Sorokuni.blog

About our Journey

Carleton Sea and Jinju Lee have been called by God to serve as missionaries in the Philippines with the Sorok Uni Foundation. For over 22 years, the Foundation, founded by Elder Jae Jung Jang, has dedicated itself to aiding Filipino Persons Affected by Leprosy, Homeless Individuals and Families, Underprivileged Children, and Indigenous Peoples. Their mission includes sharing the gospel for spiritual empowerment.

After 10 years of planning and prayer, we are now partnering with Sorok Uni Foundation. Their goal is to uplift marginalized communities in the Philippines by providing empowerment and establishing sustainable communities.

The Philippines faces a critical need for Relief, Rehabilitation, Empowerment, and Sustainability for those in extreme poverty. Carleton, as an ordained deacon, will focus on educating and nurturing orphans; fostering their physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual growth as children of God.  Jinju, a mental health counselor, will minister to women and children in various capacities.

Their fervent prayer is for more Filipinos to embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior, sparking a gospel movement that not only transforms lives but also extends throughout the Philippines for the glory of God in Christ Jesus.

How has the Lord led you in your decision to become missionaries?

In 2013, I signed up our family for the ‘Compassion Short Term Mission’ to Guatemala while completing Discipleship Training with Pastor James Chun.  I had impulsively signed us up during the STM (Short Term Missions) sign-up period in January 2013.  It was through this mission trip, which had a profound impact on our family’s lives.  On the way back home from Guatemala on the plane, Jasmine (age 11) made a comment to her mother “I have never seen you so happy for an entire week without a single negative comment” which surprised my wife.  It was after that moment JinJu remembered that it was always her childhood dream to open and run an orphanage.  

Carleton, JinJu and daughter Jasmine went on their first KCPC short term mission trip to Guatemala with Compassion Ministry in the Summer of 2013.

As for me, it was an eye-opening moment for me to find out that a child dies every 22 seconds around the world due to water related issues.  I witnessed first-hand how impoverished families had to go through extremely physical conditions to collect clean water.  I found a calling to provide clean, safe, potable water to children through the Compassion’s ‘Water of Life’ campaign.  Since 2014, children in Promise Land Ministry (pre-k through 6^th grade) have been collecting coins each Spring for 4-6 weeks, with each child doing chores in their homes, in exchange for coins from their parents.  The ‘Water of Life’ coin collection has continued, with the exception of 2020 & 2021 due to Covid-19. 

Compassion ‘Water of Life’ filtration system – 1 water filter system will clean up to 1 million gallons of water.  Context: 1 million gallons is equivalent to an Olympic size swimming pool 15 feet deep.

Upon returning from Guatemala, I had a colonoscopy done, at the age of 43, which was scheduled due to one of my Discipleship Training brothers, who had found out he had colon & stomach cancer at the age of 58.  Little did I know how much that procedure would change my life.  The doctor who performed the procedure was there when I had woken from the anesthesia to inform me that I was a very lucky man.  He said that I was one of a handful of patients who was saved from a malignant form of tumor that would have surely taken my life before I turned 46. 

This led me to ponder how I would be able to serve God for giving me a new lease on life.  The answer came after watching a YouTube video of Pastor John Piper’s message “Boasting Only in the Cross” at Passion OneDay 2000.  I deeply contemplated and prayed about what I would do after retirement. I asked my wife what she thought about us becoming missionaries after my retirement and surprisingly, she responded that she was thinking of the exact same thing.  God’s plans truly are perfect!  What an amazing and awesome God we worship.  My initial plans for retirement were to work till 2028 (30 years) but after going on yearly Short-Term Mission trips with Compassion (Honduras, Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia), I found the urgency to move the timeline up to 2024.

How did you decide on the Philippines as a mission field?

We have chosen the Philippines as our mission field because I had worked with helping street children in Manila (1999 – 2003) while working in Yongsan, Seoul, Korea.  My initial encounter with street children came during an intramural military softball tournament (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines) that was held in Rizal stadium, the same field where Babe Ruth played.  My heart ached for those street children and as a result, my friend (Harv) and I decided that we had to help them somehow.

Harv and I started a non-profit (I Have The Gift Foundation) which supplied basic necessities (clothing, food, shoes, school supplies) for the impoverished children while sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is an old video produced from that time.  Unfortunately, my time in Korea came to an end in December of 2003, and I returned back state-side. 

Harv retired and has lived in the Philippines since 2002.  I’ve regularly visited him since my return to the U.S. with hopes that someday I would be able to return to help the children.  I attended service at his church, Hill Crest Baptist, every time I visited and made new Filipino friends.

In March of last year (2023), I met Elder Jang Jae Jung, the founder of Sorok Uni Foundation in Manila through an introduction from Pastor James Lee and his wife Shine, currently serving as missionaries with MTW on the Island of Mindoro.  The testimony shared by Elder Jang confirmed to me that Sorok Uni Foundation was the perfect partnership to establish ‘Good Neighbor’ orphanage as our missional field.

On Sunday night of the last week in January, my wife was asked by the ‘Good Neighbor’ Special Needs Ministry director’s wife if Elder Jang has a daughter and what was her name.  I told my wife her name, and she confirmed that they had served together at ‘Good Neighbor’ and Joshua Generation High School Ministry.  My wife received an old photo of KCPC ‘Good Neighbor’ students with Elder Jang’s son-in-law Ryu, Shin Kyu “Q” and his wife Jihae.  This was totally unexpected and we shared recent photos.  This could not be mere coincidence but can only be attributable through God’s Perfect Timing and Plan!  Praise be to God Almighty and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.