All Stories
You can look under specific sections under Missions or Special Times or at this page where all stories and testimonies are gathered in the order they were submitted. Here you find the whole jar of jelly beans mixed together. Enjoy the different flavors, and then share yours!
Only gratitude saved me
by Sam Harley September 3, 2017 In the worst days of Sam's life he had to think of what he was grateful for.
read morePosters in Montreal
by Sam Harley September 3, 2017 Sam was not ready to join yet, but saw posters of Father in Montreal.
read moreThree strikes, but you’re not out
by Derek Denero September 3, 2017 GOD AND BASEBALL: Baseball is one of Americas beloved national pastimes and of course has expanded on as a great world-renowned sport today….hmm, sounds so providential, and it’s game rules have maintained consistency since its...
read moreCo-commanders of NY Church MFT
by Robert Brown September 3, 2017 Robert shares how Rev. Sudo made Robert and Penny Brown co-commanders of NY Church MFT in 1989.
read moreResisting evil impulses
by Sam Harley September 3, 2017 Sam helps a blessed child resist evil impulses with a story how he resisted.
read moreFather’s words a part of her
by Sara Saberan September 3, 2017 Sara was asked to pray and Father's words became her prayer.
read moreHalloween – All Givers Day
by Stephen Goldstein September 3, 2017 Stephen changes Halloween into a day of giving instead of just taking.
read moreSpiritual power to break a thousand
by Stephen Goldstein and Robert Brown September 3, 2017 Stephen and Robert discuss how a spiritual breakthrough helped all on MFT.
read moreSweeping streets of NY before Yankee Stadium
by Susana Ginze September 3, 2017 Susana shares how New Yorkers wanted to know what we were doing sweeping the streets.
read moreWhat’s in a dream?
by Caroline Cecile September 1,20107 My life took a drastic turn from the moment I found God, and nine month later (yes, nine months as a baby growing inside its mother’s womb till it is ready for a new world).. I remember the image that crossed my mind when I first...
read moreMy first dream in the Unification Church
By Caroline Cecile September 1, 2017 I was sitting at the back of a crowded conference room on the floor. Everybody in fact was sitting on the floor, looking onto the speaker, our True Father, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Everyone was dressed in their best attire. I was...
read moreFire truck had to rescue me
by Robert Brown September 1, 2017 I was selling puppets, Freddie, Freida and Dolly duck in a small office building. I noticed a unmarked bathroom and went in. Soon the bathroom door opened and a woman came in and sat in the booth next to me. I scooted my feet over so...
read morePrayer at old slave market
by Sam Harley September 1, 2017 Of course, prayer was one of the main things we did in the Unification Church. I was into meditation when I joined, and I prayed quietly, preferably in the grassy green hills of Booneville. My first 'prayer shock' was when I joined the...
read moreClimb down a tree and hitch hike
By Don Makowsky August 6, 2017 It is a poor recording but worth listening to, or just read the transcript below. I was in a center and I was kind of struggling. I wasn’t a good fundraiser. I had something spiritual I wanted to resolve and I felt the only way was...
read moreFrom MFT to IOWC
by Sam Harley August 25, 2017 Going from 5 years of MFT to an IOWC team was an abrupt transition. There were several things to get used to. First, fundraising (unless you were at a flower stand) involved a lot of physical activity. You were walking or running wherever...
read moreI came on faith alone
by Ebony Davis August 20, 2017 Ebony tells how she came to California on pure faith, being told to come by a vision of True Parents.
read moreStuck in Iran during the Blessing
by Masoud Saberan August 20, 2017 Masoud shares how in 1982 he was stuck in Iran when the call came to go to the Blessing ten days later. He couldn't leave in that short of time.
read moreWhere are you Ebony?
by Ebony Davis August 20, 2017 Ebony shares how her life was full of problems and she hit rock bottom, but she had a dream of True Parents and later a vision of Father and Mother in a mirror behind her telling her to go to San Bernardino, California.
read moreTwo German Shepherds approached
by Danielle Voelker August 20, 2017 Danielle shares how in Italy selling church pamphlets she had experiences of being spiritually protected from dogs while going door to door.
read moreApproached in New York, finally joins in California
by Stephen Goldstein August 20, 2017 Stephen shares how he met church members three times before he finally joined. After joining an ex-member tries to persuade him to leave, but he sees this former member's lifestyle and prefers being with the church and all it...
read moreI love this church
by Mercer Goldstein August 20, 2017 Mercer shares how her husband brought her in the church and how she loves everyone here. She feels this saved her life and is so grateful.
read moreOne month in prison in Iran
by Masoud Saberan August 20, 2017 Masoud shares about being arrested in Iran for distributing church books, New Hope and Principle of Creation, in 1980 one year after the Islamic revolution. He and other church members were put in prison along with other religious...
