Imagine you are fast asleep one night when a sound much like a doorbell disturbs your dreams. You jerk to wakefulness, but not because you wonder who could be at the door at this hour… No, you wonder what you will find when go to the source of the ringing, and open the box. This is not just any box – this is the BABY box.
Amazingly, this scenario is precisely what has happened countless times to Pastor Lee Jong-Rak of Seoul, South Korea. You see, Pastor Lee is the founder and operator of an orphanage for unwanted babies, and the very deserving ‘hero’ of a new documentary film entitled The Drop Box, presented by Focus on the Family Canada in March of 2015. In this heart-wrenching tale of courage and compassion, viewers will take a first-hand look at aspects of society unknown to many – but real and brutally tragic nonetheless.
After realizing that hundreds of unwanted babies were being abandoned to die on the streets of his city each year, Pastor Lee installed a baby box outside his home. At this location, mothers who feel they have no choice but to abandon their baby have the opportunity to do so without harming the child. In fact, when a mother chooses the baby box, she places her child in the care of a man whose love is selfless and without reserve – a beautiful reflection of God’s love for us. As director of The Drop Box, Brian Ivie states, “Through this movie, I’m hoping that people see a type of love that is messier and grittier than the weak-at-the-knees love of Hollywood movies. I’m hoping that people see a type of love that spends itself on behalf of others and doesn’t expect anything back. Because that’s what God’s love is like. It goes to the gutters for the broken and the lost.” Through the use of the baby box and to the detriment of his own health, Pastor Lee has saved the lives of hundreds of babies, and adopted numerous children – many with severe disabilities – as his own.
The best quality of this film is its ability to make you think, to cause you to look inside your own heart and realize what is truly important, and to recognize God’s love shining through the lives of ordinary people. It may also inspire you to make a difference in the lives of people who you have the ability to touch. As Pastor Lee says of disabled children, “God sent them to Earth with a purpose. Disabled children teach many people. Change many people. And help people reflect upon themselves. Which is why they are the educators of society. Even these deficient, feeble children, these really weak children, live with smiles on their faces.”
***This movie was viewed through an exclusive online reviewer/blogger screening, courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, Focus on the Family Canada, and Kindred Image.
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