Mission Trip: Day 2

Day 2: Prep and departure for Wang Chun.
The morning arrives and we have worship/quiet time and then breakfast. Today we will prepare our teaching materials for the Wangchun Love House Orphanage and travel there. Jae Young and I are going to teach the special needs group of kids. We prepare ABC flashcards with awesome illustrations by Jae Young and also some command flashcards. After finishing up, our group heads out for lunch at the local burger/fast food place and then return quickly to pack up and depart for the town of Wang Chun. It is a two hour bus ride through the countryside of north China and we pass by locals traveling in carts pulled by tiller tractor and cattle. Finally, we arrive at the hotel we are staying in, and unload our baggage quickly so that we can go out to the orphanage to meet the kids and have a look around. Pastor Jeon, who is the director/father at the orphanage, comes to take us out to the Love House in their van. It’s a small van made for about 10-12 people max but our entire 19 person group crowd in, the kids riding on the adults laps and everyone very close and personal with each other. Still, everyone sees fun and adventure in the ride instead of discomfort and hardship.
In ten minutes, we are at the orphanage. The kids are waiting out in the yard to meet us. We pile out and are immediately greeted with a chorus of “Annyong haseyo, annyong haseyo!” It’s a bit overwhelming at first to be surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces and hands, all smiling and wanting to grasp your hand and shake a “Waekukin’s” (foreigner’s) hand. Some of our crew start blowing up balloons to give to the kids as some of them have barely ever seen, let alone possessed them. I introduce myself to at least a dozen kids and adults in my poor smattering of Korean and am relieved that most can get the drift of my greetings. They tell me their names too, but of course with all the activity and adrenaline flowing through me, I forget most of them right after. A time of slightly awkward interaction follows, with the usual reciprocal getting to know each other conversations. We are shown the rooms we will be using the next day for class and then the pastor invites some of the teachers into his room to tell us about the orphanage and the kids who live here.
Pastor Jeon is the pastor of an underground church in Wangchun and recently took over the orphanage in 2007 from the pastor who was running it before. He is a man who is filled with the joy and love of Christ, constantly smiling and praising God for what has taken place at Wangchun Love House. He tells us that he and his wife, along with their children, used to live in Russia. They were part of a Russian-Korean community there, which his family had been in for 3 generations. He and his wife owned and operated an inn there when they received the call/invitation to go to China. They sold the inn and have used almost the entire proceeds to fund the orphanage and the senior citizen building (that is unfinished due to lack of funds to complete construction). He recounts his story simply, taking no pride in the great sacrifice he and his family have made. He is more eager to tell us of the children and what God has done in their lives.
He calls in the first, Kim Gil-Young, a small boy who looks his 9 years in body but older in his eyes. Pastor Jeon holds his hand gently as Gil-Young sits beside him, looking bashful. We are told that his mother is North Korean, who married a Chinese man who was mentally handicapped (we are told this is the case with many North Korean women because often their mother had been across the border 7 times before she was caught. He came to the orphanage 2 years ago and had been angry and moody at first. “When he came, he was angry and sometimes fought with the others. But not now. God’s love has changed him. He is full of passion and love for God. He wants to return to North Korea one day as a missionary and preach the gospel.” Pastor Jeon smiles broadly. He pats Gil-Young’s hand and hugs him, then tells him to fetch the next one, “your brother” to come to the room.
Next is Gi-Hong, a small boy of six, full of energy and an authority not to be taken lightly. Again, his mother is North Korean (as is the case with the rest of the kids we meet) and his paternal grandparents had been caring for him since the time she disappeared into North Korea. Even though he is young, Gi-Hong had ruled his grandparents like a tyrant. He was allowed to dictate everything and soon became a violent and dominating child. One day, he became angry at his grandmother and stabbed at her with a garden tool twice, striking once and drawing blood. After this, they knew they could no longer control him and appealed to Pastor Jeon for help. Once again, he holds the little boy’s hand and strokes it as he describes how “when Gi-Hong first came, he was violent and would fight all the time with anyone. He acted like a little tyrant and always wanted to be served and have his way. But not now. God’s love has changed him. Now he is gentle and doesn’t fight anymore. He helps his brothers and sisters and is always a good boy. He loves God and loves to pray.” We see again the same broad smile and hug, then the dispatch to fetch in the next child.
And so on it goes. I wish I could record everything as he introduces Seung-Kuk, a boy whose mother had risked crossing the border 11 times just to visit her son before she was finally caught. He had been melancholy and withdrawn in his first days at WLH. Hong-Ha, a girl who had found her handicapped father after he had committed suicide by hanging himself. She had cried every day and would not participate in anything during her first year at WLH. Yoon-Nan(sp?) a tomboyish girl who had stolen copiously and on numerous occasions in her beginning time. But the theme remains consistent throughout all the stories. “They were like this. But now they are not. God’s love has changed them. Now they are happy and love God. Now they play, and participate, and don’t steal anymore. Now they are full of love and joy.” He gives no credit to anyone else but God for the change. And rightly so, though I can’t help but wonder what would have become of these children had Pastor Jeon not been willing to be the conduit of God’s love and mercy into their lives.
After Pastor Jeon finishes the stories, it is time for dinner. We do not know this at the time, but the staff at WLH has prepared a special dinner in honor of our coming. Usually they eat very simple meals, with one or two side dishes and rice mixed with corn. But for us, they have prepared about 5 side dishes plus rice. We all eat together and then one by one, as the kids get up to leave, they give a little bow and say a Korean phrase that means “please eat a lot”. It’s so cute and sweet, I just want to hug them. When dinner is finished and everything is cleared away, Pastor Jeon tells everyone to gather round for formal introduction. Pastor Daniel then proceeds to introduce our team, but when he comes to me and I stand up to give my bow and “Nice to meet you”, he asks the kids in Korean, “who wants to shake the Migukin’s (American’s) hand?” Several eager hands are raised and I then shake each on in turn with a little bow thrown in. But then he asks “Who wants to kiss the Migukin?!” Little Gi-Hong raises his hand and when I bend down, he plants a big wet one on my cheek. It is a precious yet funny moment. Everyone laughs loudly. When we are finished, it’s time for us to head back to the hotel for the night. All the WLH people walk us out to the van where we hug and say dozens of good-byes. Even though, we know we’ll be back in the morning, it is still tough to leave. They wave to us till we can’t see them. As we ride towards the hotel, I am already thinking about tomorrow and looking forward to all we will do.