NORTH KOREA: “WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TO TAKE CARE OF US”
Our brothers and sisters in North Korea are facing a new kind of danger in the form of the coronavirus.
North Korean defector Timothy Cho knows just how dangerous viral diseases are to those living in poverty in the country. He says, “If there really are people infected with the coronavirus in North Korea, this will have a serious impact. The country has almost no medical facilities or medications. This was one of the reasons why cholera and SARS caused the deaths of many vulnerable children on the streets of North Korea. I was one of those children infected with cholera, and was just waiting for death, without food and medicine.”
If someone does fall ill, a family member will usually go to the jangmadang (the black market) and try to find someone who sells medicines - which often have no labels, so the ingredients are unknown.
As well as Bibles, clothing and food, Open Doors secret workers help to smuggle in proper medicines. After receiving some of these medicines, one secret North Korean believer said, “We thank you for your sacrifice, warmth and consideration to take care of us. We feel your warm heart and mind every minute and second. We do our best to serve our Lord and live faithful lives.”
What kind of impact might the coronavirus have in North Korea?
PLEASE PRAY:
- That God would protect the vulnerable – especially children living on the streets – and bring healing to those who are unwell in North Korea
- Open Doors' work has been affected by the crisis, though we can't say how for security reasons. Please pray that the right aid and medicines would still reach the people who need them, and that there would be enough to go around
- For God’s mercy on the North Korean regime, that their hearts might open to see the truth in Jesus and His love.
