Chuseok 2020 – October 2 

We give glory to God for the success of the Chuseok holiday event despite the Covid-19 pandemic.  We had 28 participants along with many wonderful volunteers! 
We rented an Airbnb home where we were able to enjoy one another’s company, help with cooking, make traditional rice cake, do beading, play games, and just enjoy catching up with one another and sharing big holiday meals together and bowling night out!

The highlight of this event was the graduation party for Park, Myeong-hoon, one of former scholarship students who graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in New York, during the peak of the Covid pandemic.  It was great recognizing Myeong-hoon’s two years of hard work as a Viola Graduate student.  He earned a 4.0 GPA!!  His success was an inspiration to other participants who were able to witness that with hard work, they too can achieve big dreams!  

Another positive activity was  “Sharing Time,” where aged-out adults were invited to share their stories in a safe and confidential environment.  There were many tears but also laughter.  The young adults could understand one another’s hardships and difficult memories of family and orphanages.  They were comforted knowing they were not alone.

Of course, the success of the event could not have been possible without many selfless volunteers!  We appreciate David Ko, Stand On Your Feet, for his assistance in communicating about concerns of the landlord, Grace and Lora for all their time in the kitchen preparing wonderful meals, John Oh and his family for providing special fruits and nuts, Barbara Kim for providing a delicious breakfast,  Choi, Eun-jin for being  a fantastic communication coordinator,  Austin and Jannetta, David Kauffman, and many other amazing people who contributed to the success of this very special Chuseok!  Most importantly, we appreciate our trusted supporters from the U.S. and Korea who helped us create a place of hope in a family atmosphere!  A huge kudos to you all!

My big takeaway was what a miracle it was that we were able to host such a successful event in the middle of a pandemic.  We were able to overcome every obstacle, from my 14-day quarantine, issues with the landlord, and the risk of exposed to Covid.  All the participants and volunteers’ trust in Love Beyond the Orphanage was simply a blessing, and all this was possible because prayers and God’s provision!  ~Julie Duvall, CEO