Spiritual Experience: How I met the Messiah

My life, how I met the Messiah

"One day as I was reading that special book , somehow, I had a spiritual experience, I felt God's reality and existence...

Divine Principle was extremely interesting for me, answering all the questions I had in regard to the Bible. When I heard that the returning Lord was on the earth and he had already a family. I was so overfilled with joy!"

Personal testimony of

I was born in Belgium in 1953, the year of the end of the Korean war. I was a second child of a family of 4, 2 sisters and 1 brother. My parents were raised as Catholics but my dad became an atheist, so I was raised without religion.

I was lucky to have a grandmother who was a devout catholic , she passed on when I was 9 years old . As I was growing up I always felt her guidance and protection. When I was in elementary school I saw the Ben Hur movie and I wondered how could an innocent man die on a cross.

It was when I was 14 that I visited for the first time the USA. I spent 6 months with 2 American families. I was intrigued by the huge Bible they had in their living room. And I felt that their families had a really good atmosphere. Going abroad opened my mind quite a bit. After my return to Belgium I became more independent and I realized that my universe was not just school.

	God answered to my prayer: Personal Testimony
	Personal Testimony: Jesus came to me in a dream

In high school I loved sciences and I became part of the Scientific Youth of Belgium. With them I was able to participate to seminars in Sweden and Tunisia. We had international seminars in Belgium as well and that is where I developed my love for international gatherings.

I became also acquainted with the Christian Movement for Peace of Mons. Through this movement I met a catholic priest . We had many deep discussions. At home I had come across a book with many pictures of the concentration camps of WWII, there was in particular a picture of a huge pile of emaciated dead bodies. It made a deep impression on me, I was wondering how come there was so much evil in the world.

During my English class, we read the speech of Martin Luther King, "I have a dream", I was deeply moved by it. At ethics we studied exemplary lives of people that lived for the sake of others, like Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur... It was always inspiring.

I felt I needed to choose a career for the sake of others

After high school, I attended for one year the University Libre de Bruxelles. At that time I was very much searching to understand the origin of the universe. I got acquainted with a catholic student group and I remember participating at their Eucharist and wanting to believe in God. I had a high school friend with whom from time to time we were having long walk in nature far from the madding crowd and I was able to feel something very special in nature a feeling of elation.

During the summer after my first year at the ULB, I attended special camps organized the by the "Christian movement for peace". I met a psychiatric doctor who was studying schizophrenia, it introduced me to the invisible world beyond our physical senses. I also felt that I needed to choose a career for the sake of others and decided to start nursing school.

While I was in nursing school, a friend gave me a book "The Prophet" of Khalil Gibran. One day as I was sitting in the living room of Miriam Fourneau, and as I was reading that special book , somehow, I had a spiritual experience, I felt God's reality and existence. I believed in God!

I then started to read the Bible from beginning to the end

I was carrying the Bible everywhere I went and kept reading. I also reconnected with the catholic priest that used to give me a ride , I attended some Bible study. I also connected with the group of Lanza del Vasto. In Belgium there was not a lot of religious faith beside Catholicism.

When I went to the Bible study, I was taught that only those who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved. I was thinking what about all the rest of humanity? If God is a God of love doesn't He want to save all humanity? Lanza del Vasto came to Mons to give a lecture , I attended it. I felt that one statement that he made was very true " Evil starts within ourselves."

I started to attend the meetings of his followers. As I was reading the Bible, I felt that it was truly the word of God, and I was so inspired. I felt that my eyes were opening to the spiritual realities. But I also had many questions. Why the God of the old testament seems to be so different from the God of the new testament? How to understand Revelation?

I had some visions and strong intuitions

One vision was that the poster that I had in my room of Romeo and Juliette became pigs kissing each other. Another was that Satan was finding his way under the cloak of the priests.

So I felt clearly I needed to practice abstinence in regard to relationship with the other sex. I was wondering why it was so difficult just to have brother and sister relationships with the other sex.

While I was in nursing school, my favorite singer was Julos Beaucarne. I also had a friend , an artist that loved Gregorian music, with whom we went to a concert that Julos was going to have in the Ardennes. I felt strongly that I wanted to go. The next day as the concert was finished and it was Sunday , there was not train so we had to ask for a ride.

I heard the "Divine Principle"

The couple with whom I was riding were teachers. The wife was teaching dancing. As dancing was at that time one of my favorite hobbies, I started to attend her classes. One day she told us of a conference about "Eutonie". It sounded really interesting, so I went there. As I was listening, I felt very strongly that I needed to take lessons with the person that was the guest speaker at the conference, his name was Simon Robinet.

	Spiritual Experience: Like the windows of Heaven were opened
	I looked to the sky and I read: "The Messiah is on the Earth"

The amazing thing was that Simon was a teacher of gymnastic just on the other side of the street where my nursing school was. So I was able to meet him after class. I was invited a few time to Brussel where he lived with his wife and children in a community of brothers and sisters.

And on the way we would discuss about life after death and the reality of a spiritual world. I felt so strongly that the community where he lived was where I belonged. Later I knew they were Unificationists. So through them I heard first the "Divine Principle".

The returning Lord is on the earth

Divine Principle was extremely interesting for me, answering all the questions I had in regard to the Bible. When I heard that the returning Lord was on the earth and he had already a family. I was so overfilled with joy! I just could not contain myself, I was so grateful to my Heavenly Father and went many times to the prayer room to express my gratitude with tears.

When we read the story of his life and when I heard about his time in the concentration camp in Hung Nam, I could not help seeing the picture of that pile of dead emaciated bodies that I had seen earlier in a book at home. I realized how much he suffered for our sake, going a course of intense suffering on our behalf. I decided right then and there to dedicate my life to help the returning Lord.

We were living a life of dedication to God

We began our day with prayer, ending our day with prayer. Going witnessing everyday to share the breaking news that the Lord of the second advent has come. I became a lecturer of the "Divine Principle". We shared the chores and lived as brothers and sisters a life of purity. What I loved the most was our singing everyday before the meals. I became one of the guitar players.

We were living a life of discipline developing our prayer life, studying God's words and putting in submission our physical body to the will of God. We were learning to love one another and the people we met in our everyday encounters.

DIVINE PRINCIPLE

Introduction
Principle of Creation
The fall
The purpose of the Messiah
The Last Days
Resurrection
Christolog
Preparation for the second coming
The second coming