read moreWhen you can’t fundraise, not today
by Sam Harley There are some things I am not proud of. What I now know about myself – I am an introvert, I need to talk things over with someone, need nature and quiet to recharge – I only sensed back then. Being around people was hard for me, it wears me out. I need...
read moreHeavenly Father set us up a great Thanksgiving feast
by Priscilla Joy Agari August 12, 2017 I remember one Thanksgiving I was fundraising in Mystic Connecticut with Daisy Joy Elizabeth and we wrapped up our flower stands and were instructed to go to a Diner for dinner. At a gas station, while in line to pay, I asked the...
read moreChinese woman fed our whole team
by Maria Piperis August 12, 2017 Often people offered me food and drinks while I was fundraising. Some in Spanish speaking areas where I was invited to come in sit down and eat. Maybe the one Chinese woman who not only fed our whole Team of 4 but also opened her house...
read moreThere he is, lock him up!
by Walter G. Lowe August 12, 2017 When I was on my own in 1977 selling IL Hwa wholesale during the day and fundraising in the evening to cover expenses. I ended up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey a little after 5 pm. It was too late to try to find any health food stores...
read moreAsked for donation of butter on bread
by Dejan Perhat August 12, 2017 I'm from Croatia and I really had so many special experiences on fundraising during my full time course in the church. During fundraising I was invited many, many times to join lunch, or people gave me coffee, fruits, drinks etc not...
read moreHi Sam!
by Sam Harley August 12, 2017 We Were There theme of the week: People offering us food. People hardly ever invited me to lunch when I was fundraising, except for some Christians who gave me pizza so they could try to convert me (so many people thought that one bite of...
read moreBreakfast with True Parents
This is a response from Sam Harley's post about people offering us food. by Debra Gertz Thank you Sam. I love your testimonies! I think God knew that food was a way to touch your heart. I don't remember people giving me food while fundraising or witnessing, or while...
read moreYou’re not going with those damn Moonies!
This is not the best quality recording, but listen to it anyway. It is hilarious. Below is a written transcript in case you miss some of it. by Don Makowsky August 6, 2017 I had been searching since I was fifteen for spiritual truth and what I could learn about the...
read moreThe value of stories
Sam Harley shares about how stories have always been valuable and important for cultures.
read moreHey, I know that man
Jules Hack shares how a Jewish man bought many pictures of Jesus.
read moreHindu, Buddhist and Christian buy roses
Robert Brown shares how three different people from Hindu, Buddhist and Christian bought from him.
read morePioneering Pasadena City College CARP
John Holmes shares about his work in CARP.
read moreJewish and Muslim working together
Andy Weiss shares about being a Jewish man trusting a Muslim man and how much they helped each other.
read moreRun barefoot in snow until every candy is gone
by Jeri Tamayo Okay I was in Michigan and I was struggling cuz I wasn't making money I'm a very simple person. My team captain picks me up I pray I report and have almost nothing to count I'm crying cuz I feel bad that I didn't make any money. My Captain allows...
read moreI felt safe and solid on MFT
by Jeri Tamayo I honestly never struggled on Christmas in my fund raising years. My team captains never had us fund raise on Christmas, we got to sleep in, at a nice hotel, and we would go out to an extra nice restaurant or we would be at the main center and then...
read moreTouchdown!!!
by Eric Richardson I remember after a fundraising condition when we got Christmas off, but the week after was solid until New Year's Eve. Then we were supposed to go to LA to spend God's Day with the rest of California CARP. But the captain of our fundraising team...
read moreIn cold New York, team leader offers ice cream bar
by Paulette K Wiesinger Out in the cold New York weather for weeks selling frozen roses, team leader drives up in the van with a huge coat on and the heat turned up high and offers me an ice cream bar... In 1976 I was with The New Hope singers International in Japan....
read moreI’m the #$%^& Constitution around here!
by Robert Gauper The quote, “It’s sometimes easier to ask forgiveness than permission.” comes to mind. I led a two-man team that fundraised small towns throughout the Midwest and made a serious attempt to follow their fundraising rules. While trying to play by the...
read moreI felt like the court jester
by Gregory Davis Well, if you want to start with "shoulda, coulda, woulda, we might begin with "actual permits" with adherence to "actual legal guidelines" of same. As a one time "PR person" with the job of attending town council meetings and securing "permits"...
read moreSo frozen that I could not zip my pants
by Priscilla Joy Agari I remember one frigid Christmas on Frank Harris's challenge team when the commander commanded him to have us sell roses instead of the clip-ons that we made high result with daily. We tried to unite. I don't know where we were. Everything around...
