Loma Linda Korean Church Embarks on Mission Trip to Belize
By Ezrica Bennett
In February, 25 individuals from the Loma Linda Korean church embarked on a mission trip to Belize. The group was comprised of diverse professions, including four physicians, five dentists, a dental hygienist, and two pharmacists. Some of the attendees brought their families and children, with the youngest being a one-year-old. The team made many sacrifices to get to Belize, including closing practices and using limited vacation time, but from their perspective, the blessings of service superseded anything that may have been lost.
“Mission trips start with prayer and end with prayer,” said Richard Lee, lead pastor of Loma Linda Korean church, as he recounted the miracles of the trip to his congregation. For this mission trip, the team constantly sought God’s guidance and practiced active trust in Him. While in Belize, the team spent the first few days visiting rural churches and working with the members, including planting bamboo trees and installing an automatic irrigation system. They saw over 300 patients at their medical and dental clinics and worked with a local orphanage run by an Adventist pastor. The team also helped with the renovation of the labor and delivery room in La Loma Luz Adventist Hospital. Prior to visiting Belize, the church raised $30,000 to help the hospital buy a new computed tomography (CT) machine.
Ministry is interwoven into the heart of the Loma Linda Korean church. The motto of the church is “Loma Linda and beyond,” said Lee. One of their main objectives as a congregation is to reach the world around them for God. They do so by connecting with former members or ministry partners who are actively living and serving in different parts of the world. The church has visited other locations, including Cambodia and Haiti. For their trip to Zambia, they raised $20,000 for 50 cataract surgeries. Loma Linda Korean church plans to return to Belize in December. They also have a ministry partner who recently moved to Togo, and they plan to visit that location in the next few years.