Saturday, February 02, 2008

2008 February Message

Propagation Is Enjoyable!
Rev. Tetsuya Abe
Acting Chief, Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Missionary Area

   Thank you very much, everyone.

   The 44th International Spiritual Training Seminar at Jisso Center is just around the corner. Those who have not yet signed up, please don't miss this God-given opportunity! We also need and appreciate your help in the kitchen. Thank you very much.

   I believe many of you have an experience or two that makes you glad to know Seicho-No-Ie. Then, who introduced you to the Seicho-No-Ie teachings? They may be your parents, siblings, relatives, friends, neighbors, acquaintances at PTA, supervisor at work, and so on; in any case, it is true that someone introduced you to Seicho-No-Ie. Beginning with Dr. and Mrs. Masaharu Taniguchi, the teachings passed through the love of many people before reaching you. It is not a coincidence that you are practicing the teachings and leading a happy life. It is attributed to the grace and love of many people; therefore, you will have a happy life by being grateful to your blessings and sharing your happiness with as many people as possible.

   Since I arrived here, thanks to Mrs. Shirley Iwatani's encouragement, I am trying to distribute Truth of Life magazines at supermarkets, restaurants, banks and other places without hesitation. I am very pleased to see that most people accept the magazines with a smile. It is very different from Japan.

   I would like to share with you two of my experiences in propagation.

   The other day, I talked with a cashier at a nearby supermarket. Her son is now studying in Japan and lives in Matsudo. Matsudo is a city next to Nagareyama where our family lived when we were in Japan, therefore, my wife and I were very surprised to hear the name of the city from a woman who lives in Kaneohe. It is a small world! At the end of our conversation, I gave her a Truth of Life magazine. She immediately cast her eyes on the cover and found the words "Seicho-No-Ie" and pointed out toward Jisso Center, "Seicho-No-Ie? Seicho-No-Ie over there?" I answered, "Yes! I'm a Seicho-No-Ie minister. I arrived here six months ago." Then she said with a very pleasing expression, "Welcome! Welcome to Hawaii! I like this magazine. Thank you!"

   In another case, when my family installed solar panels on the roof of our house in Japan in November 2006, I gave a Japanese SNI magazine to Mr. Y who installed the panels. Before and after the installation, I had opportunities to talk with him. Every time I saw him, I talked about the Seicho-No-Ie teachings and mentioned that SNI is now taking action to preserve global environment from a religious perspective.

   Although I did not hear from Mr. Y after he finished the job in our house, I recently heard that he attended a Public Lecture conducted by Rev. and Mrs. Masanobu Taniguchi, Vice President of Seicho-No-Ie, in Chiba Prefecture and said that he wants to learn the SNI teachings more deeply by attending a Readers’ Meeting. The reason is that last year, he installed solar panels on the house of a dedicated SNI leader in Chiba. On top of that, the dedicated leader is a respresentative for White Dove Association of Chiba Missionary Area; therefore, she encouraged him to participate in the Public Lecture. I was so impressed to hear this good news.

   God showed us in the Divine Message of "Life's Purification Center" revealed through Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi, "To save even one person is truly a great deed in the eyes of God." Anyone who pays attention to propagation and has courage can propagate. And there is no other joy than the joy of conveying the truth.

   You who are angels of love, let us pass out Truth of Life magazines at supermarkets, banks, restaurants, and parks with courage. Surely, there is someone waiting for you because God chose you as a messenger to convey the awareness that "everyone is a child of God" and gave you the teachings before all others.