read moreAfter attacking Rev. Moon, Dad welcomes him
by Tom Cutts Sometimes the Christmas frontline can be in your own home. During Christmas 1984 True Father was in Danbury Prison, and I was the Regional Coordinator in Atlanta. The Regional Director granted me permission to visit my parents in Boca Raton, Florida. At...
read moreNow you know what True Father went through
by Muracle De Goeij Samtjoe I don't have a Christmas fundraising story, but I remember doing a traffic stop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the 1980s with another sister, who was on the other side of the road. It was Valentine's Day and it wasn't a good day, so I went...
read moreThose were the days, my friend
by Eric Richardson Remembering a Christmas Eve, around 10 degrees in Dallas! We'd been selling frozen carnations and on the way home the MFT van broke down. So there's our team hunkered down in the back of a pickup being driven back to our center by some kind sole....
read more50 monchichis decorate Christmas tree
by Diana Berreman Davies My first 2 Christmases nobody went home, but we didn't fundraise either. I was very close to my home both years, but there had been a lot of kidnappings recently Also Father asked us to stay together and offer it up, as it was a providentially...
read moreMr Kamiyama gave MFTers $100
by Robert Gauper A few times, Mr. Kamiyama gave us MFTers $100.00 to buy Christmas presents to send to our families. I would send $50.00 to my wife in New Zealand, which was a lot of money because of the weak NZ dollar at that time. My wife would then buy presents...
read morePing pong on Christmas
by Priscilla Joy Agari I remember one Christmas when I was selling flowers on Long Island and after we finished, I was allowed to go to my family's Christmas gathering in Amityville. My face was so red from being out in the cold wind. My dad was so happy, though, I...
read moreMerry Christmas, True Parents’ birthday
by Douglas-Mary Moriarty I woke up on True Parents Birthday in the early 80's and walked through the Lobby of The New Yorker. Three or four people passed by, entering the building and I greeted them all with Merry Christmas! They just nodded but then one sister was...
read moreMany bad MFT experiences came from one region
by Paul Carlson I did 7 years on national MFT, the last two with OWP. We always went out on Christmas, not door to door though, and for a short day. I did not have any particular trouble making a goal. My memory is a bit fuzzy, I'd think we did celebrate one way or...
read moreBiggest gift was God’ heart
by Joy Irvine Garrat My first Christmas on MFT was shocking when I found out I was not going home. Then I was dropped off door to door with tons of flower bouquets in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 9 am. OMG! 9 am on Christmas morning! I was on a mostly Japanese team who...
read moreFrozen roses
by Jennifer Espendola I was on IOWC in the states in the 80´s. We were Atlanta Georgia in one of the coldest winters. The bucket of ice in our motel room never melted. One Christmas day a Japanese sister and I were selling roses just near a 7/11.The wind chill factor...
read moreHe bought my pitiful leftovers, rejoicing
by Diane Robinette All I had left were a few sprigs of frozen statice. Maybe a couple of half-frozen, straggly green leaf. I was out there, waving it in the wind, my eyelashes felt like they were starting to stick together as my eyes watered from the icy wind....
read moreJack is his same self
by Jack Whedbee One time, I brought a carp-mft team to visit my family, as we passed thru Georgia. Naoko was the team mom. My older sister was freaking out at how much I had changed. But then Naoko asked my mom if she thinks I had changed much. Mom said- No, Jack is...
read moreShe didn’t see my elevated state
by Susan Crosthwaite One memory I have was of going to a Christmas with some of my family members and my aunt saying " Oh, You haven't changed a bit!" She meant it as a complement in relief that I was OK, but I was secretly disappointed that she didn't see my...
read moreBad day… Christmas eve
by Brandh Gaarder I remember eating snow on a fast, selling chocolate and stuffed animals... I felt bad when I tasted pine needles and wild onion... So I ate all the chocolate and stuffed the animals in my shirt and pants to keep warm... Bad day... Christmas...
read moreChristmas, a peaceful happy day
by Elizabeth Kang I was in the USA from 1973 to 1982. We used to go to Belvedere on Christmas day to hear True Father speak. I remember the beautiful Christmas tree. We rested all day on Christmas Day and were told that True Parents did not wish us to fundraise on...
read moreGod wanted me in Austria
by Anthony Cooke Selling flowers outside Calvary Chapel in Las Vegas on Christmas Day. Lots of kind Christians bought flowers and me food. Christmas in the U.K. sucked. There was a deep feeling installed that it was wrong to go home or visit your spouse. I really had...
read moreI punched the captain in the face
by Mike McShane Christmas eve, in Connecticut, New Haven ,around 1983, just invited to spend Christmas with another Carp member’s family there, and my dad on the operating table in Chicago for a cancer surgery, that was a desperate day, for me , icy cold wet slush all...
