will lecture only on the Divine Principle.”
Hideo Oyamada, former National Leader of Japan
Rev. Oyamada gave this testimony almost 30 years ago on October 27, I 992 in Kodiak, Alaska at the missionary workshop in the presence of True Father and many missionary brothers and sisters.
Part 5 (Click to read Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4)
When we went witnessing during the day, we would always wear suits and ties, and the people we had met while collecting trash would not recognize us. We would invite college and high school students over to the center. However, the house was so narrow and hot, and every-thing was so simple that even though they would promise to return the next day, people wouldn’t come back.
heard some voices: “Heavenly Father is in a situation just like yours!” We were near an active volcano, and there were always ashes coming down. We would wash our clothes and hang them out to dry, but they would become gray or black. The situation was difficult, but still manageable.
Pioneering in Chiba
My third pioneering place was in Chiba Prefecture. Mr. Masatoshi Abe came and he always pushed the wastepaper cart. At that time he was the director of a company and a graduate from Kyoto University. I felt rebellious and wanted to say to him, “You so-and-so, I will resign.” That’s always the case when we worked together, but we just prayed and kept on.
CARP was just starting at that time, and we held a workshop at Chiba University. Our goal was to infiltrate the communists. Usually communists infiltrate other movements, but we wanted to infiltrate the communists. At a workshop which included communist students we met Mr. Jiro Shimizu and Mr. Tadayuki Inoue. That kind of experience was very special.
Eventually Mr. Abe went to another mission, and I was alone. I made the determination to stop eating and just witness. Once I became experienced in gathering lots of students, we needed some room.
We asked Mr. Kuboki for money, but I was reluctant to use public money for that purpose. Then I met a special couple. The owner of the wastepaper shop suggested that I visit a certain jewelry store. There I met a very special, faithful Christian couple. “Hello, I’m from a wastepaper shop,” I told them.
“Do you feel cold?” they asked me, and they invited me inside.
We struck up a conversation, and I found out they were very good, dedicated Christians. The husband told me his wife had just come home from the hospital, where she had been for four years. “Today I am so grateful that I’m going to church. Won’t you come with me?” he invited.
“Sure,” I said, “I’ll go with you.” I visited their Presbyterian church. The wife introduced me to the minister. The next day was Sunday, so I went back, and the minister introduced me to all the members.
I had no money with me that day; just 50 yen—less than the cost of one meal. I decided to donate the money, even if it meant I would have to skip a meal. I went witnessing with them at the minister’s request. I met a sister, who later was to become one of the 777 Blessed Couples. She introduced me to Mr. Inoue and Mr. Shimizu at the workshop I mentioned before.
The next day I became the director of their student youth group, and they invited me to a meeting where I met Mr. and Mrs. Motoki Onoda and other dedicated members.
We needed a bigger location. We found a new place and brought all of our belongings in preparation to move in. Then the landlord came and demanded cash before allowing us in. I asked some women to lend me some money, but they refused, even though they had it. It was raining. Desperately, I went to Mr. and Mrs. Onoda’s house. I found them in the midst of funeral preparations. Their son-in-law had died. The mother was crying. The day of a funeral is not a good time to ask people for money, but I prayed to Heavenly Father and said to myself, “You’ve got to try.”
I approached them and said, “I am sorry, but could I borrow 15,000 yen?” They were shocked. However, seeing that I was very serious, they asked me to wait while they went inside and talked to their father. Finally he came out with a lot of money. “Oh, that’s too much,” I told him.
“No,” he said. “This is a donation to you. If any time you have money, then, all right, you can repay.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. All I could say was, “Thank you, Heavenly Father, thank you!” That was how the Chiba church was started.
Coordinating training sessions
Then Rev. Sudo called me to be a coordinator for the training sessions. At that time they were having large training sessions for young students on an ongoing basis. Many CARP students were coming at that time. Rev. Sudo was lecturing.
Sometimes I gave part of the lectures, too, but mostly my job was to be an exorcist. There were incredible spiritual phenomena—both good and bad. Among twenty or thirty participants, surely one would become the incarnation of some evil spirit. The spirit world was always engaged in some very curious actions. They were always watching. Sometimes we could even see the spirits.
