Change of Heart

Erica Kim

Erica Kim was a spoiled, rich girl from a Buddhist home. Now she gives herself to those in desperate poverty.

By Claudia Cangilla McAdam
Today's Christian, March/April 2007

How did a Buddhist girl raised in New York City grow up to become a moving force in one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic Christian ministries? Only through the grace of God.

Erica Kim's parents were anticipating the birth of their first child in 1963 when they emigrated from Japan. Her father was already a doctor, but because his medical degree was not accepted in the U.S., he had to go back to medical school.

The family settled in New York where they lived hand to mouth, struggling to meet basic needs. But through hard work and determination, Erica's father, Dr. Hiromi Shinya, changed all that. He invented a medical device now utilized in endoscopies around the globe, becoming a world-renown—and wealthy—physician.

Life changed drastically for the Shinya family. "We went from this tiny, nothing apartment where we couldn't afford milk to a 10,000-square-foot home with a swimming pool and tennis court," Erica recalls. "My first car was a BMW." But the financial success couldn't fill a deeper need in Erica's life. "I felt empty. I had everything, yet I had nothing."

Touched by Grace
In college, Erica accepted an invitation to a Christian Bible study—a most unusual place for a lifelong Buddhist. "I came from a devout Buddhist family; in fact, my grandfather's brother was a priest."

She remembers clearly how deeply Christianity touched her. "I was overwhelmed by the love and forgiveness of Jesus. Buddhism taught me to do the right thing, to do things by duty, by tradition. But there was no heart change. When I learned about Jesus, I recognized that my life needed to change, as well."

Not surprisingly, Erica's family was less than thrilled. "When I became a Christian, my father was shocked and my mother was completely against it," she recalls. "They would often take the car away from me so I could not go to church. Sunday used to be our family day, and my conversion disrupted that."

As time went on, however, Erica's parents began to see positive changes in their daughter. "Mom and Dad saw my rebellious spirit becoming more obedient, my selfishness turning into helpfulness around the house, and my pride turning into humility when I made a mistake—because before becoming a Christian, I never used to apologize for what I did wrong." The Shinyas could not argue with Erica's transformation, and eventually accepted her decision to leave the family faith.

At church she met a handsome Korean man named Frank Kim, her soon-to-be husband. A student at Harvard, all Frank's plans revolved around working in the business world. But shortly before graduation, he decided to become a minister.

The two married and took a ministry assignment in France, where their first daughter was born. But it was the 1988 posting to Tokyo that radically impacted their lives. When a missionary-pastor returned to the U.S., the Kims suddenly found themselves in charge of a congregation that had been established after WWII. From that base, the Kims' ministry spread through Southeast Asia.

"The poverty hit us really hard," Erica says. "People lived in refuse dumps, building their homes with garbage. There was no sanitation." But the people to whom they ministered expressed gratitude for the help they received. "They'd hug us and thank us for toothbrushes and soap," she says. "It brings tears to your eyes when you see people like that."

Hope to the Hopeless
In 1991, the Kims' passion for world missions led them to become founding board members for HOPE Worldwide, an international charity ministering to the poor and needy (HOPE stands for Helping Other People Everywhere). By the late 1990s they were the directors for projects all over Southeast Asia.

One of the challenges Erica took on was helping to establish a prostitute rehabilitation center in Thailand, where a school was launched to teach professions to girls who wanted to change their lives. Though conversion wasn't the center's primary goal, the Kims were gratified when many of the young women came to know the Lord. Erica also got her hands dirty working among the poor in the Philippines. At "Smokey Mountain," a Manila garbage dump that was turned into government-assisted housing, she helped feed and clothe people in an area where malnourished men, women, and children once scavenged for recyclables they could sell for food.

Other ministry projects included bringing the Word of God to nations such as Vietnam, which required the formation of underground churches. The people there "can't openly pray, can't openly sing," Erica explains. "The secret police have raided the churches many times and taken all our documents." The Bible is smuggled in, not as a book, but as photocopied pages or on a computer chip. "Anyone who has a whole Bible—that's their treasure."

The situation in other countries is equally tenuous. "In one of the communist countries in Asia, there are Christian cell groups," Erica explains. "Communists are afraid of the cells because that's how communism was started. They're scared that political ideals will be spread through the religion. So these groups must meet in secret, changing their locations every week."

In Cambodia Erica and Frank worked diligently behind the scenes to establish the Sihanouk Hospital, which offers first-world medical care to this impoverished third-world nation. Open since 1996, the hospital staff consists of doctors, nurses, and others from around the globe who volunteer for years at a time.

The medical facility serves about 350 people daily. "People push their loved ones in carts and wagons, whatever they can find to bring them to the hospital," Erica says. "They sleep outside and wait to be seen." Medical care is free, which is a blessing since the average Cambodian earns less than a dollar a day. Over the last decade, more than 800,000 patients have been treated.

Still on a Mission
Though Erica would have been happy to remain in Asia, working as the hands of Christ, her health has not cooperated. Diagnosed with lupus in the early 1990s, after a long period of remission the disease reared its ugly head again a few years ago. By that time she was the mother of three daughters. "I told Frank I was worried that this time it wasn't going to have a happy ending."

The couple moved back to the United States in 2003 and settled in Colorado, where Frank took over his family's business while remaining vice-chair of HOPE Worldwide's board. Erica's chronic condition, systemic lupus erythematosus, which causes fatigue, loss of appetite, and severe migraine headaches, forced her to resign from the board. But a healthy diet and lots of rest help her manage the pain. And she continues her ministry through writing and frequent trips back to Asia.

Despite her pain, Erica says she wouldn't trade her journey for anything. "God's unexpected call on my life has given me the chance to impact many lives for Christ," she says. "Even though I'm not able to be in Asia full time, I know God is using me."

Erica encourages believers to pray that God will open the doors of countries like North Korea so that Christianity can flourish. Given the chance, she says, the people who live there can experience what she did—a complete, grace-filled, and everlasting heart change.

Claudia McAdam is a writer who lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.