～from familyfed.org

Throughout the weekend, a total of 1200 participants from all around the world arrived in Cheongpyeong for the Global Top Gun Youth (GTGY) Workshop.

Staff members for the GTGY workshop—comprised of representatives from Universal Peace Academy (UPA) as well as the International Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) Headquarters and the FFWPU Japan, Korea, and USA national ministry teams—all met together for the first time on Saturday, July 30, as they prepared to answer True Mother’s call to receive over 1000 international middle, high school, and university students.

As students poured in from around the world, they were warmly welcomed by the staff and registered for what promises to be the global youth event of the year.

On the first day of the workshop, August 1, participants gathered for the official opening ceremonies, where True Mother came to address them directly. Prior to True Mother’s arrival, the GTGY participants prepared their hearts and minds to receive True Mother by learning to say phrases like, “Mother, we love you!” and “Mother is beautiful!” in Korean.

After welcoming True Mother, each region was invited to stand up and give rousing cheers and applause for God and True Parents. True Mother then spoke to the participants for 40 minutes on the themes of the Only Begotten Daughter, Jesus’s mission, and the opportunities and responsibilities open to all Unificationists.

Upon concluding her remarks, True Mother joined the participants seated before the stage and the ever-popular Apple Heaven band stepped up to play several energizing songs. Having recently recorded their first album, Apple Heaven concluded their set for the day by giving a copy of their album to each of the GTGY participants in attendance.

The opening ceremonies subsequently ended with an address by Sun Gil Cho, Secretary General of International Headquarters of FFWPU.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates daily as the Global Top Gun Youth Workshop continues in the weeks ahead!