Visiting the Baby Drop Box --호주 SBS방송 Wednesday, August 21, 2013

[정영란]

Visiting the Baby Drop Box

Several months back, somewhere in the great collective of media we call the internet, I stumbled across this story about a pastor in Seoul, Korea. At the time, I was already planning on spending my summer vacation in Korea visiting a wonderful friend from college. When I told said wonderful friend about this church, she was able to track them down for me via their Facebook page, and she helped me set up a visit during my short stay in Seoul.

The pastor is Lee Jong-rak of Jusarang Church, a church he runs out of his home. What drew me to his story was the unique calling God placed on his life: to love the unwanted.

The video below is a feature news story detailing how he does this through the Baby Box.

During my visit, he shared with me all the points in this video: how his son inspired him to become a pastor, how the children abandoned at the hospital opened his eyes to the needs of his society, the children he's adopted, how the drop box works, and the difficulties with adoption in Korea.

Recently adoption laws have changed, requiring mothers to register all children in their family name. For those having children out of wedlock, registering the child legally makes them social outcasts. Clear statistics are hard to find because many children in orphanages are unregistered. It is definitely illegal for mothers to place their babies in the box. Pastor Lee is fighting to show that the baby box itself is not.

Pastor Lee shared other information that I had not yet gleaned from the great collective mass that is the internet. Firstly, this idea is not new; it's just new to Korea. And it's getting a lot of press right now because that's what he wants. He's trying to build awareness inside and outside Korea to underscore the need to revise the adoption laws.

And he shared with me his vision.

There are steps that a baby goes through once he or she is rescued from abandonment. At Pastor Lee's home the steps are as follows:

1. The mother puts the baby in the box. A light will come on, as well as AC in the summer and a heater in the winter. A bells also goes off inside the house.
2. Within a matter of minutes, they get the baby out of the box.
3. They call the police to report the abandoned child.
4. The child goes to the hospital to get a health check-up.
5. Then the child goes to an orphanage or to a state home. If the baby is healthy, he or she will be put up for adoption.
6. The child lives at the home. If they are lucky, they proceed to the last step.
7. Adoption.

The new laws, unfortunately, also make the adoption process more difficult for unregistered children.

Pastor Lee's vision, the dream he is praying for, is a facility where all of these steps can happen in one place. He wants to found a facility in Korea to receive and care for abandoned children. They have good connections in Korea's legislature. They have the blue prints for the building. I think they may even have the land. Now he's in the process of raising awareness and funds.

After visiting his home and his children, I have no doubt that this is the beautiful calling God has placed on his life. He told me that the children remind him of what we should all try to be: they are completely dependent, and yet wholly unselfish. They are the least of these that Jesus blesses and praises.

This little boy's name is Kiri, which means victory. He has a severe, rare handicap and doctors said he would not have the senses of sight, sound or touch, and he would have no ability to move around. The pastor and his church prayed for him, and he scoots around the house laughing, standing up with support, and he loves hugs!

Playing dominoes. She loved it. The young woman in the back loved holding my hands.

One of the many volunteers at the church. He graciously served as my translator, and he's working on translating many of the church documents into English for those wanting to know more about the ministry.

Me and Kiri! I wanted to take him home, but he's already very much loved and taken.

The pastor and his son. Look at the love and joy on Pastor Lee's face.

This was the fifth boy to ever go through the drop box.

Enjoying some songs and dance.

I was so blessed and grateful to be there, and instead the pastor graciously kept thanking me for taking the time to visit him.

If you want to learn more about the church and the ministry, please check out the Facebook page. There are church volunteers who speak English and they can answer your questions. Please pray about supporting this wonderful ministry, through prayers, awareness or funds.

Posted by Bethany Panian at 3:58 AM No comments:

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