Walking In the Valley Of The Shadow Of Death - Part 3

Walking In the Valley Of The Shadow Of Death - Part 3 Yesterday, we shared Yong Sook’s story about her father’s homecoming and then moving away from Pyongyang. Today, we continue. When Kim Il-Sung died, even Yong Sook’s own response surprised her. “God really exists,” she said to herself as she compared that both her grandfather, and the "Great Leader," died at age 83. Economic collapse after Kim’s death hit the country hard. There was no food. Now a married woman there was more mouths to feed. Yong Sook picked grass and plants to feed her husband and three children. Her neighbor one day asked Yong Sook’s family for help to cross the border. Needing to care for her mother and two young children, her neighbor was desperate to escape to China where she believed there would be help. Yong Sook agreed. “We would die if we stayed in the village. So my husband, my second son and I went with them thinking that if we could find relief in China we would return later and help the rest of the family escape as well,” she recalled. Arriving at the river they were dismayed to discover that it was already beginning to melt. It was easier to cross when frozen, so they found its narrowest part, hid in the bushes and waited for the right moment to cross. Sadly, both families were caught and arrested by the police. In prison, the men were separated from the women. Yong Sook and her neighbor were interrogated separately. These interrogations involved beating and other abuse. Her neighbor was tortured the most. One day, she staggered back to the cell, badly beaten and raped. A typhoid epidemic broke out in the prison and both women became ill. Yong Sook recovered, but her neighbor became weaker. Fighting for her life, her organs eventually stopped functioning. When they took her malnourished body away, Yong Sook knew her neighbor would die soon. Yong Sook still did not believe in her grandfather’s God, but she was desperate for hope. Then one day she heard a woman praying to her mother; so she too began to pray to her mother, asking that she save her. “But I also asked myself, ‘Who is the most powerful person I can pray to?’ I was still not a believer, but I prayed for God to release me.’” Tomorrow we conclude Yong Sook’s story. One With Them Yong Sook was not a believer, yet you can see God’s hand protecting her in these accounts of her life. Praise God for His faithfulness; even when we turn away, He stays with us, never gives up on us, and fulfills every promise He has made. This may resonate with you or someone close to you. As we stand One With Them today, let’s praise God for who He is, and praise Him for never changing. 2013.06.29

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5)