아가페 장애우 사역부

Since its beginning as a Saturday school program of the ministry in February 2006, the ACAM has steadily expanded and started an after-school program effectively in January 2007. Its goal is to cater to the educational and therapeutic needs of the Korean American disabled children of Long Island and Queens area. We firmly believe that it is our God-given mission to help every single disabled person to find and develop his or her talent so that he or she can grow up into a well-rounded individual.

• Missions
  • To live His will by helping to develop the potential of each disabled student though it is the Lord in whom we always find comfort and strength.  
  • To help our children adapt to new life in the U.S. by alleviating the cultural shocks related to the difference in language, food, etc.
  • To help them achieve proficiency in English.
  • To find and develop each person’s gift by helping him or her better adapt to school life with better social and coping skills.

• Faculty
  • The after-school program & Sat Program are run by Arumdaun parishioner-volunteers, licensed/certified educators and therapists.
  • Seung-a Kim, Music Therapist
  • Robin Hwang, Jewelry Craft
  • Eunsoo Oh, General Craft
  • Boyoung Lee, Candle & Soap Craft
  • Hyangwon Kim, PianoTeacher
  • Koeun Lee, Arts Therapist
  • Mingoo Jung, Tae-Kwen-Do
  • Wansook Cho, Special Educate
  • Rev. Joshua Jong, Psychologist (Co-Worker)
  • Joy Hee Lee, Social Worker (Co-Worker)

• Five “Takes” For Our Students
  • It takes courageous parents to understand their children’s disabilities issues as they are, and it takes their determination to develop their children’s potential.
  • It takes a reasonable level of parental interest and participation in the education of disabled children. Excessive parental interest can be almost as unproductive as the lack thereof.
  • It takes the Lord’s love and His will to have us overcome the disability. It takes us to worship Him as an integral part of our efforts to find the meaning of our existence.
  • It takes concerted efforts at home, school and our after-school program to meet the therapeutic and education needs of our children.
  • It takes a strong commitment from each of us to help our children develop self confidence and social skills.

• Why the ACAM is Certain That We Can Change Your Children
  • We have developed our own unique education system catering to individual needs. 
  • Every disabled person has his/her own gift. The ACAM aims to maximize each individual’s gift.
  • The ACAM aims to find the Lord-given talent in each child, not worldly values.
  • All members of the ACAM are firmly bound together not just as peers or colleagues, but as a family. A disabled wife and a normal husband founded the program and still run it. We all understand the pain and hardship of families with disabled children.
  • Our faculty consists of licensed experts who are also pious Christians.

• Future Goals and Plans
  
  • The following Biblical articles continuously drive and inspire us: 
    • “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[j] who[k] have been called according to his purpose.” (Roman 8:28)
    • “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
    • “But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Roman 8:24 and 25)
  • Indeed, each of our children has made improvement in the past years. Along the way, the ACAM programs have grown remarkably. In the next three to five years, we will not only further strengthen our already-existing programs, but also extend other supportive services.