read moreThe Jewish lady on Christmas
by Seija Kuenzig I remember and never forget the "frontline Christmas" of 1974. I was part of the IOWC 1st Global Team and we were in Los Angeles preparing to go to Japan in January, 1975. On Christmas Day we went witnessing door to door in pairs. I was with...
read moreStepping on a nail, I realized DP was true
by Bob Abendroth On a very serious note, I was in the water with my then 18 year old "dare devil" brother on July 24, 1975. Due to an error on his part, he ascended to the spirit world. Exactly 100 days later, on Halloween day, I became a believer of Divine Principle...
read moreWhat was your name again?
(as posted in familyfed.org) by Alan and Rosa Davies Alan Our matching was on May 13,1979 in the New Yorker Hotel Grand Ballroom. Rev. Moon, our True Father, was about to introduce me to my forever mate. It was late in the day when he called my name. All of the...
read moreRev. Song loves songs
by Sam Harley July 16,2017 I was in New York Church when Rev Song took over. He was a tall, burly, charismatic guy. He’d been the leader of a kid’s gang on the hill in Pusan where Father and Won Pil Kim built a hut out of cardboard. The kids harassed Father at first,...
read moreI was there… Yankee Stadium
by Greg Davis August 30, 2016 I was there…Yankee Stadium June 1st, 1976: I joined at a volatile time in history. Just in time (by three months) to participate in TF speech in MSG and on to Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument. I was so grateful to have assisted, on...
read moreAuthenticity
by Sam Harley July 23, 2017 Sam shares the value of telling our own stories, that these are true to us and resonate with others because of the authenticity of a lived story.
read moreGallery and Framing business
by Sam Harley July 23, 2017 Sam Harley shares how he worked for a gallery and framing business with a couple of interesting brothers, and the lessons he learned.
read moreGoing to Tijuana to bring needed clothes
Robert Brown and Jose Fragosa tell the story of going down to Tijuana, Mexico around 1995 to bring clothes to a school, bringing Robert's twin boys and Jose's daughter.
read moreGoing to hometown to witness
by Jose Fragosa July 23, 2017 Jose came back to his hometown and began witnessing to his family and relatives. He taught them Divine Principle in Camp Mazumdar, in his home, in their homes.
read moreJose Fragosa shares the value of these stories
by Jose Fragosa Jose shares the value to those who tell the stories and those who hear them.
read moreBlessed couple share how they need each other
Jose and Akemi Fragosa share how they need each other to keep in line spiritually.
read moreThis is not for me, it is for God
Sam Harley and Penny Brown discuss overcoming challenges and keeping God as the center.
read moreRunning on and on
Derek Denaro shares an experience of running for hours and thinking of Father being tortured. Realizes his own stubborn nature and how hard it is to stop and go the other way. Also in teaching Divine Principle realizes we have to substantiate restoration.
read moreProdigal son and his own son
Dereck Denaro shares about being a prodigal son and how what he has done affects his son.
read moreThe value of sharing testimonies
by Caroline Cecile
read moreI CRUSHED!
by Greg DavisI was so sick (feeling like puking) that I couldn't fundraise. I was dropped off for the day and had no way to contact the captain. (No cell phones)I was in a small shopping center parking lot, and running around "trying to feel better". It wasn't...
read more$300 for everything you got
by Jose Fragosa I was in the Washington Times when Father went to Danbury prison. Bo Hi Pak came to speak at the building in Washington, DC. He said “Now is the chance, if you have been a business member for a long time, to join an IOWC team.” I volunteered, and...
read moreOne tear fell on the picture
by Sara Saberan My blessing was 34 years in Korea. I had first been matched in my country with a picture, but it didn’t work out. I went to America to go to the seminary. I came to New York in 1982, but at that time, Father didn’t match me with anyone. Pres. Kim asked...
read moreSkipping away the pain
by Hil Llanto I overcame close to death experiences and injuries. I was young, in1991, had recently joined our church. I was with CARP in New York at the time, at a workshop. Dr. Seuk took us skiing for three days. It was a first time for me skiing, and I got injured....
read moreStill working on perfecting myself
by Bill Christian October 1, 2016 It took me a while to come to my first-weekend workshop. It was in the Fall of 1979, at 43rd Street Church, NYC. For more than a year, I attended daily Mass and rec'd Holy Communion asking Jesus what to do with my life? (I was...
read moreYou choose, Father
by Jose Fragosa Before the Blessing, I was working for the Washington Times. I was one of the very first people to come to the Washington Times. Actually, before that I was working for the News World Press, in New York. We used to print the News World communications....
read more