Wojung's Story

I receive these e-mails from Open Doors USA, and this one I got this morning. This may not be for young readers.

This story, though fictional, is based on first person accounts. Great effort has been made to accurately reflect the reality of life of a prisoner in a North Korean detention camp.

Dear Hannah ,

<>I, Wojung, am still alive. I am not sure how - maybe an unseen force is helping me. I just spent four days in the hands of malicious guards filled with unimaginable evil. I am not sure how many of my bones are broken; my body feels lifeless.

Someone in my cell must have told the guards about my nightly talks with "my angels." As they beat me, they asked if I was a "Christian." What does this mean? They said that Christians were the worst traitors. "I do not know the meaning of that word," I replied honestly. "Tell us the truth!" they shouted. I did not reply. The blow to my head came swiftly.

I remember nothing until the next day, waking up in a strange room, bruised, broken and dispirited. "You’ll tell us now if you are a Christian!" the guards roared, their sinister laughter fueling my fear. They took a canister of water and forced the spout into my mouth. So much water was forced into me that my stomach bloated; I struggled even to breathe. Then they laid a wooden plank across my stomach and pressed down on it...hard. Water came out through my mouth, my nose, and my bladder until I felt as though I was exploding. Still I said nothing. Unable to stand, I was dragged back to my cell and thrown in.

The next day they returned with a vengeance, each having a turn with me. Violated and barely hanging onto life, I lay in my cell and thought longingly of death. I remembered the woman who was executed, her blood now mingled with mine on my filthy, ragged skirt. Why does my mind always go back to that day in the yard? That day, as I stood with hands clasped behind my back, I recalled for the first time whispering words to the unseen person. How good it felt, to speak those words.

With barely enough breath to stay alive I again spoke those words...this time for myself. As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt a surge of strength race through my limp and lifeless body. Countless bones were broken, but without pain, I was able to pull my head up from the concrete floor, next my arm came under me and supported my torso...I was now sitting up. Suddenly, I heard a voice say to me, "Stand-up!"...Slowly...slowly, I raised myself up onto my feet.

In the distance, I could hear the guards approaching my cell, and again that voice spoke clearly, "Stand-up." Fear mixed with disbelief as I stood waiting for the door to open. There were three guards; one had a body bag slung over his shoulder. I watched in silence as they quickly turned and ran, leaving the cell door open. Held up by unseen hands, I put one foot in front of the other, then another...again, slowly, slowly; I walked out of the cell. No one stopped me as I made my way outside into the beautiful sunshine. As I felt the warm summer sun on my face, my thoughts turned to my "angels." Peace surrounded me, but this time mingled with strength. My badly damaged body was healed, I do not know how but I heard myself say, "Thank you, Jesus."

In next week’s story, WoJung finds Jesus.

North Korea

This is amazing. Please go to the following link to watch this short clip. You can also send a radio broadcast all the way to North Korea to encourage them! Please do this!


what if you were in their place?

Act NOW.

Help Christians In Nigeria!

Help the Christians in Nigeria. You can. Go to the following link and fill out the forum. If you do not do this for the excuses of "I do not have the time" and "I really don't want to" you are neglecting OUR brothers and sisters and leaving them in chains. Just think...this could be you. Write today. Take action. Do NOT be a coward.
Go HERE.

Update on Alimujiang Yimiti

On March 16, The People's High Court of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region rejected an appeal from Uyghur house-church leader Alimujiang Yimiti, according to ChinaAid Association. In October 2009, Alimujiang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "providing state secrets to overseas organizations." Please send a letter of encouragement to Alimujiang, letting him know you are praying for him. Also pray for his persecutors. Tell your friends about Christians suffering in China, and encourage them to pray for and write to Alimujiang. Your letters can result in shorter prison sentences for those accused. Write to Alimujiang and encourage our Chinese brother.


UPDATE:

Since our last communication with you, the PrisonerAlert for Alimujiang Yimiti has been viewed over 29800 times, and over 6400 letters of encouragement have been sent. What a blessing this must have been to Alimujiang Yimiti -- and what a message it will have sent to the officials, that this person is cared for internationally.

Now imagine what could happen if we could double, triple or increase by ten or one hundred-fold the number of people, around the World, that are praying and writing on behalf of those imprisoned and persecuted for their faith.

You can help. Please forward this email to those you know have a heart for God's people and encourage them to sign-up too. It's the work of friends telling friends that will bring the greatest response to those who need it most. As the email does its work, you can revisit the chart below to see the effect that you have had.

Thank you in advance for partnering with us on behalf of those who suffer for the Lord.

