We are very pleased to announce that DONE 2015 and DONE Mission One 2016 have been successfully completed! We want to congratulate the graduates once again for all their effort and achievements and share some of their reflections.
Running from September 27th – December 21st, 2015, the DONE programme this year had 26 participants with 7 full-time staff and managing ESGD staff. The participant group was very well mixed with 13 brothers and 13 sisters, as well as 13 Europeans and 13 non-Europeans (from America, New Zealand, Australia and Japan). We also want to take the chance to thank our 7 full-time team leaders once again, as we attribute much of this year’s success to the stability, leadership and constant care that came from them.
A group of 16 participants and 5 full-time staff then continued onto the DONE Mission One programme (DM1), which ran from February 2nd – May 5th, 2016. Upon graduating, many of DONE and DONE DM1 participants have applied to help staff the ESGD European summer workshops, which we see as a great contribution!
On behalf of all of us as staff, we want to thank all of our friends, family members, educators and wider connections, who supported the programme and the participants throughout these past months.
Warmest wishes,
Yebuny Hanna (Educational Director)
Julius Alexy (DONE Director)
Patrick Hanna (DONE Co-director)
Short reflections from participants:
“DONE has helped me to be more clear about who I really am; a unique child of God, and that’s where my real value lies. DONE created an environment for me to discover this myself. Before I went to DONE I was very scared of taking initiative, but DONE encouraged me to take responsibility and made me aware of my potential. It’s all a matter of heart, of becoming the most loving version of yourself. I realised that we can all be positive influencers, and that God can work through us when we take the first step. It made me hopeful that together we can make a better, more loving world.”
A participant from Belgium
“On DONE I found out I want to live this life, being a 2nd Gen, following the path of my parents.
I thought I had known before that the Principle is the only truth that can make me happy, but still – living this life always seemed to be a daunting task I would have to take, sacrificially.
Finally I feel free now because I genuinely desire to understand the Principle fully, because this is the one beautiful thing I sincerely want to do.”
A participant from Germany
“DONE has allowed me to discover for myself what my purpose in life is and has given me plenty of tools to create a meaningful everyday life. Some of the good habits I was able to create were a sense of self-awareness, hopefulness, attentiveness and perseverance. I believe that one of my most important achievements on DONE/DM1 is finally being able to be honest with myself, and therefore honest and open with others. Not only did it help me grow as an individual and discover my own strengths and limitations, but it also gave me the strength to create and develop deep and honest relationships with those both on DONE and back at home. I am forever grateful for this experience.”
A participant from Australia
“DONE gave me many tools, which I can apply to live my life with more strength and awareness. Amongst the most important things DONE has allowed me to do is to differentiate what the inessentials in life are. They were hindering me from being the person I want to be and I developed more trust in myself to take bold steps to cut them out and march forward in my life with more clarity and strength. I am grateful for much needed education that enables us to be much happier people.”
A participant from Australia
“Through DONE I could learn that God wants me to be myself. Being yourself means to bring out all the good characteristics, which were given to you by God. It is to let your inner light shine. The staff created a space where we could take the initiative and work on ourselves based on our own creativity. Being yourself also means to accept where you come from, no matter what that means for you. Through the love and care we received, we could grow the confidence in ourselves to build something out of our own creativity and conviction.
I also learnt that God plays an important role in our daily life. It is about giving meaning to this normality in our lives that will make our life meaningful. He wants to be part of the normal decisions we take in our lives. The small ones and the big ones. It is up to us, if God is part of our lives or not. We have the power to create our own reality. Let it be a reality, where the ones we love can come closer to God. Let’s create an environment where we can all come closer to God.”
A participant from Germany
“Six months of DONE and DONE Mission1 have come to an end – a journey which helped me to take steps forward in my personal growth and in my relationship with God and True Parents. Even though it was not always an easy journey, I’m grateful to every moment as I could deepen my understanding of my roots and my identity as a daughter of God and of how important it is to take our lives and our mission seriously, as every decision has an impact on our future generations. Staying hopeful and keeping integrity no matter what so that God has space to work in our lives – this was one of the most precious lessons for me.”
A participant from Austria
“DONE and DM1 helped me to build my faith and hope in a natural way. I started to see what it was that God wanted for us to create and that was only done through the efforts that we all, as brothers and sisters, put in; taking responsibility for what we were building. There were many things that I gained internally but by far the most important was the relationships I grew and deepened with my friends and God.”
A participant from New Zealand
“DONE stands for growth and growth comes from challenges and takes time. Growing means investing fully and then even a small group of people is enough to make a change. But DONE is only the beginning; we worked hard, learned a lot and now it is time to pass it on.”
A participant from Austria
“When I look back on DONE I can definitely say that it was a key moment in my life. A time of self-growth and realisation, where life-lasting friendships were made and unforgettable experiences. Through DONE and DM1 I feel closer to Heavenly Parent and closer to myself.”
A participant from Ireland
“Through DONE and DONE Mission 1, I could grasp a better understanding of what it means to create and build a life of faith. Through overcoming myself and my selfishness, I could place my priority on developing myself into a better person for the sake of the people around me, those I love and care for. It goes beyond what is established here, but the education and experiences I hope to embody to bring back home and share naturally is one goal I set out for, acting as a follow up.”
A participant from the USA
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