Interview: Matthew* works with North Korean believers

“My hope for North Korea is in knowing that God loves the North Korean church so much.”

Matthew: I help North Korean believers in China. The only way for us to meet North Korean people is to meet those who are visiting outside their home country for different reasons. I get to meet them, tell them about Jesus Christ, and by God’s guidance, I sometimes train them with the Word of God. As they grow in faith, I train them as co-workers and let them participate in our projects.

Also, we are trying to recover lost networks. From the late 1990s to early 2000s, ministries were very active near the border area. Some people who heard about Jesus Christ at that time went back to North Korea and were able to share the gospel with a few of their neighbors and friends, forming little Christian communities. Some other North Koreans who visited the field areas were the descendants of first or second-generational believers. They used to contact us or other missionaries like us to get help and then went back to their underground churches.

But as persecution inside North Korea and around the border area intensified, and as the missionaries got expelled from the field area, many of those previous contacts and networks were lost. Now we are trying to get back in touch with those networks again.

There was this [North Korean] brother, and he was very faithful and sincere about spiritual training. Later on, when we became good friends in Christ, I thought it was okay to let him join in some of our work.

One day I asked him to do a job. However, unfortunately, while he was doing the work, he was caught by governmental officers and went through a hard time. It was not a major problem, so he was able to get away. Hearing about the incident, my heart sank. It was just around the time when he had really started to believe in Jesus. I was very worried that his faith might have been tested and he may have stumbled. After the incident, I somewhat laid down any hopes about hearing from him again.

Later on, when we met again, to my surprise, he was not bothered about the incident at all. Rather, God had been teaching him through the difficulty, and the incident became one of the turning points of our fellowship – he was able to share even deeper thoughts with me after that. Thankfully, our friendship got even closer. I may never be able to ask him to do any jobs again, but I believe our relationship as a shepherd and a sheep became deeper in Jesus Christ.

Maybe other people would think that these things are no big deal. But for us, those little things in life are sometimes very important, and we pray about them earnestly. And when the prayers are answered, we confess, “Yes, the Lord did this. God helped me.”

One time there was a difficult situation in the field area and I had to visit a place near the border area. But you see, I am a foreigner there. You face a lot of pressure if you go to a sensitive border area as a foreigner. They check your ID when going in and coming out. If anything goes wrong, things get complicated. But at that time, it was not something that I could send another person for. I had to go to the place myself. So I had to risk all the complication and danger.

When I first arrived at the checkpoint, there were several soldiers standing by. The highest officer checked the travelers’ ID. When it was our turn to be checked, all of a sudden, he asked us to give these soldiers a ride into the border area. So we took several of them into the back of our car. He seemed to have forgotten to check our ID – we got in safely, without leaving any record.

When coming out, we were passing a checkpoint again. My Korean-Chinese coworker was driving at that moment. When the officer checked his ID, he said, “Hey, you are from this town. I’ve been there before.” And he started to share some personal stories. While the stories were shared, the person forgot to check my ID, and we passed without leaving any record again.

So during such sensitive times, around such sensitive areas, resolving such sensitive issues, there could have been some trouble, but we were safe after all.

I think it is the sense of Calling that keeps me going through the difficulties.

Field work is very difficult. Many things happen in the field. Many people get expelled. Many missionaries have to leave against their will before they get expelled. Many parts of this mission need to be concealed – in other words, the ministry needs careful management. Also, it is quite dangerous. So we need people who are well-trained, but it takes a long time for anyone to be trained. It’s such a big loss if any of us leave or quit. So I have that kind of responsibility.

I think to myself, “Yes, it is God who trained me till now. I will force myself to stay and endure until I am kicked out of here.” It is such responsibility and calling that keeps me going.

During my ministry, I meditate on this verse quite often, Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I get to think a lot about the Christians that have been here before me. Some were kidnapped, and some died during terrorist attacks. Those elders of the faith, they died in North Korea and also near the border area. They experienced oppression, yet they denied themselves and held onto their faith. I believe their testimonies would have been this confession from Galatians 2:20.

Most of all, thank you for your prayers.

In difficult times in the field, with our desperate hearts, we try our best to be alert and pray. Sometimes, I suddenly feel very encouraged and strengthened, which cannot be explained with human thoughts. That’s when I feel that somebody is praying for me. I know that many people pray for us, our brothers and sisters all around the world. Thanks to your prayers, we are able to continue our ministries and we are able to survive here.

Even for those who are caught or who are lost, I believe your prayers keep them strong in the midst of the difficulties.

Please Pray

What are your prayer requests?

Firstly, please pray for the international relations [with North Korea]. The relationship between North Korea and China and the situation within the Korean peninsula influence the security of the field workers’ positions and create tensions in and around the ministry area. So please pray that international relations will be stable enough for us to freely conduct projects.

My second prayer request is about the field workers who are foreign to the field area. It is quite difficult for us to settle for a long time. Many are banished or leave involuntarily so as to avoid being banished. We need to first survive in order to participate in any ministry. So please pray for their lives in the field area.

Thirdly, please pray that more field workers will join us. For the projects of the field, we need careful, sensitive, and well-trained hands and feet. There are too few people trained for the ministry, and too few make it long enough in the field. Many are expelled, attacked, and some are even killed. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Please pray that God will send many trained missionaries to the field.