Update: Maryam Jalili

Update

Arrested: December 2009

Released: March 17, 2010

Location: Iran

On March 17, Maryam Jalili, Mitra Zahmati and Farzan Matin were released from prison after being held 80 days, according to Farsi Christian News Network. Their families had been concerned that the three were being interrogated and were physically weak or sick. VOM rejoices over the release of Maryam Mitra and Frazan. WE thank you for writing letters of encouragment to Maryam while she was in prison and encourage you to continue writing letters to believers who remain in prison.

They Dance

Little Vera and her father danced before he was imprisoned for his Faith.

Update: Gao Zhisheng

Update on Gao Zhisheng On March 28, human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has been missing for more than a year, contacted his wife and children, according to ChinaAid Association. Gao said he was released from Chinese custody six months ago and taken to Wutai Shan mountain, a Buddhist landmark in Shanxi province. We encourage you to continue writing letters to believers who remain in prison. Forward this e-mail to those you know have a heart for God's people and encourage them to write and pray too. Get involved! Pray and write today. Forward this e-mail to others who have a love for God's people.

Update

Update on Father Nguyen Van Ly

Father Nguyen Van Ly was recently released from prison and taken to a Church-run home to receive medical treatment, according to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA). UCA reported that at the request of Father Van Ly's relatives, "prison officials allowed him to temporarily stop serving his sentence to get medical treatment at the home for retired priests for one year." Father Van Ly has already served three years of his eight-year sentence. Thank you for writing letters of encouragement to Father Van Ly.
We encourage you to continue writing letters to believers in prison.
Forward this e-mail to your friends who have a heart for the persecuted, and encourage them to write and pray.

Video of Nigeria

Nigeria: After the Attack

Nigeria: VOMedical Helps Victims

The Voice of the Martyrs’ medical program is on the frontlines in Northern Nigeria, providing medical care, support and counseling to Christians following recent attacks by Muslims.

VOMedical staff report that many villages have been attacked, the latest occurring on March 17. “Muslims surrounded the small village of Byei, some 30 miles south of Jos. They attacked the homes with AK-47s (judging by the diameter of the bullet holes in the houses’ doors and according to survivors), followed by machetes and fire,” VOMedical staff said. “Thirteen people died in the attack and were buried in a mass grave just outside the village. Seven were wounded and taken to Vom Christian Hospital; five remained admitted when we visited the hospital this afternoon. Most of the wounds were gunshot wounds and burns.”

The wounds sustained by believers in this attack are severe. “The severity of the wounds is much higher than those seen in the January riots; there are very, very few with minor wounds, while more than half of the January attack wounds were minor,” VOMedical staff added. “This area has had six or seven villages attacked over the past 10 to 14 days. None of these were the typical Nigerian religious riot; all were deliberate, middle-of-the-night, well coordinated assaults.”

VOMedical staff have visited believers in hospitals and consulted with doctors to ensure they are receiving the medical treatment they require. “We were able to see numerous patients at Plateau State Specialist Hospital, one of two of the main receiving hospitals from this attack,” VOMedical staff said. “There were fewer gunshot wounds and far more machete and cutlass wounds. Muslims had sharpened their weapons before the attack, because the wounds on these folks were significantly deeper and more destructive than any of those I saw in January. The epitome was an above-the-elbow amputation on the left arm of a 4-year-old child.”

These attacks are the latest in a series of sectarian attacks and riots in recent months. In January and again in early March, Christians and Muslims rioted in several villages outside the city of Jos. Churches and homes were burned, and many Christians and Muslims were killed.

Following the attacks in Dogo Nahawa, a pastor stressed the importance of forgiveness. “He stressed that this was indeed persecution foretold by Jesus as a sign of the end times and that our duty was to carry our cross and forgive the attackers,” VOMedical said of the pastor’s comments. “This will be significant, as many of the attackers were actually long-standing members of Dogo Nahawa village and were pointing out who was Christian and which houses were Christian. The worship service was held in the village square, complete with charred, burned-out buildings in the background.”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to continue praying for Nigerian believers, who live with the daily possibility of being attacked. Pray that those who lost loved ones will be comforted and that the injured will fully recover. Pray that VOMedical staff will encourage believers in Nigeria and be able to provide them with needed resources during this difficult time. Ask God to help Christians forgive their persecutors.

Crossing

This movie is a very good film about the horrors of North Korea. VOM supports it in part. There is cursing, and since the film is in Korean, it's in the subtitles. Please let your parents review this film before watching. The only thing I had against it was the language, but other than that...excellent film.
You can go HERE to find out more about it.

