Testimony of Henri Blanchard
This testimony is from Mr. Henri Blanchard’s autobiography “In the Name of True Love” which was published by l’A.U.C.M., Paris, France, 1985. Translated from the French by Angelika Selle and Jean-Michel Brejard.
Part 2 (Click to read Part 1)
Meeting the Messiah
At this point, Reiner put a chart in front of me showing the incredible parallels between Old and New Testament history. When I discovered that our time related perfectly to the time of Jesus, I felt an almost uncontrollable enthusiasm. We were living at the time of Christ’s return! This fantastic discovery generated a radical transformation in me. My heart overflowed with extraordinary hope. I wanted to meet the Messiah!
As I was leaving Reiner that evening, I felt that I was flying over the city. When I came back to my little room, my Heavenly Father was waiting for me. Sitting on my brass bed I felt uplifted by the infinite love of Heavenly Father, as if He existed only for me. He called me by my first name. Then I felt that the almighty God-the creator of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses and Jesus, the God of all the saints-was my personal God. He had to go through thousands of years of suffering in order to reach me! There is no word to describe the infinite happiness of the little grain of sand that I felt I was, seemingly forgotten in the immense universe, suddenly becoming the center of all the attention and love of the Creator.
God and I found ourselves embracing each other. My being was transfigured and transported in ecstasy to the throne of God, my creator and father. I tasted infinite and perfect love fully from this living source. It was a glorious celebration of the most intimate heart-to-heart relationship between Father and child!
The man of doubt had died and a new man was born, now filled with the absolute certainty that the love of God had the power to resurrect all of humankind. God Himself had anointed this new man for a mission: “Henri, go! Be a witness of My love to the world’.’ I felt that my whole life wouldn’t be long enough to sing my gratitude for having received such a wonderful gift from God.
I also realized that God wasn’t the only one responsible for this miraculous encounter. The author of the Principle also appeared to me in his providential and cosmic dimension-the visible incarnation of the invisible Parent. I realized that Sun Myung Moon had inherited the holy mission of Jesus to establish the dominion of God’s love on earth. Heaven had come down to earth at last, and the realm of truth, goodness, and beauty had begun. That evening I fell asleep to the sound of heavenly music in the arms of God.
A gigantic task
Reiner didn’t seem to be too impressed when I described my moving encounter of the night before. He was just happy. His spiritual child was born. I myself was convinced that I had just joined a very big family. I was overjoyed about the idea of meeting thousands of brothers and sisters, who I was sure were spread throughout the whole country of France. Within three days, the Principle had made me another person. I imagined with great excitement that the fire of God’s love would convert the whole nation within a few months, or at the most a few years.
When Reiner then told me point-blank that I was the first and only disciple in France who had accepted the Principle, I almost fainted. I looked Reiner firmly in the eye, suddenly realizing that he was alone!
Our destinies became all the more bound together as we found ourselves to be like two survivors on a raft in the midst of a rough ocean. Several feelings that seemed contradictory overcame me: the greatest happiness in having met the living God and His messenger, deep sadness over the small number of workers for this immense harvest, and paralyzing fear at the gigantic task in front of me.
Reiner looked concerned. He could guess my thoughts and feelings. “Henri, we shall go to Germany in two weeks,” he said to encourage me. “A big family is waiting there for you already.” The thought of meeting with other European brothers and sisters filled me with joy. We weren’t alone after all. I did belong to a worldwide family.
Reiner knew how to prepare me with great care for that meeting. Each day I made new discoveries of the truth. Reiner encouraged me to keep my job so that I could take care of my personal needs, which were minimal. But for me, my real day started in the evening.
My spiritual father invested a great deal in giving me an excellent education in the Principle. He didn’t spare any time or effort in guiding the first steps of his spiritual child. He entrusted me quickly with the mission of teaching the Principle to guests. This always gave me the opportunity to experience a spiritual fire that completely took hold of me. God’s spirit spoke through me. Overwhelming joy carried me to heaven while I explained with passion about God’s original ideal.
Prayer in the evening was the highlight of each day. Reiner’s relationship with Heavenly Father was so intimate; tears often ran from his eyes when he referred to the long path of solitude and suffering which God Himself had to go through to reach us. Every time he asked me to pray, I too could not withhold my tears. We felt God’s love pouring down upon both of us.
