North Korean Women Find Hope
Open Doors (OD) supports and organises secret Bible study meetings for North Korean trafficked women in China. Most of them have lost everything they had in North Korea and were lured into travelling to China by human traffickers, where they were sold into marriages or prostitution.
Through the OD programme, which focuses on getting to know Jesus, the lives of the women are restored. Below is the testimony of one woman in the programme.
“I was born into a North Korean family as the youngest daughter. My father was often sick and we struggled financially. After one of my brothers got married, I always argued with his wife. At one point I even took out a knife just to scare her.
I was married when I was 30, but my husband became ill and could not work. We had no money and no food. I became so desperate that I poisoned my own baby because I could not feed him. My parents-in-law were always nagging me, and I finally divorced my husband. Despite my older age, I applied for a position in the military. But even in the army there was not enough food to survive. So I deserted.
I had no money and no identification papers. Buying a train ticket was impossible. While I was thinking at the waiting area at the train station about how I could return home, a nice lady approached me. She spoke to me and offered to take me somewhere where I could make a lot of money. I actually had no choice other than to follow her. So, in the middle of a very dark night, I crossed the border river into China. There, I was sold into marriage.
My husband was an alcoholic and abused me a lot. I met another lady from North Korea in the same village. She was in the same situation I was in, but she was able to attend a Bible study group. I decided to join her because it offered financial support. Still, I was very afraid to study the Bible; I was afraid Chinese officials would capture me. But I kept attending.
I learned how to pray, how to sing praise songs and I memorized Bible verses …
… One day, [the] Bible verses struck me … [and] I realised that Jesus Christ died for me on the cross. I was a sinner, but Jesus loved me. I keep telling my husband to believe in Christ. My husband did not understand what kind of God I believed in, but thankfully we didn’t fight any more about my attending the Bible study group.
… After being a Christian for three years, I never want to go back to my old life. Since I accepted Christ as my Saviour, my life has changed completely through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:8 says: “God demonstrates his own loves for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
I want to follow Jesus in spreading the gospel and loving others first to demonstrate His love for us.”
- Give thanks for the work of Open Doors and other ministries reaching out to Trafficked women in China. Pray that these women will continue to find freedom, healing and salvation through the Gospel of Jesus.
- Pray for the testimony of women who become believers to be a witness to their families and to those who seek to abuse them. Pray for their protection, especially in countries such as China and North Korea.
- Pray for the continued spread of the Gospel in China and North Korea, for the church to grow strong and to have courage to share their faith even in the face of opposition and persecution.
Psalm 13 vs 5: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.”
Source: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/newsroom
