Walking In the Valley Of The Shadow Of Death - Part 2

Walking In the Valley Of The Shadow Of Death - Part 2

Yesterday, we began sharing Yong Sook’s story about moving to North Korea and her father’s arrest. Today, we continue.
 
Six months after his arrest, Yong Sook’s father was called to the courtyard of the prison. It was the first time he saw all 140 members of the Christian network. He was probably one of the few who did not believe in Jesus Christ.

As the gate slowly opened the entire group was ordered to walk outside. As they moved, the guards called the names of those who had to return back to their cells. Since Yong Sook’s father had denied he was a Christian he was allowed to leave. The others, who were called back, probably died in prison he  later told his daughter.

Yong Sook’s father returned to the family home in Pyongyang. “We were all so shocked to see him. He was just a skeleton. He never spoke about his experience. He was a different man; often depressed and silent,” recalls Yong Sook. Also, after her father’s return, her grandfather did not speak anymore. Not a single word. “He felt so guilty, looking at my father was impossible for him.”

In her silent witness Yong Sook had to blame someone for the fate of her family. “I did not blame God. I knew too little about Him. I wasn’t angry with my father and grandfather either. I blamed everything on the leader of the Christian group, the man we knew from China.”

Then, in 1967, the entire family was ordered to leave Pyongyang. Because of her father’s “betrayal” the government now considered them part of the hostile class. As they packed and moved to the country all of Yong Sook’s dreams vanished. She wanted to be a writer, journalist, perhaps a teacher. Her only consolation was that her father was with them. “All that mattered to me was that we stayed together. I could not even think about my friends, who I knew I was never going to see again.”

Tomorrow we continue with Yong Sook’s story.

One With Them
Perhaps you have experienced your world being turned upside down. Dreams destroyed. Friends gone. And wondering what other horrors tomorrow would bring. You are uniquely qualified to be One With Them today, as those suffering for their faith in Jesus are uprooted and cast out. They can rely on God or they can just die from the world’s oppression. Please open your heart today and let the Holy Spirit direct your prayers of intercession for Christians who are clinging to their hope in God by their fingernails.

2013.06.28

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
(Psalm 23:4)