I’m doing missionary work with the mentally and physically challenged individuals at St. Joseph Center’s for Special Education as a volunteer. I’m fondly referred to by both the staff and students as “Big Brother Jin.”
The reason why I am called a volunteer there is that I cannot be a teacher for the students. Therefore the only suitable position for me is to be a volunteer. My main job at the center is to help teachers clean the classroom, wash the dishes after meals and assist the students to use the toilet. If there are any students who need special attention, I also volunteer to take care of them. I mainly take care of those who cannot walk properly or who are emotionally unstable. I have a background in psychology and this helps me deal with students who are going through emotional difficulties due to bereavement or changes in environment. These students can often turn violent by taking off their clothes or causing physical attacks. When I take care of such students, I just sit next to them quietly and wait for their permission through body language, then I gently put my hand on their shoulder. I want them to know I am there for them and pray for them as the Holy Spirit leads me. Since then, teachers from other classes have asked me to use my method to their students.
Some families of the students hire caregivers to look after their child, and they accompany the students in the center. Most of them are Indonesian women. In the center, they are unseen, like shadows. After learning of their existence, I suggested to the center that should they have a meeting with the caregivers and that I wanted to participate in the meeting. The center declined my offer. The caregivers’ employers don’t want them to stick together, so they do not need the meeting with the center. Everyone knows that I am from Korea and a Columban lay missionary, so I felt it was time for me to step up and share my concerns about what the center can do for the caregivers during my monthly meeting with my pastoral adviser who is one of the staff there. Now the center can see that I am concerned about the caregivers and I care for them. All I can do is greet them with a big smile when I meet them because I want them to know that they are not alone.
The center, despite being a Catholic foundation, is open to everyone who needs special education. Every day I work alongside people of other religious denominations such as Taoist, Buddhist and Christian groups. Whenever I have time, I ask my fellow colleagues from other religions about their religion and they in turn ask me about mine. Sometimes we meet outside once a month to eat together and talk about each other’s religion. I value this opportunity to understand each other’s faith. I found out from our team leader that someone because interested in Catholicism because of me, which is a nice compliment. I am very proud that through me people experience the love of Jesus and are evangelized through these experiences.
So, what is true mission? Does the meaning of mission vary depending on what title I have and where I am working? Or is volunteering itself a mission? I define my mission this way – to do things that others are reluctant to do, strengthened by the love of Jesus. I have discovered the nature of my mission through the people I have encountered every day in the center. I am proud to be a volunteer and I AM on mission.
Kim Jung Woong is a Columban lay missionary.