Soo Hee and her friends gather in a secluded place by a lake, far from prying eyes, to worship together. They know they must be ready at any moment for State Security officials to appear. If an inspection begins, they quickly place their Bible in a plastic container and drop it into the water to hide it. After being submerged again and again, their precious Bible became badly worn.
Eventually, a group of workers brought them a new Bible, and Keun Hyun was entrusted with carrying the damaged one. He hid it beneath the wardrobe in his temporary lodging, intending to retrieve it later. But when he crossed back into N. Korea, he realized he had left it behind.
The thought of losing that precious Bible kept him awake at night. He knew it had been held in the hands of believers who risked everything to worship Jesus.
When he learned the cleaning woman had found the book, he hurried back to ask for it.
“Could you please return the old book that was under the wardrobe?”
Startled, she pretended not to know what he meant.
“I don’t know which book you’re talking about.”
“I must find that book. That’s why I came back so quickly. Please, I beg you, return it.”
The woman glanced around and lowered her voice.
“I cannot.”
Keun Hyun returned without the Bible. But months later, he learned what had happened. The cleaning woman had taken the worn Bible home, where four people began gathering to worship.
The Bible they thought was lost had found its way into the hands of another underground church.
WAYS TO PRAY
- Pray for disciples of Christ, such as Soo Hee and her friends, to receive their own copies of God’s Word.
- Pray for underground church believers who treasure the precious Bibles delivered to them, or found under wardrobes, and share that treasure with others.
- Pray for new believers, like the cleaning woman, to grow in God’s love and truth.
- Pray for workers like Keun Hyun who are willing to count the cost of risk to go back and forth with Bibles in order to support and bless the underground church in NK.