Day 3: Pray that Children of North Korea Will be Known Among the Nations as Blessed of the Lord
Then their offspring will be known among the nations, and their descendents in the midst of peoples. All who see them will recognize them because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed! Isaiah 61:9
Can you imagine the sorrow of not being able to pass on your faith to your children? In North Korea this simple and natural act is dangerous for both believers and their children. Parents sometimes tell their children stories from the Bible as though they are fairy tales just so they can impart some of their faith to them. And they live out their lives as an example. But if caught overtly sharing their faith, they can be sent to prison…and their children with them. As soon as parents are arrested, their children are sent with them to the same prison camps where they then face an abysmal existence. They are forced into hard labor, and often their little bodies succumb to the physical toll. Not many children survive the prison camps, and any who do remain alive are severely traumatized.
Other children in North Korea are called kotjebis, a derogatory North Korean word for "wandering swallows." Abandoned by their parents these kotjebis mostly have only one set of clothes, and no shoes. Forced to live on the streets they struggle to survive. Timothy shares his story:
Like so many children, I was separated from my parents. My father had to flee the country in a hurry. For years, I lived on the streets. Every day, I had to manage to find food. I only slept for a few hours each night and tried to stay awake in order not to die of hunger. I survived by helping to carry luggage at stations. But after some time, I realized that I had no future in North Korea. So I wanted to flee. By then, my father was also trying to get me out of the country by means of human traffickers. While fleeing to China, I was detained by the border police. They took me back to North Korea where the guards tortured me severely. I kept praying to stay alive, because I had discovered that there was a God. After two weeks, I was sent home. Because of all the torture, I was no longer able to sit or to stand. Then my grandmother paid a woman to carry me across the river into China on her back. In the end, I gained freedom and I was reunited with my father. Whatever situation you are in, do not give up, but keep praying!
READ ISAIAH 61
God will work in history to reverse Satan's plan for destruction of North Korea's children. God will heal and protect His "precious ones" and will use them as His ministers…His priests…His missionaries among the nations.
PRAY
As you pray, imagine the children of North Korea. Many are malnourished, sick, even dying. But now imagine them as God has destined them to be, His blessed missionaries to the world. Each child is precious in His sight whose names He called before the foundation of the world. Pray for them by name! Here are just some of them: Eunkyu, Kangchul, Kinam, Sangnyo, Hyewon, Okja, Daewon, Inchul, Suji, Nanhee, Kyungsuk, Sungme, Minhee, Minshul, Bongsoo, Soran, Yosep, and Sanghwa.
