A young, unwed mother gently lays her newborn baby, wrapped in blankets, in a cupboard-like box attached to a house in Seoul, South Korea. It is an ordinary house, a cold night, 2 a.m. She walks away into the night as a bell alerts Pastor Lee, who lives inside. He stays up most nights, waiting for the bell, and the first thing he does after taking the baby into his arms is to kneel and pray. What is he doing, manning this box every night, waiting for abandoned babies? Is he crazy? The authorities say he is encouraging young women in Seoul to abandon their illegitimate children and bypass the government adoption system.
But Pastor Lee is undeterred. He and his tiny wife take the babies to the hospital or an adoption agency, but they have also adopted a number of the babies themselves. At the time this documentary was filmed, they had 14 children in their home.
One of his adopted children, a 10 year old with fingers missing from birth, speaks into the camera:
”Before the baby box rings, it’s sort of like heaven here. The children are all living together just having fun. But when the baby box rings, it changes from a place where angels are walking around. The atmosphere of the house just changes. At that very moment, it becomes a war. A war in heaven.”
What is Pastor Lee trying to accomplish? What effect is he having on his own family? What does he hope to change in society?
The Drop Box is a feature length documentary distributed by Focus on the Family. It chronicles the work of Jong-rak Lee, pastor of Jusarang (God’s Love) Community Church, who overcomes multiple obstacles to take in orphans that no one else wants.
They are usually unnamed, sometimes born prematurely, their umbilical cords still attached to their tiny, blood-drenched bodies. Some have Down’s Syndrome, others physical disfigurements. None are unloved. Pastor Lee, his wife, their parishioners and other volunteers pour out their lives with joy upon these little ones – including Eun-man, who was born severely disabled and deformed, and is the biological son of Pastor Lee and his wife.
The film is painful to watch at times. Pastor Lee and his volunteers struggle along, with apparently little plan but to open their hearts to the needy. Somewhat mysteriously, they remain full of joy. The children, including the most disabled, sometimes unable to talk, walk, see or hear, instill a joy that is unseen in most families. The film is almost unbearably inspiring at times.
So rarely does a “Christian” film speak so powerfully, especially about the value of human life and our responsibility as a society to those who cannot care for themselves. This one speaks without using the language we associate with church. It speaks through radical lives, from the mouths of babes, and the images of the forgotten. When it does use Christian language, it speaks to the heart. Pastor Lee:
“Many parents ask, God, why did you give me such child? He is weak; he is different. Disabled children – God sent them to Earth for a purpose. They teach us. They are the educators of our society. They give us joy; they give us compassion. Now I have a purpose, to care for them.”
The Drop Box can be seen on Netflix Canada. You can also rent it on iTunes or purchase it from Amazon.
