Living a Double Life in North Korea

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 This correspondence is not intended to be an appeal for funds, but as an informational update for those who have already contributed to the North Korean Christians Fund or signed up to receive these updates. Thank you so much. Our goal is to serve you as you serve the “least of these” among Christ’s family. If, however, you would like to contribute again to this fund, we want to make it easy for you, either through credit card or automatic bank withdrawal. Just click here or call our office during regular business hours (8:30AM – 5PM EST) at (412) 833-5826. To contribute by cheque in the U.K., please write the designated fund name in the memo line and mail it to Heaven’s Family, P.O. Box 7402, Bournemouth, U.K. BH11 0EJ. Heaven’s Family is a 501c3 non-profit organization recognized by the IRS. Heaven’s Family is also a registered charity in the U.K., and most gifts qualify for Gift Aid, significantly increasing the size of your gift. Please visit our website at HeavensFamily.org.