The High School Division of the Students Training Course was held at the Home of the Parent from August 9 through 15 with a total of 1,736 students participating. This annual one-week course is designed to provide students who do not attend schools in the Home of the Parent with an opportunity to study the teachings together in Church Headquarters facilities, come into touch with the parental love of Oyasama, share their experiences in faith with fellow students, and cultivate friendships.<\/p>\n
The students were divided into groups according to their grades and the number of times they had participated. The daily schedule for the course consisted in attending morning and evening services, listening to lectures on the teachings, practicing the musical instruments and the dance for the service, and engaging in hinokishin<\/em>.<\/p>\n The main event for each class was designed differently. First-time sophomores took part in a walk rally conducted at North Left Wing 8 and West Right Wing 8 of the Oyasato-yakata building-complex. They were divided into small groups to make rounds of checkpoints, where quizzes and games awaited them. First-time juniors visited Oyasama’s birthplace and the Dining Service Center. First-time seniors learned how to broadcast the news and had a chance to appear on a TV program in which they talked about their motives for attending the course and their views on friendship in general.<\/p>\n Second-year participants crossed the Jusan Pass–the mountain pass that Oyasama’s youngest daughter, Kokan, crossed to reach Osaka for missionary work when she was their age. This activity was designed to provide them with an opportunity to experience what Kokan went through in order to spread the teachings. Despite the severe heat, the male participants left Takayasu Grand Church in Osaka at two o’clock in the afternoon to cross the Jusan Pass and safely returned to Jiba at night along with the female participants, who had joined them in the middle of their trek.<\/p>\n Third-time participants visited Oka Grand Church, where they enjoyed an exchange program by taking part in games that required knowledge, athletic skills, and teamwork. After the evening service on the 13th, they danced the Teodori, the Dance with Hand Movements, at the East Lecture Hall to express their gratitude for the blessings that had enabled them to participate in the course three times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The High School Division of the Students Training Course was held at the Home of the Parent from August 9 through 15 with a total of 1,736 students participating. This annual one-week course is designed to provide students who do not attend schools in the Home of the Parent with\u2026<\/p>\n