A young NK woman was caught trying to defect, crossing the river in a desperate attempt to escape. When she was found, she was brutally beaten—so severely that she couldn’t move. Left in pain and silence, she lay there until an older woman came along and gently cared for her.
Three days passed. When the young woman finally opened her eyes, she saw the face of the one who had nursed her back to life. Weakly, she asked, “Why are you doing this for me?”
The older woman simply replied, “Because I have been loved.”
Confused, the young woman asked again, “What do you mean… loved?”
For NKs, the concept of love is foreign. Many grow up without ever experiencing it. Real love—sacrificial, unconditional love—is something they do not know and cannot name.
Three months later, the older woman—the one who had shown such kindness—was executed. Before she was taken away, she scratched a few final messages into the walls of her prison cell:
“I will lift up the One who has lifted me.” And “Receive love—the love that comes from the Lord, from God.”
These simple, powerful engravings stirred something deep within the young woman. Her curiosity turned to seeking. Her seeking led to faith. And there, in that prison cell, she met Jesus.
Since then, she has become a quiet evangelist among the other women prisoners. Though they are held in separate buildings, they find ways to pass messages of hope and truth during rare moments in the yard or shared spaces.
Today, at least 24 women gather in spirit—though not physically—to worship Jesus every Sunday morning. In hushed voices and hidden corners, the gospel is spreading… not through a mission plan, but through the obedience of the broken and the beauty of God’s love.
Join us in prayer:
- Pray for the thousands of incarcerated NK Christians who are moving and working quietly. Ask that Holy Spirit continues to give them creative ways to sublimely share God’s love.
- Give thanks that these disciples of Christ have been able to continue communicating the Gospel quietly in amazing ways. May they experience much grace in being God’s instruments.
- Petition our Lord that this communication will not be exposed to those in power, but that the Spirit will have freedom to keep moving in an instrumental way as these precious brothers and sisters share the gospel to brighten up the night.
- Give thanks that the Lord is good and works through His NK servants, as angels among their compatriots, that those who do not yet know Him will be refreshed and come to walk with Him in the Light.