Crossing - Trailer from LiNK Global on Vimeo.

World Vision Attacked in Pakistan

Date: March 10, 2010

Location: Pakistan

6 Killed in Attack on World Vision in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD — Suspected militants armed with grenades attacked the offices of a Christian aid group helping earthquake survivors in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six employees and wounding several others, police and the organization said.

All the victims of the assault on World Vision, a major international humanitarian group, were Pakistanis.

Extremists have killed other people working for foreign aid groups in Pakistan and issued statements saying such organizations were working against Islam, greatly hampering efforts to raise living standards in the desperately poor region. Many groups have scaled down operations in the northwest or pulled out altogether.

The attack took place in Ogi, a small town in Mansehra district, which was badly hit by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

"It was a brutal and senseless attack," said Dean Owen, World Vision spokesman in Seattle, Washington. "It was completely unexpected, unannounced and unprovoked."

Another spokesman said the group had suspended operations across Pakistan as a result of the attack.

Two women were among the six dead, said local police chief Sajid Khan. Four people were wounded.

He said about 10 gunmen took part in the raid.

"They went inside, opened fire indiscriminately and then threw grenades before fleeing," said Khan.

Al Qaeda, the Taliban and allied groups are strong in northwestern Pakistan, but Mansehra lies outside the tribal belt next to Afghanistan where the militants have their main bases and is relatively peacefully.

Islamist militants see foreign aid groups and local outfits that receive international funds as a challenge to their authority in regions under their influence. The organizations often employ women and support female rights initiatives, further angering the extremists.

Many foreign aid groups set up offices in Mansehra after the 2005 earthquake, which killed about 80,000 people.

In 2008, militants there killed four Pakistanis working for Plan International, a British-based charity that mainly helps children.

World Vision is one of the world's largest and well-funded Christian aid groups. It was founded 60 years ago in the United States.

February 4, 2010: Morocco

Date: February 4, 2010

Location: Morocco

Morocco: Christians Arrested

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On Feb. 4, Moroccan military authorities raided a Christian meeting and arrested 18 people. The authorities also confiscated Bibles and personal belongings, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.

“We were surprised by more than 60 Moroccan Gendarmes attacking the house [where we had just started our Bible study],” a VOM contact said. “Eleven believers (including an American), two non-believers and five children… were [held] by the Moroccan government for 14 hours.”

After 14 hours in detention, the American was deported and the others were released. Authorities kept the American’s laptop computer, along with Bibles, books, a laptop, a digital photo camera and a cell phone that belonged to the others arrested.

“It’s the first time in our current Moroccan church history that the Moroccan government used this size of a legion to attack a small Christian meeting,” VOM contacts added. “All the time they kept repeating that this was ordered personally by the new Moroccan Justice Minister [Mohamed Naciri] and by the highest level General of the Gendarmerie [Housni Benslimane].”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for believers in Morocco. Pray that God will protect these believers and grant them peace as they face these new challenges. Also pray that the authorities will return their confiscated belongings. Ask God to draw the persecutors into fellowship with him.

“Our Moroccan brothers and sisters have asked believers here in the US to speak out on their behalf,” said Todd Nettleton, VOM’s director of media development. “They believe international attention and pressure can make a difference in getting their possessions returned, and in protecting future Christian activities.”

VOM encourages you to write to the Moroccan Embassy at the address below to protest this abuse of religious freedom:

Moroccan Ambassador:
H.E. Aziz Mekouar
1601 21st St. NW
Washington, DC 20009
Fax: 202-265-0161

Also send an email to the Deputy Chief of Mission, Ms. Aicha Afifi, at aafifi@moroccous.com. You can contact the United States embassy in Morocco by visiting http://rabat.usembassy.gov/ or sending an email to ircrabat@usembassy.ma.

Galatians 6:9-10

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Maryam Jalili

Maryam Jalili: Iran. December 2009





Location: Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Arrested: December 2009

Print Fact Sheet

Maryam Jalili, Mitra Zahmati and Farzan Matin, are imprisoned in Iran following their arrest while gathered at a house church to celebrate Christmas. On Dec. 24, Maryam, Mitra, and Farzan were among 12 Christians arrested by security forces in Pakdasht, Iran. After a week without information, family members contacted authorities and demanded to know where they were being held. Officials told the families that the Christians would be released the same day, but instead they were secretly transferred to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Twelve of the believers were released on Jan. 4. Security officials have also raided the imprisoned Christians' homes and confiscated their books, computers, phone directories, CDs, DVDs and Christian literature.

