“Red Rock Canyon” Memoir

In 1979 True Father asked the MFT commanders to send some of their members out to witness and do Home Church. I was ecstatic. We had been forbidden to witness on MFT although some years later I heard True Father say that MFTers should have been witnessing when they went out each day.!!!! This special national  dispensation had to do with making extra indemnity conditions for the upcoming blessing which none of us knew about at the time.

A knife in the heart
A handful of us were sent out to Las Vegas and the members there were sent to fundraise. A small memory emerged as I am writing this. One former Las Vegas member was fundraising and barely bringing any result. The commander called me over. He told me, ‘Ask that brother how much he made. Then say, what sister would want to be blessed to you?!’. I was dumbfounded. All day long I focused on loving people. Now I am being asked to drive a knife into someone’s heart. He had to repeat the directions; my horror at being asked to do such a thing caused my brain and hearing to momentarily freeze. I did say it; I couldn’t look at the brother, but I said it. If he is reading this now, please forgive me. If, in some alternative universe of which I am unfamiliar, he was actually motivated by shame and it helped him bring better results, then I am grateful to have served him.

Home Church
In the outskirts of Las Vegas, we did Home Church, going door-to-door and serving the community. We visited apartments and houses many times and gained the trust of the residents who were surprised that we kept returning. I washed dishes, cleaned people’s yards, changed ceiling light bulbs for elderly, and spent  hours combing the knots out of a young girl’s tresses. After a spat of home burglaries, I organized a police education event on safety which was well attended.. 
Each member had a different area of 360 homes with a notebook to keep track of our activities. During the summer break we joined forces and organized sports events and contests for the youth. At some point we transitioned to witnessing in the heart of Las Vegas, entering the casinos and approaching people at the ‘one-armed bandits’ ( slot machines). One brother, RP, was as crazy about witnessing as I was.  Since casinos are open all night, we had 24 hour stints.  To avoid being kicked out by security guards, we’d loiter near the front, casually strike up a conversation with a customer,  broach the subject of God or the purpose of life, then invite the person to our nearby center to hear a lecture- even at 2 AM!  While RP lectured on a white board, I would make cookies. It was thrilling to witness round the clock.
One day the team took a trip out to Red Rock Canyon about 25 miles west of the Las Vegas strip. 
I grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania, lush with green forests- pine, maple, oak, hemlock, sycamore and more- all in a graceful, harmonious dance to share light and water and soil. The terrain is mountainous with waterfalls and caves. In fall the landscape bursts with brilliant colors. Everywhere there are bird songs and woodpeckers’ hammering. The revered woods brim with creatures- squirrels, mice, salamanders, frogs, snakes, racoons. Branches and leaves rustle; water gurgles over rocks and laps at the banks. Fish jump and slash and bugs add their varied accompaniment to the ever-present, never-ending orchestra of nature sounds.  

Here in Red Rock Canyon, the dry, burning desert stretched out for miles. Soundless. Motionless. All creatures hid from the heat. The vast expanse was astoundingly still. Not a tree to be seen. Only sand and rocks. Far distant cliffs were striped with varying gradations of red- millions of years of sediment. It felt as though I was standing on another planet. I had previously thought that deserts were something bleak and dismal- to be avoided at all costs as in the lifeless, deathful sand dunes of Saudi Arabia. But this place was magical. Never had I ‘heard’ such silence. Never had I experienced a place so dry, so peaceful, so still. It was intoxicating. Just one giant’s step away from the Entertainment Capital of the World - Sin City, with its non-stop lights and bustling people, frantic to spend their money. Here the peace and calm were a welcome reprieve- transformative- a gift. 
Yet more and more gifts from the Endless Giver. I wrote this song, speaking to God in the form of Red Rock Canyon, my new friend.

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon once beneath the sea
Now you’re a piece of art, a lovely thing to see
I go to you when I am lonely
You bring happiness to me

Red Rock Canyon, Red Rock Canyon
What a good friend you’ve come to be

From here I see Las Vegas shining bright
Glowing for miles-  somehow it doesn’t seem quite right
So many people, so many lonely
Searching for a brighter light

Red Rock Canyon, Red Rock Canyon
When will they find that truer light?

Perched on this rock, I watch your evening show
Sun melting slowly, all the clouds with colors glow
Your awesome peace and sincere beauty
Freely you give to friend and foe

Red Rock Canyon, Red Rock Canyon
Your gift I’ll share when I must go

​