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North Korea: Letter to advocacy group offers rare insight into life for Christians

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Offering a rare glimpse into the life of Christians in secretive, isolated North Korea, advocacy group Open Doors UK recently shared a letter from an underground church leader who was exiled to do hard labor in a remote village without the possibility of returning home, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. North Korea is one of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians: Open Doors describes the level of persecution there as “extreme.”

“Bae,” whose name has been changed for security reasons, wrote that she and her fellow Christian housemates in exile are forced to work in fields picking crops. They are given small rations of food to eat but at night they light a candle and read together from the Bible, Open Doors UK was told.

Bae told Open Doors UK that at one stage she was able to cross into China, where she could have made a new life for herself, but she refused to abandon her small underground church.

Below is the letter she wrote to Open Doors, describing her life. ICC has issued a call for prayer for her and for all the believers in North Korea.

“Dear Brother,

We are well and at peace through the grace of Jesus Christ and your prayers. When our Bible was found, it was immediately destroyed. And because we are Christians, we were exiled to a remote village with no chance of ever leaving. Work here is hard. Rations are limited. We are always hungry or sick.

We need to forage to survive. But every morning when I open my eyes, I feel the presence of the Lord and thank our father God that I am still strong enough to be used as His servant.

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Even though it was difficult, I recently was able to cross the border into China. There I met with other Christians. They gave me food, medicine and – by the grace of God – a new Bible.

I was offered a place to stay in China. It would have meant freedom. But I could not abandon my family and church however small it may be.

From your perspective, brother, our suffering must appear as though we live a cursed life. However, we see it as a blessing because it is a shortcut to the father.
But yet brother, I have one more request that you send our gratitude to those who continue to pray for us.

In return, we’ll stay healthy and continue to spread the Gospel throughout North Korea.

Your sister in Christ.”