The Message We Must Send Again: You Are Not Alone

As I was preparing for this winter’s mission trip, I was so excited that I didn’t have time to even think about the weighty task set before us. Even the “righteous” purpose of the trip was not something that had been crossing my mind. The fact that I would be meeting with the children face to face was enough to keep my heart fluttering with anticipation, and I was counting down the days until our flight. With gifts in hand from all of the children’s sponsors, I boarded our plane.

During the long flight, I put the final touches on our packed schedule and was concerned about whether we would be able to handle everything without any setbacks. In our tired state, would we be able to convey the sponsors' love and messages to the children? I was overcome with a worrisome and heavy heart.

We landed in the early hours, and on our way to Dong Myung, I could not sit still because my heart was beating with excitement. And in a moment, we broke the day with our arrival. The children were busily getting ready for school, and slowly they started to file into the cafeteria. Upon seeing us, the expressions on their faces were priceless. They tried to hide their surprise and joy behind their stoic faces but were overcome by paced breathing, high-pitched voices, and body language that screamed excitement. The memories of this past summer’s Vacation Bible School were still fresh in their minds, and we were taken back to July and relived those moments. This is how we kicked off our winter mission trip.

Day two. Today’s mission would require much prayer and preparation which, without them, would not be possible to accomplish. The children who left Dong Myung had already experienced abandonment in their lives and had faced separation again through their departure from Dong Myung. They faced many hardships, emotional and physical, with an inability to bear them. Some ended up on the streets while others gave up on their lives. There were some children whose lives had become so deplorable that they were unable to even ask for help. Their hearts were filled with feelings of low self-worth, and they wanted to give up.

Once the children are branded with stigmas of leaving facilities and being out of the radar of the care system, it creates a huge, gaping pit of separation where they are completely cut off from any support and help. The only thing they can do is stand at either end of the pit and stare at each other in helplessness.

When we met with the students, we were greeted with the look of soft, innocent eyes, yet their speech was tainted by the harsh impact of their tough lives, creating a conflicting image of who they were. Nevertheless, their greetings were bright and welcoming. The only thing we could do was embrace them with hugs and warm words as we spent time with them. The result of our conversations left them with an anticipation of next summer when we would come back for our summer program. With honesty and smiles, they opened up to us and shared what was on their hearts. Through this, we were able to witness their innocence again and were reassured of the goodness in each one of them. In this moment, I became smaller and smaller, and my heart was convicted to share how big and great our God is.

Without God, this ministry would not be possible. Without prayers from our sponsors, the lives of these children would not be impacted. We ourselves would never be able to experience their loneliness, rejection, and struggles. The necessity of the work of God’s hand and prayers was made so apparent to us in this moment.

After four days of external affairs, it was finally time for Christmas Express! This was when we presented all the children with gifts from their sponsors. It was a special time of joy and happiness as they were all bursting with laughter as they opened each gift. What touched me the most was not seeing the kids light up as they opened their gifts. It was watching them open their personalized cards that came with their gifts. The first thing they did was open the cards to read the messages. For those who could not read, they brought their cards over to me so that they would know what was written on them. With eager ears, they listened as I read their cards to them. They were brimming with anticipation to hear the words written on their cards.

Through this trip, I realized that Jesus awaits us with a childlike heart. Our answer to His calling is the driving force that allows us to endure loneliness and pain in our lives. I was once again reminded of this truth as I was able to convey the message, “you are not alone,” once again. Perhaps this is the message that Jesus is trying to convey to all of us.

Yoonju Roh