Years ago, my mother received a Bible that came with a food donation. As she read it, she began to believe in God. Even today, many North Koreans go to food distribution sites where they spend the night learning the basics of the Christian faith and return home with a Bible hidden in their backpack.

A friend of my mother’s reported her for reading the Bible. She was arrested, detained, and tortured in a political prison. I have not seen her since. Still, there are many underground believers in North Korea who continue to read Scripture, fully aware of the severe consequences if they are caught.

At one distribution site, a woman shared her deep frustration over not having a Bible to read and memorize. As she spoke, a field worker noticed her eyes shining like diamonds, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

Moved by this, another North Korean woman stepped forward and said, “It makes me angry not to fully understand the Word. That’s why I am willing to risk everything to take this small Bible back with me. Without it, I’ll feel the same deep yearning you’re describing.”

The two women embraced and began to pray with tears of joy, overwhelmed to finally have their own Bibles. Their hands trembled—not only from the joy of holding God’s Word but also from the fear of what it could cost them.

How to Pray:

• For these two women and others like them to be nourished by God’s Word and commit Bible verses to memory.
• For people who yearn to have their own Bibles to securely receive relevant messages about where and when field workers will be distributing copies of the Word.
• For channels of distribution across various borders to continue to flow smoothly.
• For the Word to yield an abundant harvest in the lives and relationship networks of those who have received a copy.
• For those imprisoned for possession of a Bible to be strengthened in faith and hope.