I met my best friend, Seo, in elementary school. We grew up together, were assigned work in the same factory, and supported each other through life’s hardships. Despite our poverty, we shared everything. But I never knew Seo carried a dangerous secret: her faith in Jesus.
"I thought prayer was ridiculous"
When my husband died, I was left with two children and severe liver disease. Seo stepped in to help, even taking care of my daughter when we had no food. She also began talking about the importance of faith, but I warned her to stop. Religious talk is punishable by death in North-Korea.
As my health worsened, Seo insisted I wouldn’t die because she was praying for me. I thought prayer was ridiculous, but when I became gravely ill one night, my daughter surprised me by crying out, “God, please save my mother!” Miraculously, I began to recover the next day.
Seo later introduced me to others in a secret Christian fellowship, and I learned about her brother’s faith and martyrdom.
Hidden in a wardrobe, for a month
One day, Seo came to my house in a panic. Smugglers she had helped had been caught. In interrogations they had given up her name, and now the police were after her. She hid in my wardrobe for a month while the secret police searched her neighborhood. On the day of "the Great Leader", Kim Il-sung’s birthday, Seo assumed the police were off duty, and came out to eat with us. Suddenly, officers knocked on the door. Seo froze in a corner while I opened the door. One officer sat with his back to her and interrogated me. Incredibly, he never noticed her and left, warning me to turn her in if I saw her.
Realizing she could not hide forever, Seo decided to turn herself in. Before she did, I saw her praying, her head bowed. Her courage touched me deeply.
Ja, jeg vil redde en avhopper:
Vil du hjelpe en nordkoreansk
avhopper å komme seg
i sikkerhet?
Mange venter på å bli reddet
Gi full
tank på
en fluktbil
Støtt en
hemmelig
feltarbeider
Hjelp en nordkoreansk avhopper å komme seg i sikkerhet
Hjelp en
avhopper
i sikkerhet
Hvis 20 gir
475 kr hver,
redder vi én
Å hjelpe én avhopper og komme seg i sikkerhet koster 9500 kr.
Hvis 20 gir 475 kr hver, klarer
vi sammen å redde én!
Avhopperne reddes ut via skjulte fluktruter tilrettelagt av et stort,
undergrunnsnettverk av kristne i Kina.
"My friend for life"
FLUKTEN
LYTT til det utrolige vitnesbyrdet fra to som på mirakuløst vis ble reddet fra både det nordkoreanske og det kinesiske regimet:
Hjelp én nordkoreansk avhopper i sikkerhet
My friend for life
Jung var en svært respektert og fryktet professor i ideologi ved universitetet, kjent for å forfølge kristne. Likevel var lønna hans så dårlig, at kona Hae-Won måtte smugle varer til Kina så de ikke skulle sulte i hjel. En natt da de begge var over grensen til Kina, kom de seg ikke tilbake. Det skulle forandre livene deres.
Mange venter på å bli reddet
Nordkoreanske Jung og Hae-Won ble reddet! Mange venter i livsfare. Vil du redde én?
Ja, jeg vil redde en avhopper:
AVHOPPER:
En som forlater Nord-Korea uten spesial tillatelse.
Med andre ord: en som fornekter landets grunnleggende ideologi, lovgivning og Kim Jong-un som suveren hersker og helligdom.
Straffen for avhoppere er lange dommer i konsentrasjonsleire, tortur og/eller henrettelse.
Vil du gi håp der troen må leve i mørket denne julen?
$820 provides one family with food for an entire year
You Can End Hunger for a Year
for an Underground Christian
$25 provides one person with medication for medical issues caused by torture and hunger
The Most Dangerous Country In The World To Be a Christian
A frail figure bows politely before us. "I am pleased to meet you," she says. Her voice is thin and cautious, but her kind eyes carry a gaze as strong as iron. Then she tells her story:
Inside the world's most oppressive regime, there is a way to help.
In North Korea, people known to be Christians can disappear without a trace. Even being associated with Christians can get you blacklisted, which means no access to food ration cards.
Many secret believers have watched as loved ones suffered martyrdom. Others have endured brutal labor camps and now live with the scars of starvation and abuse – without any kind of medical care available.
Those who have escaped the all-seeing eyes of the regime say being a Christian in North Korea is like living in prison.
With the help of illegal phones, female couriers can smuggle in food, medicine, and funds – hidden from the eyes of the regime. Your support means food for survival, basic medicines, and the connection to a global family of believers.
Most importantly, it shows secret believers that though they in hiding, they are not forgotten. They are remembered, by people like you and me.
$150 pays a brave courier to smuggle in your support to secret Christians
A North Korean Defector's Testimony
I'd like to tell you a story about a woman we met on a trip to Seoul, South-Korea. There, a remarkable Christian congregation cares for members who carry deep scars and horrific memories – because half of the congregation are North Korean defectors and refugees. Mi-Young* dared to share her life story with us.
*For security reasons, all names are aliases.
det verste landet i verden å være kristen
The Most Dangerous Country In The World To Be a Christian
Her kan du bidra til
et år uten sult
for de hemmelig kristne
det verste landet i verden å være kristen
$150 pays a brave courier to smuggle aid to underground Christians
"Husk på dem ..."
De er så sterke, men vi vet det er en enorm oppmuntring for
dem å bli husket på av trossøsken utenfor Nord-Korea.
"I could not deny God's hand"
At the police station, Seo confessed to helping the smugglers. To my surprise, a Pyongyang official announced a new policy of mercy from the Great Leader, allowing Seo to go free after reading a prepared statement. Although Seo’s release was used as propaganda, I could not deny God’s hand in saving her.
Seo’s unwavering faith, and the miracles I witnessed, stirred something in me. I began praying during difficult times, even as I doubted. Eventually, my daughter and I escaped to South Korea, where I found medical help and became a Christian.
Seo remains in North Korea
Seo’s bravery continues to inspire me. I’ve since learned that the woman who led Seo's secret church was arrested, and most likely martyred. But even in the face of death, she protected the names of her fellow believers, including Seo. Seo does not want to flee from North Korea. She remains determined to live as a light in North Korea.
Seo’s faith and sacrifice changed my life – and revealed to me the God she trusted so deeply.
In the border areas between North Korea and China there exists an unofficial courier system, mostly operated by women. Mi-Young's friend Seo helped many of the women.
In North Korea, worshipping anyone other than "the Great Leader" can mean death. Photo: Getty Images.
Smuggling support, across the world's most heavily guarded border: Mi-Young now lives in South Korea. Through a secret and sophisticated network, she sends Seo and her family food and finances – even as they choose to remain inside North Korea.
Can you give secret North Korean believers like Seo
one year without hunger?
det verste landet i verden å være kristen
Thank you, for your generosity and support!
Will you give
a year free from hunger
to secret Christians
in North Korea?
det verste landet i verden å være kristen
$820 provides one Christian family in North Korea with food for a year
End Hunger for a Year
for an Underground Christian in North-Korea
Foto: Getty Images
Foto: Getty Images
Foto: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
$25 provides one person with medication for medical issues caused by torture and hunger
$150 pays a brave courier to smuggle aid to underground Christians
$820 provides one Christian family in North Korea with food for a year
Until it's safe to believe,
Ed Brown
President, Stefanus Alliance
Foto: Getty Images
$25
$150
$820
25 $
150 $
$820
820$ will provide one family with food for an entire year.
$820 provides one Christian family in North Korea with food for an entire year
Read the incredible story:
Mi-Young's story:
$25
$150
$820
25 $
150 $
$820
Photo: Getty Images
Foto: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: istockphoto
"Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."
– Hebrews 13:3