All along the border of China and North Korea, signs like these are posted

Dear Friends,

The lives of 464 North Korean believers were spared this month because of your generosity.

I hope that you read last month’s mini-update about Mrs. Sun (click here if you missed it). She previously smuggled food into famine-stricken North Korea, but her cover was blown, so she had to flee for safety. Because of our help, she recently reached Thailand, a necessary stop on her way to asylum in South Korea.

Mrs. Sun was the key operative for regularly smuggling food to those 464 North Korean Christians whom I mentioned above. Thankfully, however, she trained another brave soul to take her place before she had to flee. Although this caused the regular supply of emergency food to be disrupted for several weeks, we sent her replacement with plenty of food to stave off the malnutrition and starvation that threatened all 464 people that have been depending on our assistance. Praise God for his success.

Thank you so much for your gifts to the North Korean Christians Fund. One day you will meet 464 North Koreans in heaven. They will all thank you from the bottom of their hearts for your compassion.

Elisabeth Servant
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

North Korean Border guards taking a break outside their guardhouse on the South Korean border. They are ordered to shoot any who attempt to escape their country.

Dear Friends,

Let me tell you about Mrs. Sun (not her real name), a North Korean woman who is not all that she seems to be.

To the North Korean government and many of her influential friends and family, she is a doctor and a loyal, upstanding citizen.

To hungry and impoverished North Korean Christians, she is a Good Samaritan who helps sustain them by smuggling food, medicine, and Bibles into North Korea from China.

Mrs. Sun’s official life began decades ago, during a time of relative prosperity in North Korea. As a college student, Mrs. Sun had the opportunity to pursue the career of her choice. Due to her strong desire to help others, she chose medicine. Years later, when Mrs. Sun was in her thirties, North Korea endured the worst famine the country had ever experienced. Once again she heeded the call to help those in need by offering food, which she obtained from neighboring China.

Twenty years later, her life as a “double agent” had become routine. By “day” she served her people as a medical professional (under the guise of a loyal national), and by “night” she served as one of our most effective underground food distributors and evangelists. Using her influential status to travel into China, she gathered food, medical supplies, and other aid to bring back to the hundreds of people in her home city.

Last month, however, the unthinkable happened. During her stay with some friends in China, she received an urgent message from a trusted friend. Government spies had discovered the true purpose of her frequent border crossings. The message warned that officials were waiting to arrest her as soon as she stepped foot on North Korean soil.

Mrs. Sun was devastated. She knew that she faced certain death if she tried to return home, but the thought of leaving her husband and pregnant daughter in North Korea was unbearable. Making the hardest decision of her life, Mrs. Sun entrusted herself to God and went into hiding with the help of her friends in China.

But Mrs. Sun could not stay in China—she was now a hunted woman, as China cooperates with North Korea in searching for and returning North Koreans who have escaped. Those who are caught in China and returned to North Korea are sent to concentration camps where they are not likely to survive their sentences.

Using gifts from the North Korean Christians Fund, Heaven’s Family funded Mrs. Sun’s safe passage to Thailand, where she is now living. She will be there for three months and then relocate to South Korea. Please pray this month for her to have a smooth transition to her new life in South Korea as well as for her family left behind in North Korea.

For our suffering family in North Korea,

Elisabeth Servant
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

North Korea’s “eternal” leader, Kim Il-sung, is portrayed as a loving man, but thousands in his prison camps suffer unthinkable injustices

Dear Friends,

In August, David Servant appealed to all the friends of Heaven’s Family for a sister in Christ who has been incarcerated in a North Korean prison camp. She was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for telling someone about Jesus. Her sentence was reduced to 8 years, but from what we know of the camp’s hellish conditions it is very unlikely that she could survive that long.

We have been trying to secure her release through some bribes—the only method, aside from prayer, that works in the North Korean system. We are grateful that we received all the funds needed. Unfortunately though, there were some major security leaks in the underground railroad that our contact uses to get people safely into South Korea. Thus her rescue has been pushed back to early spring, after things have quieted down again.

