Captain Slog.. Stuart Read

Our church in Incheon is about 1 hours flight from the one of the most cruel and inhumane places on the Earth. The North Korean "Control Centres" are the worst kind of prison camps the North Korean government could think of (they have been described as being worse that the Nazi prison camps). Only one person is known to have ever escaped. He was born in the camp after the authorities gave his parents five days together in a cell for good behaviour. He was supposed to spend his life in the control centre. When he was 11, he decided to try and escape with his friend through the electric fence. His friend went first and buzzed and smoked as the electric fence killed him. Fortunately for the one that did escape, his friend shorted the electricity enabling him to climb out through the fence over his friend's dead body. When he got to the countryside, he thought he was in paradise because people had clothes to wear and could walk around the fields freely. Eventually he escaped to China and then South Korea and now lives in Scandinavia.
 
In response to stories like these, our church here in Incheon designated August as a special "North Korea in Focus" month. The aim is to raise awareness of the realities in North Korea so that God might stir us to prayer and action. Each day through the month we are praying for North Korea and each week we are focussing on special needs - persecuted Christians, prisoners, refugees and defectors. We have invited some guest speakers who are involved in NK ministries, and next week we are joining together in a "North Korea fast" where we commit to only eating what the normal North Korean would eat in a day - 300g of rice with a few vegetables or bits of meat that can be foraged.
 
Last Sunday our guest speaker opened our eyes to the need of "Stateless Children" in China. Most of the escapees from NK are women, and 70-80% of these NK women become victims of sex-traffickers. They get sold to Chinese men (many of whom are not likely to get married because of poverty, disability or addiction) for around 600-700 US dollars. Once in these relationships, they often bear children - and these are 'stateless children' because they have no paperwork to show that they were ever born. As they grow up, they are often abandoned by one or other of their parents - their NK mothers are sometimes found by the Chinese officials and sent back to NK. Some have estimated that there are as many as 100,000 of these stateless children in China. Only in the past couple of years has this 'unreached people group' been identified and efforts started to find them and care for them with the love of Jesus.
 
Some of the lucky ones manage to escape from NK and then escape from China too. The defectors that manage to get to South Korea are given paperwork and a new life here. Many of them are teenagers. Last year I was introduced to a ministry called "The Heavenly Dream School" (HDS) - a school that exists to give student-aged North Korean defectors a proper education so that they can live successful lives in South Korea, and we hope, become Christian leaders in the North in the future. HDS houses about 180 students (all North Koreans) and offers them a free education. I asked Missionary John, who leads the ministry, how many of the NK students become Christians. He told me that all of them do! But many of them go back and forth on their commitment. It is especially difficult for the girls who are used to living lives of sexual abuse and favours.
 
On July 22nd I have been invited to speak at the school's English Summer Camp. There will be around 400 students there, including around 100 of HDS's North Korean students. I have been asked to speak on the theme of 'purity' and at end of the evening the students will be presented with 'purity rings' to wear as though they are married to Jesus until they find their future husband or wife. Please pray for me on the 22nd and for us as a church as we explore our role in God's kingdom work in North Korea during this month.
 
It will be great to give you a first-hand report on these things when we see you in August. We arrive in England on July 31st, so jet-lag-willing, we hope to see you at Brookside on August 1st!
 
Blessings to you all, and especially to the folk on the Uganda team. Our prayers are with you!
 
Stuart