Friday, December 18, 2009

Lil' Christmas Angels♥














Adorable, precious Christmas Angels...





Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Happy Peppero Day!!


One of the cutest holidays celebrated in Korea ~ on November 11th; Pepero Day. Pepero are long cookie sticks dipped in chocolate. If you notice the date, 11/11, resemble the sticks. On this day, young people exchange pepero with each other as a sign of friendship and love...so sweet!

Friday, October 23, 2009

one family

This woman on the subway addressed me as "unni," meaning sister in Korean. If there is one thing Korean's understand well it is this, that we all belong to one family. It is common to address each other according to family titles, "sister, brother, aunt...," even though we are not related. A reminder that essentially we all share one kinship and are wonderfully connected regardless of our blood ties....the stranger we meet on the subway, the children living in orphanages, the unmarried pregnant teenager living in a society that shames her. Even the homeless man begging on the street...he is our brother. To love people just as they are, simply for who they are...after all, we are all brothers and sisters, one family united under God~~~~













Xae's brothers...they
love and treat him
like their big brother
(hyung'ah)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Silly joy-filled moments! =P


GunHo jumping on Xae for a ride!


Best buddies!





YongWoo's best poker face...(or UNO face!)

Monday, September 21, 2009

No greater love than this...



My heart is breaking for a brief moment and I feel the pain...the isolation...the sadness the children feel deep within. At first glance these children appear as any other child. They play and laugh and have their silly moments. But a closer look takes you deeper into their thoughts and feelings.. into their hurts and pain...the feelings of abandonment... loneliness ...heartache...

Last week, while visiting with the children, one young 12 year old boy, GunHo, and I were browsing through old photo books children who lived there throughout the years. We browsed through the books looking for photos of him as a baby. GunHo then turned to me and asked, "When were you here?" Together we browsed through the year 1979 looking for any photos of my face. At that precise moment a quiet voice whispered to my heart..."This is why you are here at this specific point in time...back at SungNoWon~~~~ To be a spokesperson to these children and assure them that they are so loved....an everlasting LOVE so greater than anything any imagination~~~~. The connection between me and the children stretches far greater than words....it is all BEAUTIFUL and WONDROUS and PRECIOUS.... a LOVE that is so incredibly immense and deep that I know it has to come from a Source far beyond me! To be back in Korea... at SungNoWon~the exact place and time planned for me all along, from day one before the creation of the world. It is the very reason I was given life~~~~~~~

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

There is no place like home!


"Truly no place like home"...

Ahhh...to be home. There is no place like it in the world that can offer the same level of rest and satisfaction and nourishment that home can. After being home in New York the past few weeks I know there is not greater joy in having a place to truly call home! I feel so lucky to have a family that has poured out so much love into me, providing me a home to call my own. The past 2 years being separated from my family has surprisingly brought me much closer to them. I've come to appreciate them all the more for what they provided Jamie and I.... they provided us a priceless treasure, far beyond anything we could have hoped for. I am privileged to have 2 families, 2 places to call "home." One family who brought me into the world, one who raised me and provided love beyond measure! It was through my family that I received love...giving me a glimpse into Father God's love. This is my prayer for the countless orphans living without families...that they would embrace and come to know their Heavenly Father who loves them beyond measure!!!♥

What a gift to have a family...don't know where I'd be without 'em!!!

Friday, June 12, 2009


I'm reflecting on the past year-in-half being in Korea.... at where I find myself... Here back in the place I was born, working with the children at the same orphanage where I once lived, walking the streets of the country I was born into, seeing, smelling tasting everything Korean!!!... I'm soaking in each and every moment and truly don't want to take one moment for granted!

And then to top it all off, Jamie (lil' brother) was visiting this past week...what an incredible, unforgettable time spent together!! To find ourselves here in Korea, 29 years later back in the place where it all began! Many treasured moments were spent retracing pieces of our shared past and enjoying many things Korean! Xavier was also loving having his uncle here ....he was all smiles the whole time! ^^)

There's something quite powerful about seeing your past and realizing what your life could have been. This really hit home for Jamie and I, as we couldn't help but think about how we were afforded such a loving family and good life in USA. Jamie's visit and the more time I spend with the children, the clearer the vision becomes..I see much more clearly now all the events in my life that have led me to this point in time! My life was spared for a greater purpose!!! God has revealed to me that He WILL NEVER leave orphans! This is a promise that rings true for me and throughout history! Orphans such as Moses and Esther's lives were preserved for a very definitive purpose to accomplish tasks of great magnitude! In the same manner, the children left orphaned today have equal and even greater tasks to accomplish as they grow to realize their Divine calling and destiny.