The last time our contacts visited her, however, she was near starvation. So until she is released, we are sending medicine to combat the effects of malnutrition and food to help her survive through the next few months of harsh winter conditions.

Please pray that God will sustain her through the winter months—a season that takes the lives of many weak prisoners. Pray also that He will use her as a witness to the prison guards and to the other inmates.

Finally, I’m so happy to report that Heaven’s Family provided the needed funding for the rescue of another North Korean believer who was on the run from the authorities, and her recent escape was successful! Next month I’ll be sending a mini-update with more details.

In Service to our Lord,

Elisabeth Servant
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

Dear Friends,

Just this month we helped fund the smuggling of food for 45 families (about 200 people) inside North Korea. As a result, we received the following letter that was secretly carried back out of the country, written by one of those blessed by your compassion. Here is the actual letter with the translation following….

Our life on this side is like going deeper and deeper into a mountain range: we live expecting it will be better every year, but faced with ever harsher reality, it cannot be explained with anything. Such a boundless misery, the whole population is suffering from starvation. That is, there is no compensation for struggle no matter how great; there is no profit in doing business. Consequently, beggars continue to increase in number on the street.

Occasionally, homes are empty overnight, and rumor goes around saying the occupants ran away somewhere. It is now common everywhere to disregard a person lying dead on the street and for no one to care. It is because such things happen too often. So, in the midst of this, it became possible not only for us to overcome this hardship, but also to share with those who are suffering around us.

Indeed, if God hadn’t helped us, we’d have become beggars now. We do not know how to repay your favors. We can only tell and pray to Him. We have experienced God’s marvelous works here. Truly we thank you.

Thanks for praying and giving to feed our suffering North Korean brothers and sisters in Christ through the North Korean Christians Fund.

On their behalf,

Elisabeth Servant
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

When North Korean Christians are caught crossing the border into China, they are sent back to their home country to be imprisoned or executed

Dear Friends,

Three years ago, at the age of 23, Rowe Mu escaped from North Korea in hopes of finding food for his family whom he left behind. As his parents had grown older, their ability to work and provide for him and his two siblings became increasingly more difficult. Finding a single meal to fill their hungry stomachs was a daily struggle. Many days the family simply didn’t eat. Rowe Mu knew he was the only son who was old enough to make the risky journey to China, a trip that could save his family—or cost him his life.

Once inside China, Rowe Mu found work in a restaurant. Although his employment was illegal, the restaurant owner took pity on him so he could send money back to his family inside North Korea. During that time, Rowe Mu heard about Christ through an underground evangelist. The message of the gospel deeply affected him, and he became a believer.

Like too many North Korean refugees hiding in China, Rowe Mu was discovered by Chinese police, arrested and turned over to North Korean police. He pleaded his case at his trial, telling the judge that he escaped to China only to feed his starving family. Still he was found guilty of desertion and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in a labor camp.

After serving his term, Rowe Mu returned to his family, who had somehow survived during his absence. His newfound faith in God had sustained him in prison, so he again cried out for the Lord to rescue his family. God was listening, and He connected Rowe Mu with an outside operative who smuggles food inside North Korea. That operative has since begun serving the underground churches and Christian families in Rowe Mu’s city.

Over the past year, Rowe Mu’s family has received distributions of both food and the Scriptures. They are overwhelmingly grateful for God’s provision and now live with a newfound hope. Thanks so much for supporting our North Korean brothers and sisters in Christ through Heaven’s Family’s North Korean Christians Fund.

Sincerely in Christ,

Elisabeth Servant
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

A North Korean boatman on the Yalu, one of the rivers that divides China and North Korea

Dear Friends,

I’ve spent my last week in China visiting three cities along its border with North Korea. For several years, Heaven’s Family has partnered with Alpha Relief, a ministry that focuses on serving the underground church inside North Korea. I met with several of Alpha Relief’s courageous partners, some of whom regularly travel into North Korea—one of the most anti-Christian nations in the world—taking food and Bibles.

