Contributed by Hiro Kamata
(PC: Ryusei Taguchi, the end of four days of Divine Principle content)
On May 21st to the 28th, we held our 7-day CARP retreat with the theme, “Rising Strong: Journey to Our True Self.” The idea was for us to discover our uniqueness through studying the Divine Principle and applying it to our daily life. There were a total of 23 participants.
The first four days consisted of Divine Principle presentations given by Generation Peace Academy’s overseas missionaries, Connor Redmond, and Henri Schauffler. There was also one day of education on Father and Mother’s life and the Marriage Blessing by Larry Moffitt and Highmy Her. Day by day, participants would grow closer to their team and come to understand more of their relationship with God through the afternoon and evening program. Each day there would be an afternoon activity or what we called an “action task” that helped to apply the content learned in the morning. For example, one of the action tasks was Capture the Flag with a twist to go deeper into understanding the significance of Biblical figures. And in the evening would be a “culture of heart” activity which would help to connect with each other and the content more deeply. On the last day of the Divine Principle portion of the retreat, there was an open mic testimony. One of the participants went up and broke down in tears mentioning how he has never experienced anything like this before. As the Divine Principle retreat portion concluded, the participants all took away something meaningful and memorable.
As we continued our retreat, we held our adventuring/actionizing portion which consisted of fundraising, service projects, and hiking. Each day the participants would connect to the focus for the day and try to go back to it throughout the day. One of the activities was a solo day in nature: two hours in nature without the use of technology, people, and any distractions. For one of the participants, it was a time when he realized how real God’s love is all around him. Just prior to the hike, he was on his phone frequently checking the weather and social media, but through receiving a guidance on experiencing God’s love through nature and being alone in nature, it helped him have a beautiful experience with God. Overall, the time spent with everyone was one where everyone could feel that they were all part of a family.
After the retreat ended, there was a chance for the participants to share with the community about their experience. One of the young adults shared how in the beginning he really didn’t want to be there, but after spending a day or two with everyone, he felt he had to surrender to all the love he was receiving. From that day forward, that shift in mindset and attitude helped him have a meaningful experience at the retreat to the point that he didn’t want to leave the CARP house even after the retreat had ended.
We’re grateful for each person who was able to contribute to the retreat and all the experiences that God has given to each of us. Even though this retreat was for the sake of the participants, it was a time when the CARP staff could also discover our true selves and experience God’s love.
(PC: Ryusei Taguchi; the first day of our actionizing we went hiking at the Great Falls to be surrounded by nature and God’s love.)
Share your story to ryota@carplife.org.