On September 11, 2001, our National Messiah Missionary to the nation of Pakistan, Thomas Edward Wojcik, slipped into speechlessness in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, a hospital he has visited many times in the last three years. 9 -1-1. World Trade Centers. United States. Afghanistan. Pakistan. Chong Goo "Tiger" Park. Lee Shapiro. Tom Wojcik. Last Friday, Sept. 28th, with his family gathered around him, Tom Wojcik ascended into the World of Spirit.

Now, I'm not one to easily attach significance to everyday lives, but the life we are honoring today is not an ordinary life. So, just why are we here today?

We are here today to be with his family to joyfully offer Tom to Heaven as he begins his Eternal Life and his new mission in the Spiritual World. In the tradition of the Seung Hwa Ceremony, we celebrate Tom's passing. We are not mourning his passing, but celebrating and honoring the life he lived on earth, and the life he will live forever in Spirit with his family.

Who was Tom Wojcik? You can read the details of his life in the program. What we want to do this morning is get into his Heart.

From the Bible:

Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Tom Wojcik is a man who hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Indeed, he is a righteous man. How did he hunger and thirst for righteousness while on Earth?

He hungered and thirsted first and foremost to be a True Son of God, after the example of our True Parents. He hungered and thirsted to do God's Will everyday of his adult life. He hungered and thirsted to be a True Husband to his wife Kitty, and a True Father to his six beautiful children. And, he hungered and thirsted to be a True Brother to all of us.

"Tom, today, according to the promise of our Lord, be filled. You lived it, Brother."

How can we see Tom's hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Actually, I have not known Tom very well personally. But, since 1979, I have known Tom through the countless people who have told me of his righteous life, and how he helped them, raised them, trained them, challenged them, loved them. Tom and I were pioneer CARP members in America, but we rarely met. I, in the East and he, in the West. We had in common a love for America, a love for the brothers and sisters we were responsible to help, and the loving training and guidance from our Elder Brother, Tiger Park. Mrs. Park is here with us today.

In his continuing hunger and thirst for righteousness, Tom offered himself for the matching and Holy Blessing, and was Blessed to Kitty Jenkins in 1982. Kitty told me, "No question, God matched us through True Father. Tom is the only man who could have been strong enough to subjugate Kitty Jenkins into the object position!"

Tom was always on God's Frontline. He fought communists in Germany. He volunteered for missionary work in Zaire. He was a missionary in Russia. He volunteered again to go to Pakistan. He fundraised, on the street, up until very recently. Tom certainly had the perseverance and determination needed to run a business or excel in some field. But he hungered and thirsted for righteousness, for the Indemnity Front Line of God's Will. He wanted to be free and flexible to go where God needed him next. He had an unquenchable passion to do God's Will. And he persevered through all difficulties and challenges.

Tom Wojcik was also a solid family man. But not in the way some might expect. He set the tradition. He set the conditions. And he set the example, out on the frontline. Kitty said recently, "Tom was amazing. His spirit was ever present in our family, but he was rarely home. He was always out, working for God or for the family"

When I look at Tom's beautiful children, Tath, Misun, Gil, Sonny, Tommy and Natalia, and I think of his wife's deep, deep love for him, I am reminded of Jesus telling us in Matt. 7:16, "You will know them by their fruits."

I'd like to note that Tom and Kitty are both American born of European descent. Many in their Blessing group are international and interracial marriages. In that sense, they are an exemplary American Blessed couple and Blessed family. Tom was a Viet Nam Vet. He suffered untold Hell in war before meeting God and True Parents. He loved America with all his heart. He was proud to be an American son of True Parents, traveling all over the World teaching God's Word and God's Love.

"We're proud of you, Tom."

I know that Tom's only worry on Earth is the well being of his family and the victory of his children. That's why he hung on to his physical life for so long. He wanted to make sure they would be strong and victorious. In the past, hundreds, from all over the World, have poured out support for this beloved family.

"Tom, don't worry, we're with Kitty and the family. We'll be with them and help them remain. We are all one family in God and True Parents. Go and do God's Will!"

Tom Wojcik truly loves Pakistan. He told people all the way to the end, as sick as he was, "I'm going there soon, to work." He felt it was his destiny.

Pakistan. Afghanistan. United States. Tiger Park. Lee Shapiro. Tom Wojcik. 9-1-1. Coincidence? I do know that America and the World are forever changed since Sept. 11th. I know our movement will never be the same. I know that the future of World peace lies in the hands of America, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan is absolutely key to solving the problem of terrorism in Afghanistan, and, therefore, terrorism in the World. I know that Tiger Park, also in the Spirit World, is a National Messiah Missionary to Pakistan. I know that our dear Brother, Lee Shapiro, perished on mission in Afghanistan in 1987 during the war there.

Kitty believes Tom was waiting to go to Pakistan as he lay in the hospital for his last two weeks on Earth. "Tom, God's speed! We're with you! God and True Parents are with you!"

Finally, I feel humbled to be here delivering these remarks. I aspire to live as righteous a life as Tom Wojcik. I sometimes draw back, where I know Tom presses on and perseveres. I dream of a family legacy as solid and beautiful as his. Tom Wojcik's life is an example to us all. We all hunger and thirst for righteousness. Tom lives it.

"Thank you, Tom. Thanks for your example of righteousness, perseverance, love and faith. Thank you for your beautiful family, that brings joy and hope to our community of faith. Thank you for loving America. Thank you for loving Germany, Zaire and Russia. And, thank you for loving Pakistan."

John 11:26 says, "And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die!"

Tom Wojcik lives on as he ascends to the world of spirit. Let us send him off with joy and hope!

"We are with you, Brother Tom. Your family is with you. God and True Parents are with you. Go, our Brother, to your new life in Spirit. We look forward to hearing more about your righteous perseverance for Heaven, in Pakistan, or wherever you may work. And work we know you will!

We'll see you in the Kingdom!"