1,400 LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT SOUGHT FOR 14 PERSECUTED CHRISTIAN PRISONERS

1,400 LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT SOUGHT FOR 14 PERSECUTED CHRISTIAN PRISONERS

1,400 LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT SOUGHT FOR 14 PERSECUTED CHRISTIAN PRISONERS

Voice of the Martyrs Korea today announced a “prisoner alert” emergency letter writing campaign challenging Christians here to write letters of encouragement this month to 14 believers imprisoned for their faith in China, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, and North Korea.

Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley says that the organization’s goal is to ensure that each of the 14 prisoners of faith receives a minimum of 100 letters of encouragement. 

“In Hebrews 13:3, we are commanded to remember those who are imprisoned because of their faith in the Lord Jesus,” says Representative Foley. “We may not be able to visit them in the foreign prisons where they are held, but we can certainly write them a letter letting them know we are praying for them and that they are not forgotten. That is especially important during this time of extreme isolation for prisoners due to the Coronavirus. 

Information and instructions for writing letters to Christian prisoners can be found at https://vomkorea.com/en/prisoner-profiles/

Voice of the Martyrs Korea has established a “Prisoners of Faith” campaign website at https://vomkorea.com/en/prisoner-profiles/The campaign website contains a profile of each prisoner, along with instructions for letter writing, downloadable phrases and scriptures in the prisoner’s language, and the prison mailing address. Among the 14 prisoners are Chinese Pastors Wang Yi and John Cao, several pastors and church leaders from Eritrea, a Pakistani Christian sentenced to life in prison for alleged acts against the Quran, and Korean Chinese Deacon Jang Moon Seok, who is currently serving a 15 year sentence in North Korea for his ministry to North Koreans visiting Changbai, China. 

In some of these countries, international mail service has been temporarily halted due to the Coronavirus,” says Representative Foley. “But we are asking Christians to continue to prepare letters even for the prisoners in these countries so that as soon as mail service is reinstated, they can receive a large number of letters to encourage them.”  

Mr. Kim, the first prisoner of faith highlighted by Voice of the Martyrs Korea, received letters every two months from around the world while imprisoned in China awaiting repatriation to North Korea.

Representative Foley says that Christian prisoners and former prisoners regularly cite receiving letters from around the world as one of their greatest sources of encouragement while imprisoned. She cites Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s first “prisoner alert” letter writing campaign in 2002, for a North Korean defector imprisoned in China who was threatened with repatriation to North Korea. Early in his imprisonment, that prisoner, identified for safety as “Mr. Kim”, started receiving letters from concerned Christians from around the world every two months, due to Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s “prisoner alert” campaign. “Mr Kim said the letters gave him encouragement and a sense of fellowship with the global church during his 10 year-sentence,” says Representative Foley. “Miraculously, he was not sent back to North Korea. We believe the constant stream of letters is one of the main reasons why, because it showed Chinese officials that Christians around the world were paying close attention to the treatment of Mr. Kim.” 

Individuals and churches interested in writing to the persecuted Christian prisoners can access all the information and instructions at www.vomkorea.com/en/prisoner-profiles or by contacting Voice of the Martyrs Korea at [email protected]. After writing letters, churches and individuals should contact Voice of the Martyrs Korea at the above email address to let them know the number of letters that should be recorded toward the campaign goal of 100 letters per prisoner.

Leave your comments