There were extraordinary spiritual experiences. There were two kinds of cases: men’s spiritual phenomena and women’s spiritual phenomena. I was always physically weak; so I would ask a strong brother, who was as big as a sumo wrestler, to help me with violent situations.
One workshop student was taken over by an evil spirit and began to do exactly as his ancestor had done. He had raped his teacher, and continued raping. When the other students saw him approach, they would shut the door, and one by one they would fight with that spirit. It was a crazy situation.
When women workshop students were possessed by an evil spirit, the problems were even greater. They would completely change, as if they were living ghosts. They’d approach me and say, “I love you.”
“No, no, thanks,” I would reply.
They would insist, “Do you love me? Touch me.”
“No, no.” Such things happened many times.
Through such experiences we came to know the existence of God and the existence of evil spirits. Bad spirits always have a very terrible smell, like the smell of dead fish or a toilet.
Preparation for the Blessing
Father and Mrs. Won Pok Choi came to Japan in 1969 for the Blessing of the first twenty-two couples.[1] To qualify for that Blessing, members had to be thirty years or older. I was twenty-seven, and was excluded from the group of candidates. I had told Mr. Osami Kuboki I wanted to be an overseas missionary and asked if I could tell Father about my desire. “Wait, just wait,” was Mr. Kuboki’s reply.
During the three days prior to the matching, Father visited many places and talked about many things. On the day of the matching. I had an appointment to give a lecture. I checked with Mr. Kuboki if I should go and give the lecture, and he said I could, since I was not in the group of Blessing candidates.
The seminar was being held near Yamanaka Lake, a beautiful place close to Mount Fuji. It was a very beautiful day and a beautiful bus ride. I remember feeling so grateful that God had created such a beautiful heaven and earth. I especially enjoyed seeing the small, beautiful cherry blossoms.
After finishing the lecture, I wondered whether I should go back right away or wait, perhaps, until the matching was over. I decided to return. The atmosphere at headquarters was so serious. Some people were still in the waiting room on the second floor. Father, Mrs. Won Pok Choi, and Mr. Kuboki were downstairs. I was surprised to see that even members that were younger than thirty had been matched: Mr. Inoue, Mr. Sakurai, Mr. Hori.
I had started eating dinner when Mr. Kuboki said that Father asked additional members, including me, to write down the names of five people that could be a good match for them. I had no idea whatsoever. “Just write down five names, from eldest to youngest,” I was told.
Of course, I had some favorite sisters, but that was not my concern. My attitude was to accept even the ugliest of all the sisters, the most hated, the one with the most critical voice. Even for such a person I would be very grateful, for I would solve my original sin. Life on earth with the physical body is very short. The important point was to become free from original sin—and for that I was so grateful.
I wrote down five names, and they were delivered to Father. Father said, “Oh, he is not interested in the Blessing.” Someone replied, “Actually, Father, he’s very interested; he has always planned to be matched.” But Father’s analysis was correct: I did not know the real value of the Blessing.
I was called into Father’s room, where he was sitting with Mrs. Won Pok Choi. Suddenly he said, “If you do not want to be blessed this time, you can postpone it until the next occasion.”
However, I replied, “Please, as you will.”
“Then you accept?” he asked me.
“Yes,” I answered.
Of the list of names I had written down, one person was too old, and her name was cut. As my first choice, I had tentatively written my wife’s name. “Why did you choose this person?” he asked. Suddenly I realized that she was completely opposite to my character. Father said, “Oyamada, you are a most feminine kind of brother; and she is a most masculine kind of woman.” Indeed we were complete opposites. For the sake of God’s will, she was so active. I was not so active. “I don’t know if she will accept you,” Father said. “You had better wait.”
If she rejects me, I thought, it will be such a terrible shame. Meanwhile, the incredible happened: she accepted the matching. I never imagined she would accept.
Continued next week….
[1] This was part of the Japanese part of the 43 Couples Blessing, which included 13 couples in the USA and 8 couples in Europe.