For most people, Saturday is their day of catching up on sleep, hanging out with friends, or having fun while watching college basketball games. But for 73-year old Rev. Shin Suk-Woo, it is a day of care and service. This care and service isn’t others spending their time to serve him, it’s him sacrificing parts of his day to brighten up other people.
As a retired pastor, Rev. Shin visits two care centers for an hour each, preaching and serving around 20 Korean elders. He himself has a bad back, and is blind in one eye. Nevertheless, he finds happiness and joy in aiding the elders and putting smiles on their faces.
First, Rev. Shin heads over to Orange Care Center in Anaheim from 10:00-11:00 in the morning. As soon as he gets there, he greets the elders in a room, and starts by singing 1 or 2 hymns. Next, he preaches his sermon, smiling and grinning throughout the whole sermon. One of the elders, Kim Sung-Won, said “It’s amazing how he can be so open to serving us, even at his age. You can tell it’s not a forced smile, just having him over every Saturday gives us happiness to know someone will take the time to care for us.” Shin takes the time after the sermon to talk individually to each elder, talking to them about what they did the past week and their health. Afterward, he prays for all of them, and leaves to his next care center.
After leaving the Orange Care Center, Rev. Shin Suk-Woo drives back home to eat lunch and rest for a while. At 3:30, he drives over to Rosewood Care Center in Fullerton to serve the elders there from 3:30-4:30. With a different group of elders, Shin carries out the same routine with the sermon and prayers. Elder Lee Jung-Sun said, “Even though it seems simple with just singing hymns, preaching, and praying, what he does for us really gives us a lot of hope in our lives. I really love what he does for us.” After finishing his second hour of service, Shin drives back home to enjoy the rest of his Saturday.
This heartwarming act of service and dedication to helping others is something we can all learn from. Even with his age and injured back, 73-year old Rev. Shin Suk-Woo isn’t regretful of what he does, and instead finds peace and joy within his actions. He said, “All I want to do is give them hope and a dream in their lives. I know how it is for them because I am at a similar age, and because of that I just want to help them even if it means sacrificing my day.” This is a lesson that we all have to take in, because many times we are stuck thinking about ourselves instead of taking the time to think about other people and how to benefit their lives. We have to become more open to serving and giving to others, and develop a desire to brighten the lives of other people.