One evening, Reiner invited me to go with him to a place near the Eiffel Tower. Along the promenade, he showed me a magnificent acacia tree and explained that our Father had blessed 120 places like this during his first world tour in 1965. Each of these “holy grounds” symbolized a fragment of creation that had been reclaimed and sanctified. I then realized very clearly the purpose of the Lord of the Second Advent: He is to bless the whole cosmos, physically and spiritually.
Faithful heroes on the path
Sometimes in the evening, Reiner spent time with me looking at his photos of early pioneers of the church. He made many comments on each picture and helped me understand the incredible sacrifices that marked the beginning of the families in Korea, Japan, the United States, and Germany. The names of these pioneers of the “new age” became familiar to me: Mr. Hyo Won Eu, Mr. Won Pi! Kirn, Mr. Young Whi Kirn, Mrs. Won Pok Choi, Mr. Osarni Kuboki, Miss Young Oon Kirn, Mr. Peter Koch.
In France, Reiner’s course was no different from these great pioneers. Repeated fasting and exhaustion had made him dangerously weak. One day he fainted in the middle of the street. I learned later that Reiner re-covered in a miraculous way, thanks to the prayers of Father himself. A true missionary has to lead a life of prayer and sacrifice. Such was the lesson of my two first weeks with the first French pioneer.
Also during this time, I read the Divine Principle book more than 10 times. Each reading was a source of inspiration for me that never dried up. Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses-all these champions of the living God became my intimate companions in the daily fight against the number one enemy: myself. My lack of courage and my selfishness disappeared when I became inspired by the saga of the faithful heroes who prepared the path on which I was walking.
When I first arrived in Essen, West Germany, I was intimidated. Mr. Peter Koch, the champion of God who was the first one to bring Europe the revolutionary message of the Principle, stood in front of me. But I was easily won over by his friendly attitude, full of simplicity and goodness. I was very attentive to the admirable lectures given by Peter during my first weekend with my German brothers and sisters.
We numbered about 20 altogether, and I was very moved by the heavenly spirit around us. Everything was bright, beautiful, and harmonious. Peter explained several times that the original ideal of God, represented by the four-position foundation of God, Adam, Eve, and children, was now for the first time substantially realized. Today, the original dream of God was living on the earth through a true man and woman, blessed in marriage by God as the True Parents of the great human family.
The German family was only a nucleus, but still representative of the ideal world. Going back on the train I had only one thought on my mind: I wanted to create in France a family as beautifully united, as dedicated to the mission, and as prayerful as the one that I had just met. Back in Paris, Henri was comforted by the idea that the spirit world was working to bring new spiritual children. Reiner had testified that dreams and inner voices had often guided him to people.
A few days later, a voice awakened Henri from his sleep and informed him that his brother Remi was “awaiting.” Reiner went to visit him in Brittany, and a week later Remi joined Reiner and Henri in Paris. Later on one of Remi’s friends, Therese Lebreton, became the first French sister to join.
The four of them moved into a new apartment in Boulogne, a suburb of Paris. On November 12, 1968, the Association pour l’Unification du Christianisme Mondial was officially created.
Almost a year after Henri met Reiner, True Parents came to visit the European family in West Germany. Henri went with 120 brothers and sisters towel-come them at the Dusseldorf airport in Germany. Henri was overwhelmed with joy when Father shook his hand and called him by his first name. Suddenly he recognized the voice that he had first heard in his sleep, and he considered this as a sign that God was speaking through Rev. Moon.
During True Parents’ visit, on March 28, 1969, eight European couples were blessed. Among them were Reiner and Barbara Vincenz. The joyful and simple ceremony recalled one of Henri’s most vivid dreams: a vision of men and women dressed in white walking toward a beautiful royal couple.
The gentle presence of Mother, the spiritual strength of Father, the love they shared with each other, their parental concern for the members-all this kindled in Henri the burning desire to witness every day for God’s hew message and to create the restored family of mankind.
Two great events determined Henri’s future: his Blessing in Korea in October 1970 to his wife Hilde, and the leaders’ workshop he attended at Belvedere in the spring of 1973. At the end of that workshop, Henri was asked to accept the leadership of the French church. Father told him that he was to become the Jacob of his nation and win over millions of Esaus with total humility, service, and unconditional love. He also urged him to love every nation as his own nation, and every man and woman as his own brother and sister, in order to build a united world.