Robert Park Freed from North Korea

Friday, February 5, 2010: North Korea frees Robert Park, who had entered their boarder carrying both letters to the government and Bibles. Being held in a brutal prison camp, there is no doubt that he has been tortured. Please pray for his safe return to America.

North Korea Says It Will Free Detained U.S. Missionary

Friday, February 05, 2010

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AP

Robert Park

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea announced Friday it will free a "repentant" American missionary detained on Christmas for illegally crossing the border from China.

Robert Park of Tucson, Arizona, slipped across the frozen Tumen River into the North carrying letters calling on North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to close the country's notoriously brutal prison camps and to step down from power, rights activists in Seoul said.

North Korean media reported in a brief dispatch Dec. 29 that authorities had detained an American suspected of illegal entry but said nothing more until Friday, leaving his fate in question for weeks.

State media in Pyongyang said Friday that authorities decided to release Park after he showed repentance and admitted committing a crime.

The government "decided to leniently forgive and release him, taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrong doings into consideration," the Korean Central News Agency said.

There was no information about when Park would be released but his family in California said they were thrilled by the prospect.

"We are very excited but I don't know if it's real or not. We have to wait and see if it's really happening," his father, Pyong Park, told The Associated Press by telephone from his home in Carlsbad, California, north of San Diego.

In Washington, U.S. officials said they had been informed of Park's impending release.

"North Korean authorities informed us recently of their intention to do so and we are pleased they are proceeding," National Security Council spokesman Ben Chang said.

The United States, which fought against North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, does not have diplomatic relations with Pyongyang and relies on the Swedish Embassy to serve as its representative.

Swedish Ambassador Mats Foyer said he had not been authorized to issue a statement and referred queries to the State Department.

The 28-year-old missionary's detainment came nearly four months after two other Americans, journalists Euna Park and Laura Ling, were released with former President Bill Clinton's help after they were arrested at the border and sentenced to prison.

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• North Korea Apparently Detains U.S. Missionary, Activist Says

Late last month, KCNA reported the arrest of another American suspected of illegal entry. He has not been identified.

News of Park's pending release comes amid a push by Pyongyang to reach out to Washington and Seoul after more than a year of tensions. North Korea has been pressing the U.S. for a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War, saying the U.S. military presence in South Korea is the main reason behind its drive to build up its nuclear weapons program.

Friends and colleagues said Park, a Korean American, was a devout Christian who felt compelled to go into North Korea to draw attention to the political situation.

North Korea is regarded as having one of the world's worst human rights records, with some 154,000 political prisoners held in six camps across the country, according to the South Korean government.

On Friday, KCNA released a transcript and photos from an interview with Park. In one photo, the American appears healthy and well-dressed in a dark suit and tie as he leans forward over a microphone while gesturing. He is shown smiling in another.

Park blamed his transgression on a "wrong understanding" of North Korea "caused by the false propaganda made by the West to tarnish its image," KCNA said.

Park also said he was convinced "there's complete religious freedom for all people everywhere" in North Korea, citing the return of his Bible and a service he attended at Pongsu Church in Pyongyang, KCNA said.

"Being a devout Christian, I thought such things as praying are unimaginable in the (North) due to the suppression of religion," the report quoted Park as saying. "Everybody neither regarded praying as something unusual nor disturbed it. I was provided with conditions for praying every day as I wished."

North Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but the government severely restricts religious observance, allowing only worship at sanctioned churches. Underground worship and distribution of Bibles can mean banishment to a labor camp or even execution, according to defectors and activists.

Park also told KCNA he was treated well by North Korean soldiers, helping him change his mind about North Korea.

"What I have seen and heard in the (North) convinced me that I misunderstood it. So I seriously repented of the wrong I committed, taken in by the West's false propaganda," KCNA quoted Park as saying.

"I would not have committed such crime if I had known that the (North) respects the rights of all the people and guarantees their freedom and they enjoy a happy and stable life," it quoted him as saying.

The Rev. John Benson, the pastor who ordained Park as a missionary in 2007, said the entire congregation at Life in Christ Community Church in Tucson was overjoyed.

"We are ecstatic over this news. Very, very excited and happy. Overjoyed," he told AP. "We've been praying for him to be freed. It's definitely an answer to our prayers."

He said they feared the worst but consider him a hero for risking his life by going to North Korea.

"That makes it all the more heroic — that he was willing to lay down his life," he said. "We didn't want it to end with it being a tragedy for Robert and his family. We wanted it to end as a win-win, with an outcry around the world. At the same time, we wanted Robert back."