China’s 764-mile border with North Korea is defined by two rivers, the Tumen and Yalu. North Korean soldiers patrol portions of both rivers, with orders to shoot their fellow citizens who attempt to escape. Every month, hunger motivates hundreds of North Koreans to make the crossing. Many succeed, and they return to North Korea with food for their starving family members. If they are discovered in China, Chinese authorities send them back to North Korea where they will likely be sent to one of its infamous labor camps. Every knowledgeable person with whom I spoke agreed that food shortages are critical in North Korea. I can’t share the details, but Alpha Relief manages to smuggle tons of food across the border to nourish networks of underground churches, and we’re glad to help them.

One highlight of the week was a speed boat trip on the Yalu River that, with the help of a small gift to the boat driver, brought us within a stone’s throw of North Korea. That gave us excellent opportunities to photograph North Koreans along the shore (as in the photo above). Although North Koreans are relentlessly taught from birth that Americans are their greatest enemies, we found that just about every North Korean smiled when we waved at them (with the exception of soldiers, who hid their faces when we aimed our cameras at them).

Because of gifts to our North Korean Christians Fund, I was blessed to be able to direct the use of $35,000 to help North Korea’s underground Christians. That money will not only provide food relief inside North Korea, but will also provide the means to help some believers actually escape from North Korea (and be relocated to safe countries). Specifically, our gifts will help believers escape who are in danger of being sent to labor camps for illegal Christian activities. Again, I can’t share the details of exactly how that is accomplished, but Alpha Relief has successfully accomplished these missions in the past. In a few weeks, I’ll be sending out an email asking you to help Alpha Relief succeed in an even more amazing deliverance—of a sister in Christ who is currently already incarcerated in a North Korean labor camp serving an eight-year sentence.

Thank you again for your prayers. Below are a few more photos that I thought you might find interesting. Unfortunately, I can’t show you any photos of the courageous believers whom we met, as it might compromise their security.

David

I photographed this North Korean soldier along the Yalu River just before he hid his face behind his fur collar

In one city, I had a wonderful opportunity to spend time at a coffee shop with these Chinese university students who gathered to practice their English. The assigned topic that evening was “The meaning of Easter.” What a night we had practicing our English!

A lesson in economics: The buildings in the foreground are in China (now probably more capitalist and less socialist economically than the U.S.), while across the river is one of North Korea’s most prosperous cities, Sinuiju. I took this photo from the window of a modern 28-story hotel in the Chinese city of Dandong. Dandong is a bustling, modern city of impressive tall buildings. On the North Korean side are crumbling gray concrete homes and buildings, the legacy of communism. The next three photos also make this illustration.

The Chinese city of Dandong on the left (including the bridge and island) and the North Korean city of Sinuiju on the right side of the Yalu River

A partial view of the Chinese city of Dandong’s shoreline, taken from the North Korea side of the Yalu River

A partial view of the North Korean city of Sinuiju’s shoreline, taken from the Chinese side of the river. In the nighttime, Sinuiju was practically all dark.

Two other North Koreans on the Yalu River. Notice the red pin on the one man’s coat. That is a mandatory pin that all adult North Koreans must wear donning a picture of their “dear leader,” Kim Jong Il, or of his father, both elevated to the status of gods by the North Korean propaganda machine.

Food aid sent to help feed starving Christians in North Korea

Dear Friends,

Mal-Chin is one of the thousands of believers in North Korea whose life has been changed as a result of your compassion.

After serving his required time in the military, Mal-Chin found a job as a truck driver delivering food and other goods. But when food distribution stopped in the early 1990s due to widespread famine in North Korea, Mal-Chin lost his job.

In desperation, he began smuggling goods across the border from China to feed his family. During one such trip, Mal-Chin met Mr. C who began telling him the good news of the God who provides.”I heard the gospel for the first time and believed Jesus in my heart” he told us.

North Korea is currently suffering through another cycle of famine, largely due to corrupt and ineffective policies of the communist government. Mal-Chin is 53 years old now, but he and his family are sustained through the gifts of caring members of his spiritual family around the world.

In a recent letter, Mal-Chin wrote,”I am very grateful that Christians in other countries are helping the hungry people of North Korea. Please pray for the peaceful unification of Korea so that I can openly proclaim God’s goodness to North Korean people.”

