Church of North Korea grateful for support
Ermelo - A North Korean Christian is so happy with the prayer and support he has received from the international Church that he offered an 80-year old copy of the New Testament to Open Doors. Press officer Jan Vermeer from Open Doors: "It is amazing that he has been able to hide this book for so long."
The book has probably been brought into the country about eighty years ago by an American missionary. The New Testament is heavily damaged. Some pages are missing while others have been hand-written.
Open Doors has rescued this specific North Korean Christian out of a 'very difficult situation'. He succeeded in smuggling the Bible out of the country, an action with which he risked his life.
For many years, Open Doors has requested people to pray for North Korea. Thousands of Dutch Christians regularly pray for this country. Moreover, Open Doors brings thousands of Christian books to the country, supplies food to over 60,000 Christians, provides shelter for refugees in China and equips North Korean Christians. "North Korea is an extremely closed country and there are spies everywhere. Only God and the prayer of our supporters have enabled us to do so much," Vermeer states.
It is very difficult for Open Doors to maintain contacts with the church in North Korea. Contact is maintained through letters that are smuggled in and out of the country. Every letter shows enormous gratefulness for the support that is given by Dutch Christians and Christians from other countries. A church leader wrote:
"Thanks to your support we can survive during this time of famine. The current living conditions in our country are very bad. The price of rice continues to increase. Recently, five women from our neighborhood were publicly executed, the youngest of them only being 28. Valuable lives have been lost. Their crime? Trying to survive by looking for food. After their execution, we were no longer allowed to trade at the market. What should we do? Nevertheless, we are not afraid to starve. We have already received such support from you, Christians from abroad. We do our best to spread God's Word in North Korea. Thank you again for your ongoing prayers, care and support."
According to Vermeer, the situation described in the letter is typical for the situation in North Korea. "Prices are increasing. The black market with the Chinese has virtually shut down, a consequence of the high food and oil prices. For Chinese traders, trading with North Koreans has become too expensive because it does not render enough profit. The average citizen cannot pay for the goods that are available in North Korea. One kilo of rough rice costs 2,500 North Korean won, for example, women's underwear costs 40,000 won. In comparison: the average monthly salary of a high party member is only 5,000 won. Most North Koreans do not even receive a salary. The state will hand out food but this is limited to soldiers, people high on the social ladder and factory workers in sectors that are considered to be important. Even they do not receive enough. This fall, the crop was harvested. The whole population participated but the military were watching them. Every grain of wheat and rice had to be handed over to the army."