I hold firmly to this promise as I move forward in God's vision planted in my heart...to share His amazing love and hope with orphans....the same love and hope I have so freely experienced !! Clearly stated...To love, love, love these children...not with my limited love, but with God's Love... A love that is everlasting, a love that will never abandon them regardless of the people in their lives that have. And, to use the arts as an entry point to build trust and relationship so this LOVE can flow through me!
♥ As God's love is planted in their hearts, orphaned children grow and flourish to discover their true identity and purpose in the ONE who designed them!!

Orphans all over the world are crying out, "Come over and help us!" These ones needed more than just money and food. They needed a touch from someone who had God inside of them. Many are dying and starving, not just from a lack of food, but a lack of love. Their spirit are crying out, "Touch me! Hold me! Love me!"
Psalm 68:5,6 says, "God is a father to the fatherless...a defender of widows. He sets the solitary in families."

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Unforgettable memories!

Precious moments at Sung No Won


 Jamie attempting Korean with the kids! ^^)  

                                                                           
The boys ask Jamie's age...look at the shock in the boy's face!    Hiliarious!!
  


 Trying on Jamie's sunglasses...listen in
to hear Xavier speaking Korean!  


 pre-school kids

      Jamie, Xae and the boys
   Beautiful Sae-la  (5 y.o.)

               ~Sweet Precious children~

Jamie in Seoul!




Jamie is visiting to Seoul!!!!  How wonderful and miraculous to find
ourselves back again together in the place where it all began!  I am treasuring each and every moment spent together as we trace our roots, connect with our culture, and share countless unforgettable memories!   

                                             
We returned together to Sung-No-Won orphanage, the place we started off.  We met with the two directors of the orphanage, who were there 29+ years ago during the time we were there.  Truly inspiring to see their love and devotion for the children... they committed their lives to serving the children... two incredibly, amazing people!


Right before being adopted to USA...

                                                      

















                                                   ...and today 29 years later!




Monday, May 4, 2009

FAITH... the art of seeing things invisible

Vision
is seeing it when others don't
Faith 
is doing it when other's don't
With VISION and FAITH all things are possible!!!



Today marks the one year anniversary of when I began working with the children at Sung No Won orphanage.  I am back here...in Korea...in the place of my birth...at the very same orphanage where I began. I have many of those "caught unaware" moments when it feels so very surreal to me that I am really here!  But then again very believable for this is the very God we serve.  A MIGHTY~POWERFUL~SUPERNATURAL GOD who makes the impossible, possible.  A God who has truly reached far beyond my wildest dreams to unveil a greater dream that was planted in my heart from the time I was being knit together in my mother's womb.  I stand amazed!  

The past weeks have been quite a journey for me as I find myself in the midst a leap of faith to enter orphanage ministry.  During this time my faith been tested time and time again as I wait upon the Lord.  I am learning many things, namely greater trust for the Lord to provide in His perfect timing, not according to my time table to have it happen the way I expect.   "There are many plans in my heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails!"~Proverbs 19:21.  In this place I find I'm at total peace in God to accept whatever the outcome.  I am learning true contentment, to depend more fully upon God, rather than  my circumstances.  I believe that the Lord is going to provide without a doubt for He has brought me this far and shown me His faithfulness in countless already.  I am resting in God's love for me...a love deeper and greater than anything I could ever imagine.  

I hold on to His promises~
I move on in faith~
I wait patiently on Him~
  He will never fail me!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Pouring out what God pours in

This past week, the children enjoyed a good ol' American treat~~Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches!  We all had a great time making the sandwiches and especially eating them!  We also enjoying all playing the card games UNO and PIT.  It has been really neat introducing the children to our American culture.  

While I realize that although the words being exchanged with them may not always be fully understood, there are are deeper messages being communicated far beyond what our eyes can see...a deep, pure, everlasting love that stretches beyond all language barriers.  A warm smile, a gentle touch, a silly giggle... all channels for God's love to pour out of me to the children.  When I am surrendered to this place, to the place where I feel the Holy Spirit moving through me to love the children... perfect connections flow and I am in tune with their hearts...in tune with Jesus' heart for them.  And in tune with God's desire for more of His love to pour out upon them.  In this place I find I am able to convey God's tender reassurance that He has not left them as orphans.  He has not, and will never abandon them.  I know orphans hold a special place in God’s heart and He has not forgotten about them. 

~playing cards~

Sung No Won Orphanage







The plaque hanging in the entryway..."A life is more precious than the whole world."



 This is one of the orphanage directors, Chun Ok-Ja.  She was at there during the time me and Jamie stayed there.  
Me and Xae with the boys and director from L-R: Paul (Yong-Wu), Thomas (Jung-Hoon), William (Min-Wu), and Daniel (Gun-Ho).   









 The girls...Julie (Sun-Ah), Sara (Yoon-Jin), Sally (Young-Ji), Mary (Dong-Mi)


   


all the elementary aged children