Thank you again for caring for suffering North Korean believers.

Elisabeth Kirkwood
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

North Korean citizens left distraught and despondent by the grips of starvation

Dear Friends,

Hana had already helplessly watched her parents slowly succumb to starvation. Shortly after they died, Hana’s husband also slipped into eternity for lack of food. Now she was left alone with her younger sister, and they both knew it was just a matter of time for them. Both were malnourished and hungry and on the brink of starvation.

As starvation took its toll, Hana’s sister became very ill and frail. Hana searched frantically to find any food that could save her sister’s life. She succeeded in finding one small loaf of bread and rushed home. But she was too late. As Hana gently placed a small piece into her sister’s mouth, she silently passed away.

Hana, now all alone, knew her own death was imminent. Her fear, bitterness, and grief were overshadowed only by her hatred for the North Korean government for its failed policies and for withholding foreign aid during a famine. Thousands of North Korean citizens had died of starvation.

Hope in the Midst of North Korean Starvation

Thankfully, one of our partners, Mrs. L., along with other underground North Korean church leaders, found Hana and reached out to her before starvation could take her life. They provided Hana with food that was smuggled into North Korean territory, in part, because of gifts to Heaven’s Family’s North Korean Christians Fund. They also shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with her. Hana’s heart was softened and she gave her life to the Lord.

Thank you so much for your compassion. Because of your gifts, Hana and others like her are not only receiving bread to eat, but also the Bread of Life.

Elisabeth Kirkwood

Food aid sent to help feed Christians in North Korea during the hard winter months

Due to rampant inflation a few months ago, North Korea’s regime devalued the national currency by 100 to 1, effectively vaporizing the savings of its citizens. The citizens of North Korea were required to trade old currency for new, turning in old 1,000 won notes for new 10 won notes. Because of an exchange cap of 100,000 won per family, worth a little more than about $700, anyone holding old notes have lost virtually everything. Our contacts inside North Korea have indicated that the whole nation is grieving to an extent not seen in many years and is in dire need of food aid.

Many struggling Christians in North Korea—already set back by dwindling government food rations—had been saving as much extra cash as possible over the summer months in order to subsidize their family’s food needs through the lean winter. In light of the catastrophic currency devaluation, they wondered how they would survive the winter, unless they received food aid smuggled in from the “outside.”

The government of North Korea has also cracked down on the once-tolerated underground markets, through which most citizens of North Korea once purchased their emergency food rations and also received aid.

Ironically, the harsh winter season created a unique opportunity for us to provide food aid and meet the pressing needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling for survival in North Korea. Extreme cold froze the border rivers, which became a firm pathway for food aid couriers.

North Korea Food Aid and Grateful Hearts

Your gifts have been saving Christians in North Korea from starvation this winter. Every week secret food aid delivery missions are being carried out. The families who are being served “send their jubilant thanks with grateful hearts filled with new hope.” Thanks so much. Your gifts / aid are literally saving lives!

Sincerely in Christ,

Elisabeth
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

In my last North Korea mini-update, I told you about Mrs. Kim, a believer who escaped from North Korea and who lives in China, but who smuggles food into North Korea for starving Christians. She was caught several months ago feeding starving family members and was put into a prison camp.

A border patrol guard who will shoot at any who dare try to escape from North Korea

For the last six months our partner’s underground network has been working tirelessly to discover where Mrs. Kim is being held. Their persistence paid off, and to our relief, she was found to be alive, but suffering severe malnourishment and sickness from months of living in horrific prison conditions Heaven’s Family sent funds to help our partners provide medical help for Mrs. Kim by means of bribing starving prison guards.

Our partners recently received an email from one of their other smugglers. He said that he had discovered that with a little monetary intervention he could immediately secure the release of Mrs. Kim from prison. As you read this, that smuggler is in the process of rescuing Mrs. Kim and taking her safely back to her two sons in China.

Thank you so much for giving to the North Korean Christians Fund. Your gifts have helped secure the rescue of Mrs. Kim.

Elisabeth

Director North Korean Christians Fund

Learn how the North Korean Christian Fund is providing food for starving believers in communist North Korea.