MPAK 'ICAN' Vision Trip for Orphans
MPAK sponsored nine orphan students from five orphanages in
Korea to visit the US under the 'ICAN' Vision Trip program in February 3-13,
2026. 'ICAN' comes from 'I Can Also Do It!'.
Currently MPAK is serving 80 orphans in six orphanages with a one-on-one
mentor/tutor program to the students that are severely lacking in educational disparities
compared to the students with parents. Significant majority of the students in
orphanages suffer poor academic performance, and many of them give up their
interest in education, especially by the time they reach the middle school
level. Compounded with that is the puberty and adolescence years that almost
all children experience, as this does not help with their academic
pursuit.
Today, we are helping the students to empower and to dream, and gain confidence, and build self-esteem that will
help them to grow and motivate them. In the third year of such program, we have
seen some amazing results by the students.
For example, a high school senior named Bok-gi was getting a
D in math. Through the help of a tutor, he was able to raise his math grade up to
B. Today he has been accepted to a four-year university in Seoul. According to
the orphanage director, Bok-gi was the first ever student to accomplish this in
the 70 years of history of the orphanage.
At another orphanage, a high school senior named Sung-hyun
just got accepted to a good university in Seoul, and the orphanage director said
that this was also the first ever from his orphanage. The director credited the
support from MPAK as the reason for Sung-hyun’s success.
Yet at another orphanage, a high school freshman named Se-hyun,
who was just an average level student at his school, got involved in the
mentor/tutor program for two years. He used to get around 70’s in his grades. Just
an ordinary grade. But after the tutor program, he now gets 90’s and sometimes
100 in his exams. The orphanage director
was very happy to inform me that Se-hyun is now one of the top 5% of students
in his class.
Examples like these are just a few of several great success
stories that we hear from the orphanage directors. Of course, not everyone is
successful like these students, but the directors have all reported that overall,
the students’ grades have gone up, and the students have started to take
interest in their grades, which was not there before as they pretty much gave
up on their grades before. This was a clear sign that our program was working.
At MPAK, it is our sincere hope that the students will do
their best, not only in academics, but whatever their interests lie. Art,
music, sports, culinary art, barista, beautician, etc that they can hang their
hats on for their future career.
In 2024 I asked each orphanage director to choose two
students from each facility to join the newly formed MPAK Vision Trip to the US.
Along with the students the orphanage directors were to accompany their
respective students on the trip.
The reasoning was twofold.
One was to reward the students that have done well, and the other reason
was to motivate the students that didn’t get selected to work harder and hope
for their turn in the future vision trip. This resulted in more students joining
the program.
The first vision trip took place on February 18-28, 2025,
with great success. This year, our second vision trip took place from February
3-13, 2026.
The vision trip took the students to visit the Friendship
Bell in San Pedro, visited USC and UCLA, and Hollywood and the Griffith
Observatory. They also visited the Disneyland,
Universal Studio, had a bbq picnic at a park, a train ride to San Clemente
Pier, drive up to the Laguna Beach, worship at the Grace Korean Church.
We also took the students on a 3-nights and 4-days trip to
visit Las Vegas, Zion and Bryce Canyons.
We also visited the Horseshoe Bend and the Antelope Canyon before
heading over to the Grand Canyon, which attracted everyone. We also visited Sedona before heading back to
LA. On the last day the group visited
the China Town, then to the Olvera Street, the first Mexican town in California. We then visited Little Tokyo and Koreatown
before heading to LAX for their return flight back to Korea.
On the day of departure, all the students shared their message
of gratitude with me, and a few examples are shown here.
“This trip was such a precious opportunity. This trip
provided me with a big dream, and I will pursue it and work hard at it with all
I have with passion. I am thankful to all those that traveled together, and I
already miss them all.” – Yu-seon
“Thank you very much for giving me the chance. It was an
unforgettable trip. I will work hard to achieve my dream. Thank you and I love
you!” – Si-woo
“I learned so much from this trip and it was really great
experience. The trip has brought me a step closer to my dream. I want to thank you
for the opportunity. I can’t wait to be a pilot and fly to the US. To that end
I will work very hard at it.” – Seo-jun
The following photos are from a recent trip, though not all the places visited shown.
We hope that the students went home with a treasured memory of all the people they met, the places we visited, and all the fun and laughter we shared during more than 1,500 miles of drivings. Without exception, all the students expressed how they were grateful to be invited and thanked for the experiences and opportunity that they would not otherwise available in Korea.
During their last night, we had a Vision Night (can't really call this a vision trip without talking about vision). The students were presented with a session of praise songs, sharing of the Gospel messages and the sharing of their experiences during their time in the US. As young as they were, and their thoughts and hearts were much deeper than I had anticipated.
The comments by the orpanage directors and the leaders all expressed how the students' views of the world widened and how they themselves were so blessed to be a part of the vision trip. They were all moved by the experiences and expressed much gratitude towards MPAK.
At the end I spoke to the students that they need not repeat the errors of their birth parents that could not raise them. I asked them to forgive them. That they can choose a different path and they can choose a better future for themselves. I asked them to stand up and take an oath of how they will be different for their children. That their suffering and hurts through homelessness must stop with them and not pass onto their children. That they must choose to be loving mothers and fathers to their children. That they will carry the faith in God towards the future.
This was the message of my vision for them. I believe they heard the message, and I sincerely believe they will become better mothers and fathers in the future.
