Whispers of Faith in a Watched Nation

Whispers of Faith in a Watched Nation

by | Mar 6, 2026 | Prayer

Last year, God worked powerfully through SuelKon. Despite immense risk, three new churches were quietly established in two regions of NK. At the same time, she continued to encourage five underground churches in other areas, offering both spiritual upliftment and practical help. Much of that support depended on donated supplies that were smuggled across the border or discreetly delivered to the small room she rented.

But toward the end of the year, the situation grew even more difficult. North Korea tightened its borders once again, cutting off nearly every pathway for goods to enter. Supplies sent by SuelKon’s organization can no longer get through. With smuggling routes shut down and customs inspections intensified, many already struggling families now go cold and hungry. Surveillance has also increased across the country. Borders are heavily guarded, roads are closely monitored, and anyone traveling or carrying goods without official documentation risks immediate arrest.

These restrictions have made it far harder for SuelKon to move about and visit the underground churches she supports. Yet one thing has not been restricted—her prayers to the God of heaven’s armies.

Even under constant watch, God continues to open small windows of opportunity. In crowded marketplaces and other everyday places, SuelKon occasionally meets fellow believers for brief moments. Though their conversations must be quick and careful, she faithfully encourages them day by day, sharing words of hope from Scripture and reminding them that God has not forgotten them.

PRAY FOR:

  •  easing of the situation in NK—where borders are blockaded with iron-fisted surveillance

  • breaking through these sealed borders to deliver the gospel, that it may be shared through various channels

  • comforting the faithful in their need for physical sustenance and the spiritual food of God’s Word through Bibles being sent in

  • believers to have the strength and power to stand firm in God and move forward to plant even more churches. 

Sent for Such a Time as This

Sent for Such a Time as This

by | Feb 13, 2026 | Prayer

For three long years, Heoksun wept in anguish. Overwhelmed by pain and confusion, she poured out her heart to God, crying, “God, why did You bring me here to live like this? Please—say something!” Her grief was so deep she could barely put words to the resentment she felt toward Him.

Deceived by NK propaganda that promised a better life, Heoksun crossed the border into China—only to discover a harsh and heartbreaking reality. The dream she had believed in collapsed, leaving her disillusioned and angry with God. Yet in that darkness, a greater purpose was quietly unfolding.

Heoksun had known Jesus since childhood while living in China. When she realized she had been misled, she struggled to understand why God had allowed it. For three years, she prayed through her pain. Slowly, God reshaped her sorrow into calling. She came to see that He had sent her—not by accident, but by design—to share her story and testify about Him.

“At that time, all you needed was a river-crossing permit to travel to China,” Heoksun recalled. “Once there, I asked my relatives for whatever they could give me. I packed it all up, returned to NK, and gave it as gifts to my neighbors.”

Her face, etched with years of hardship, softened with a quiet smile. What she received was never for herself. She used every gift as a bridge for the gospel—turning simple provisions into eternal investments.

As Scripture reminds us:
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal homes.” — Luke 16:9

PRAY FOR:

  • Heoksun, and others like her, who share worldly goods to illustrate God’s unconditional love.
  • NK Christians in restricted situations to willingly ‘preach’ with their actions whatever they have to share.
  • NK Disciples of Christ who are in stark straits to hear what God is saying about how He wants them to respond to their situation, what He has prepared for them to do in their environment.
Faith Under Surveillance

Faith Under Surveillance

by | Jan 14, 2026 | Prayer

Jet sought to reconnect with Kwan, a NK believer living in a remote province who was briefly able to travel near the border. Because of intense surveillance, the meeting had to be arranged quietly through mutual contacts. Jet waited, uncertain, until at last the phone rang.

A burst of static crackled in his ear, followed by a tense voice.

“Are you Jet?”

“Yes. It’s me. I’ve missed you so much,” Jet replied.

“Thank you for remembering me—and for coming to see me after more than ten years.” The line went dead. Moments later, the phone rang again.

“You know the book I brought home last time?” Kwan asked. “Can you get me another copy? I didn’t realize it then, but after reading it, I regret taking only one.”
He was speaking of the Gospels.

Jet was deeply moved by Kwan’s longing for God’s Word. He promised to bring another Bible on his next visit and gently asked, “Did you really say you memorized the entire book because it’s so good?”

“Yes,” Kwan answered. “When I’m alone, I memorize it by heart so I won’t forget anything.”

“You’re doing well,” Jet said. “Have you seen any other believers around you?”

“When I listen carefully to what people say,” Kwan replied, “sometimes I think, ‘That person believes in Him.’ There’s a grandmother in my neighborhood who hums a hymn I used to hear in China. When I asked if I could teach her the song, she became startled and avoided the question. Her children seem different too. It’s only a hunch—but even that gives me comfort. Please pray for us.”

As the call ended, Jet whispered, “Be blessed in His name.” His throat tightened, and tears of gratitude filled his eyes. “God has not abandoned the people of N. Korea,” he thought. “He is still caring for them with an endless, faithful love.”

Join in prayer for:

More Bibles to be sent to the NK believers who memorize the words and recite them in their hearts.

