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<\/a>At the opening ceremony, Tenrikyo Overseas Department Head Yoichiro Miyamori delivered an address, in which he said: \u201cWhy do you think that God the Parent drew you to Jiba? During the seminar, I would like you to carefully think about it while learning the teachings.\u201d After the ceremony, students performed a prayer service in the South Worship Hall wearing matching blue polo shirts.<\/p>\nAs the first Indonesian participant in the Oyasato Seminar, Karina Boenardi joined English Course I. She said: \u201cI learned about the importance of mutual help and the meaning of hinokishin<\/em> from my grandfather who had come to the faith in Indonesia. Since English is not my mother tongue, I may sometimes find it difficult to fully understand the lectures. Yet, I\u2019ll do my best to learn the teachings so that I can please my family.\u201d<\/p>\n The participants spent about two weeks in and around Jiba learning Oyasama\u2019s teachings and sowing seeds of sincerity. In the first half of the seminar, students in English Course I as well as the Chinese and Portuguese courses attended lectures on the basic teachings and practice sessions for the dance and the musical instruments for the service. They also visited some historical sites associated with the life of Oyasama. On July 16, students in the three courses crossed the Jusan Pass. Until the previous day, it had been uncertain whether or not they could conduct the event as scheduled because of a typhoon. Therefore, they moved the schedule forward and started walking on the morning of the day\u2014instead of the afternoon as originally scheduled. Allana Lemos de Andrade, a Portuguese Course student, said: \u201cHearing about the typhoon and the schedule change, we course members discussed what the intention of God the Parent was. We could then give thought to the effort of our predecessors who walked far to return to Jiba, which helped unite our minds as one. I was able to confirm that we could find the blessings even in a seemingly unwanted situation.\u201d Toward the end of the walk, one of the Portuguese Course students had a pain in her legs, and Allana administered the Sazuke to her. The pain went away, and she successfully came back to the Home of the Parent with Allana.<\/p>\n In the meantime, during the first half of the seminar, students of English Course III\u2014which is designed for those who previously completed Course I in Jiba and Course II in their respective regions\u2014engaged in activities that focused on the implementation of the teachings. For instance, they stood guard at the Main Sanctuary with members of the Precincts Section of Church Headquarters.<\/p>\n In the second half of the seminar, the four courses went to Aichi, Ishikawa, Hyogo, and Okayama prefectures, respectively, to engage in spreading the name of God, giving roadside speeches, and doing door-to-door missionary work with local missionaries.<\/p>\n English Course III went to Aichi Prefecture. Taylor Jo Bonachita, who belongs to Kapaa Church in Hawaii, decided to give her roadside speech about how she had been born after a hard labor that could have taken the lives of both her and her mother.\u00a0 She commented: \u201cApparently, our doctor said, \u2018We have no choice but to give up on the life of either the mother or the child.\u2019 But after my grandparents administered the Sazuke to us, miraculously we were both saved. Having taken to heart Oyasama\u2019s words \u2018Earnestly tell others how you were saved,\u2019 I want to tell people about this in my roadside speech.\u201d She gave her speech on a busy street, enthusiastically talking about how she had been saved.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n