always a charming girl and a bright student, and she worked hard in everything she undertook. When my wife started our family prayer meetings, she adopted a strong life of prayer. I was never worried about her faith.

Jun Sook has an intellectual character, and her emotions are very well balanced. Her special talents lie in the area of music; she studies piano at the University of Michigan. When she began studying there, her teachers were astonished at her talent and praised her natural sensitivity to music.

One of the most important things about her is that she has a close relationship with the True Children. The younger True Children often come over to our house to see her, and on her own initiative she visits East Garden on weekends and during vacations and plays together with the children. Because of her serving attitude, she relates harmoniously with everyone.

A Prophetic Dream

When my wife was pregnant with Jun Sook, she had a dream in which she saw her daughter, at a very young age, living in the same room with True Parents. My wife felt she would be closely linked with the True Family somehow. And a few years ago, several spiritually open people told me that Jun Sook would join the True Family. But I decided not to think too much about this. I just tried to keep an accepting heart and mind for whatever was to happen.

I learned about the engagement only 20 minutes before Father announced it. I was with True Parents all during the engagement banquet, but it was impossible for me to express my gratitude to Father in one word or sentence, so I remained silent. I couldn't just say "thank you" as if this engagement were an honor bestowed on me for doing something special.

I feel that God Himself raised my daughter, and that He used the atmosphere of our family temporarily to nurture her for this great mission. Therefore, this engagement doesn't affect me personally or bring any particular glory to me. My position always remains the same. Don't think that I now have any special relationship with True Parents. All we should do is just give honor to Father.

I was only a country boy when I joined the church, and when I compared myself with the standard of the Principle, I was ashamed. Later on I was so happy to have been blessed by the True Parents that I felt I didn't deserve any more happiness and fortune than I already had. I felt that the blessings I had received were already enough. I never expected more.

Our life, our Blessing, everything we have, is directly related with True Parents' victorious foundation. Until the True Family is settled firmly and safely on the earth, we cannot be preoccupied with settling down ourselves and stabilizing our own families. We should always remember the True Parents and the True Children, especially Heung Jin Nim, in our daily prayers, praying that their foundation can be continually strengthened.