History

About BMI

We are an organization that aspires to carry out the mission of Christ to spread the “Good News” all over the world. The inspiration of BMI came after a group of people in Los Angeles and Atlanta joined a mission trip to Ria Chuelo, Chile in 2008. The Bridge of Mission International (BMI) was named after the period of prayer and contemplation that connected the missionaries from all over the world with the people who have contemplated good works of God but haven’t put their thoughts to practice yet. Since then, a mission team has been established every year and led by a designated leader of BMI. BMI has connected and worked with various missionaries, including Columbian Fathers in Chile, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Missionaries in Peru, Missionaries of the Poor in Haiti, Jamaica and Uganda, Flower Village Mission, Food for the Poor, Missionary Sisters of Holy Martyrs, etc.

In addition to overseas short term mission trips, BMI has worked to support the victims of Haiti’s earthquake of 2010, Chile’s earthquake of 2010, and the Philippines’ Typhoon Haiyan of 2013. BMI has also established on-going ‘Rice Project’ support to the hungry people of Haiti by sending a 40-foot container to Cap-Haitian, Haiti every year since 2010. Beginning in 2013, BMI also established the ‘Dream Project’ to bring hope to orphans and destitute college-aged students, by supporting their college tuition. As of today, BMI has paid full tuition for five students and four beneficiaries who are continuing their education.  We now extend the ‘Dream Project’ to children in Haiti to support their primary education.

After each mission trip, a member of the mission team writes an essay about the experiences of the mission trip. Those essays, since the original Chile mission trip, have been published in the Korean Catholic Times, USA and Peace Time, USA. It is also BMI’s true intention to share the mission experience so that more members can participate in the mission of BMI. With such a purpose in mind, BMI has published mission newsletters based on the experiences of each participant.

BMI seeks every opportunity to provide short term mission prospects to the members of BMI as well as to others in Christian and non-Christian communities. In November 2009, BMI introduced the first two-day workshop in Buena Park, CA to educate aspiring members on the meaning of the BMI overseas mission. The keynote speaker was a missionary priest in the Columbian Father Missionary Society from Chile. In July 2010, the second mission workshop was held in Buena Park, CA for a similar purpose. This time the keynote speaker was a missionary priest from Maryknoll in El Paso, Texas. In April 2012, the leaders and the core members of BMI from Boston, Los Angeles, and Atlanta gathered to attend the Emmaus Retreat in Atlanta, GA led by Fr. Dominic Jung, who is the current spiritual director of BMI. In July 2015, BMI coordinated the first national BMI conference and retreat in Buena Park, California to deepen an understanding of the mission and vision of the BMI and prepare participants to become missionaries. Around 40 leaders and members from Boston, DC, Atlanta, and Los Angeles were in attendance. Most recently, the 2016 Leader’s Retreat was held in Boston, MA in May and attended by around 15 leaders from LA, Atlanta, DC, and Boston. Currently, BMI is pursuing a prison ministry to reach out the prisoners who have been disconnected from society.