Isolated NK believers to cling to the Word of Life and maintain their faith.

People such as Jet to continue to follow up on connections they have to encourage the NK believers, even in brief snippets of conversation.

NKs who do not yet know Jesus to receive a Bible or copy of the Gospels and soak in the Word.

 

Words of Life in a Balloon

Words of Life in a Balloon

by | Dec 9, 2025 | Prayer

Brother Kai remembers the exact moment he first heard the testimony that changed the course of his ministry. It was a simple story—just a few minutes long—but it stirred something deep within him. From that day on, he and a small team have been launching gospel balloons toward their fellow Koreans across the heavily guarded border.

Their work has not been easy. They have trekked for hours through mosquito-infested fields, often in the dark, and have even been forcefully pulled away by police. Yet they continue—because of one phrase that Kai can never forget:

“I thought we were forgotten.”

Years earlier, somewhere in the quiet hills of North Korea, a small boy named Gee spotted a bright orange balloon tangled in a broom fence. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. Curious and cautious, he folded it tightly so no one would notice and carried it home. Gee gave it to his mother, who in turn handed it to her mother-in-law.

The moment the elderly woman recognized the familiar words printed on the balloon, tears filled her eyes.
“I thought we were forgotten,” she whispered.

In her youth, she had witnessed the days of revival in Pyongyang. She had treasured God’s Word in her heart, but decades of hardship and isolation had dimmed those memories. Now, holding this fragile orange balloon, the light returned.

The balloon did not contain the entire Bible, but it carried enough truth to rekindle her hope—enough to remind her that God still saw her, still loved her, and had not abandoned her people. She began to read its message aloud, sharing its words with her daughter-in-law and with young Gee, offering them the same hope that had just been restored in her.

Years later, after Gee escaped North Korea, he found his way to Brother Kai’s community in a suburb of Seoul. One evening, he told this story—his story. As Kai listened, he felt a renewed urgency rising within him.

This is why they launch. This is why they risk everything.

Because on the other side of those balloons are men, women, and children waiting to know that they are not forgotten in God’s kingdom.

So Kai and his team keep preparing. They keep praying. And with every new opportunity, they send out another balloon—each one carrying truth, hope, and the reminder that God remembers His people.

Join us in prayer for:

  • Balloons like the ones in the story above to awaken hope and comfort individuals, even multigenerational families, in the darkness.
  • Other creative means of outreach to be launched in various settings, that carry the gospel to NKs
  • NK people to make timely discoveries of balloons and other outreach pieces of the gospel and the Word of God that have been sent into their land through various means
  • A covering over gospel messages that are targeted to reach NKs within and near their borders.
Out of the Darkness

Out of the Darkness

by | Nov 10, 2025 | Prayer

After forty years of hardship in N. Korea, *George crossed the border into China, hoping to find a better life. He had endured decades of hunger, fear, and oppression, and all he wanted was to earn enough money to survive. But God had something far greater in store.

In China, George met a man from South Korea who told him about a God he had never known—a God who loved him. The man gave George a Bible, and for the first time in his life, he began to read the words of truth that would one day change everything.

When George returned to N. Korea, he hid the Bible carefully, reading it in secret whenever he could. But one day, the authorities discovered it. Possessing a Bible was a crime, and George was arrested and sentenced to a labor camp. There, he was beaten and tortured as they demanded to know where he had gotten the book.

In the filth and despair of the camp, George’s body was broken and his spirit nearly crushed. Yet in the midst of that darkness, something unexpected happened. One day, he found himself singing softly through his tears: “For God so loved the world.” Even as he sang, his heart cried out, “God, if You exist, please get me out of here!”

Years later, George was finally released. But life outside the camp was no easier. His body was frail, his neighbors despised him, and the bitter cold of winter threatened to finish what the camp had begun. With no hope left, George fled once again to China.

There, he met a Christian pastor who welcomed him, shared God’s Word, and helped him understand what it truly meant to follow Jesus. One day, George read the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19–20:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Those words pierced his heart. That same day, George was baptized, publicly declaring Jesus Christ as his Savior.

In the days that followed, the Lord began to heal George’s heart and remind him who he was in Christ:

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…” (1 Peter 2:9)

Today, George carries that truth with him. Though he still struggles to believe that God could choose someone like him, he knows he has been called out of darkness into God’s wonderful light. And now, his deepest longing is to see his people in N. Korea experience that same light—the life-changing love of Jesus Christ.

*pseudonym

JOIN US IN PRAYER:

  • Pray for Strength and Healing
    Ask God to heal the deep physical and emotional scars left by years of persecution and hardship. Pray that believers like George would experience daily renewal through the Holy Spirit and remain steadfast in their faith, even when faced with isolation or fear.

  • Pray for Courage to Witness
    Pray that God would fill George and other N. Korean believers with boldness to share the gospel wisely and courageously. Ask that their testimonies of grace and endurance would draw many others in darkness to the light of Christ.

  • Pray for the Church in N. Korea
    Intercede for hidden believers and underground church networks. Pray that God would protect them, multiply disciples, and open doors for His Word to spread in one of the most closed nations on earth.