North Korea: Some you shall save by pulling them out of the fire

By Tim Peters

She became a victim of human trafficking

I have no memories of my father, who died of tuberculosis when I was a baby. I lived with my mother, who loved me very much and worked hard to support me. Her frail physique spoke of the many sacrifices she had made at work.

Right: Broken bridge on the Tumen River

Eventually, my mother became so weak and ill that she realized she would no longer be able to take care of me. She persuaded my aunt to take me to the Korean-Chinese part of China to find a better life for me. But despite my aunt's good intentions to fulfill her sister's wish to take care of me, we both became victims of human trafficking after we crossed the Tumen River.

We were locked in a small room and were beaten and threatened to be killed if we did not accept the Chinese traffickers' abuse of us. I fought back violently, but was overpowered by them every time. I began to hate myself, suffered from depression and even contemplated suicide. But another North Korean woman there, Kim XXX, was so kind to me and encouraged me not to give in to despair. My new friend gave me courage and hope to escape the traffickers. One day we decided to buy food at the market on a national holiday and managed to disappear in the crowd.

The cross

Suddenly I remembered that someone in North Korea had told me that if you were a refugee in China, you would seek help in a house with a cross. We went into town by taxi and found a house with a cross. I had not previously known anything about Jesus and Christianity in my home country. With the help of a kind Korean-Chinese Christian, I confessed that Jesus is my Savior and Lord and I became a child of God. I pray daily that the God who delivered the Israelites from Egypt will help us to come to South Korea and find freedom and equality!

This cross is made by North Korean refugees.