In Christian Homestay Request Letters

Friends, Leaders, Pastors, Elders and Fellow Christians,

My name is Daniel Xu. I am a Korean-American adoptee, 26 years of age, from Washington, D.C. This past summer, I was a participant in the Korean Adoptees Ministry Center’s “Spiritual Journey to Korea” and I was so blessed by the trip and the people I met that I write, fervently, to petition for funds to continue this journey next year for my fellow adoptees as well as to carry out its mission.

Deep running issues with adoption

Pastor Park leads one of the most unique and specifically targeted ministries I have ever come across. Due to this uniqueness, his ministry is also one of the most effective. Every adoptee, no matter how sound their personality, lifestyle and even walk with God may seem, has deep-running issues with adoption, and they may, or may not, even be aware of them. Adoption is an entirely unnatural process, and the most important people in a person’s development are taken away in the process: their natural parents. I have often described the plight of an adoptee as ‘one very rare, very specific disease’ that very few can fully understand. However, Pastor Park’s ministry seems to be the ‘one very rare, very specific’ prescription to this ‘disease,‘ and through his obedience to God, he has changed more lives than one could count. One may wonder why so much money and effort has to go towards a ministry whose target demographic is so small and specific, but let’s not forget that God’s heart has always been for the one sheep that went astray, leaving the other 99 just to save one life. This ‘Spiritual Journey to Korea’ is in the same vein: but instead of funding one missionary to reach a few, the funds instead send a few adoptees to many, many missionaries. How unique and effective!

Without context, it might seem that this ‘Spiritual Journey to Korea’ is merely an expensive sight-seeing trip, and that any kind of ‘inner healing’ accomplished on the trip could simply be achieved while still in America. While God can certainly heal wounds in any country, let’s not forget that adoptees had everything native taken from them: a home country, a culture, their language, and an environment in which people look the same and speak the language expected, simply put: a place to belong. As if there were not enough issues involved with adoption itself, having a Korean face and not knowing anything of Korea brings about many issues with identity. With the “Dual-Citizenship for Korean Adoptees” legislation, even the Korean government acknowledges this, so why not the body of Christ? This ‘Spiritual Journey’ allows Korea to offer restoration of the things taken away, and most importantly, the chance to give adoptees Korea’s perspective on the reasons for their adoption to begin with. There is no substitute for seeing the country in which you were born in person, eating native food and experiencing the culture first-hand. These things can only be imagined otherwise. I cannot fully explain how I felt while I was staying in Korea: while it felt foreign, it felt at home at the same time. Nothing tells you where you came from like being surrounded by people of the same race, and nothing tells you that you have a heritage like being in the country that you were born.

The most touching, healing and irreplaceable part of this ‘Spiritual Journey’ is the people.

While the cultural aspects of this journey are important, the most touching, healing and irreplaceable part of this ‘Spiritual Journey’ is the people. All of the host families, translators, pastors, elders, deacons, volunteers and friends of the ministry were all amazing and all shown with the love of God. As stated before, this trip is like sending a few of the lost to many missionaries. Each person ministered in their own way to each of us that went on the trip. We, the adoptees, were so overwhelmed by the love and the generosity of everyone that we all felt undeserved and humbled. Our host families all did their best to learn as much about us before we arrived, and carefully observed us while we stayed with them, so that they could make us as comfortable and happy as possible. I really feel that I experienced God’s undeserving grace and love through my host families. Also, the experience of speaking with the mothers at Ae Ran Won society was so healing that it made the trip worth it just by itself. But, collectively, all of the love that we were given made this a truly unforgettable experience – not unforgettable in just a novel sense, but one of internal healing. The message given to us was that Korea did not abandon us, and neither did God. No amount of words could replace the experience of Korea giving back to us.

This journey connects me to my birth family and girl friend

While this trip to Korea only lasts three weeks, and the adoptees must return home after, the ‘Spiritual Journey’ continues on through all the connections made. The journey gives adoptees an active connection back to Korea through the relationships developed over the course of the trip. Through modern means of communication, the friendships made during the journey can be maintained, and if a journeyer returns to Korea, he or she will always have those connections to rely on. Personally, it was through these connections that I was able to discover my birth family shortly after returning to the US, which has brought incredible amounts of healing and subsequent happiness to my life. This journey not only made it possible for me to find my birth family, but also emotionally prepared me for the reunion. I have not yet returned to Korea to meet them, but when I do, I will have the support of many friends that I met in Korea, as well as the support of my girlfriend, who I also met on the journey.

One thing that I was made aware of during this trip was the assumption that adoptees get adopted by rich American families, grow up in good homes and have happy lives. This was a shock to me because my experience as an adoptee was the exact opposite. My adoptive family was dysfunctional, broken and far from being rich. My life was filled with depression and scars carried from my adoptive family. Upon entering college, I was given no support from my adoptive mother and stepfather, and my adoptive father just let me live in his house, but eventually kicked me out. Since, I have been on my own and though I always struggled financially, it obviously became much worse after that. I never finished school due to lack of finances, and consequently, I have had a difficult time finding a good job. So, though I have always been curious about Korea, wanted to search for my birth family and have always planned on returning someday, I thought that it would be many, many years from now in the unforeseeable future. However, due to Pastor Park’s obedience to God in creating Koran Adoptees Ministry Center (KAM Center) and the Spiritual Journey to Korea program, God has been able to advance my life, both in His plans for me, and my own development spiritually and emotionally. It is a very long story, but seen in context, this trip and finding my family came about in the most utmost, perfect timing in my development. None of this could have been possible without the monetary support and volunteers from the churches that support Pastor Park. I am truly, truly grateful. I feel as if everything has been given back to me that was taken from me, and I thank God, everyday, for what He has done for me through KAM Center and the related churches.

Through this program, God has replaced all of the pain, feelings of futility and loneliness in my life with hope.

Through this program, God has replaced all of the pain, feelings of futility and loneliness in my life with hope. I feel as if I have been given a new life all over again. There is no price that I could put on that, and if there is a chance to allow another adoptee to experience what I did this past summer, I would do all in my means to help support them. If I have done any justice in writing, you can see that this program has the potential to radically heal lives that many do not even know are broken. So, I urge you, carefully consider your convictions and please give, and give generously, to support this program for next year. 

Thank you for your support,

Daniel Xu