This project involves various loading MP3/MP4/5 players with the Chinese dramatized New Testament. The devices are distributed mainly to the Chinese husbands of NK women to whom we are also distributing NK audio Bibles. They may also be given to their children, since many of the children prefer to speak in Chinese. In this way, the whole family will have access to the word of God, at the same time, in their native language.

Pastor J and his wife are involved in a fascinating front line ministry. They have opened their home to seven children of North Korean defectors, who live together with them in their very modest home in South Korea. The children’s age range is very broad, from infants to teens. As you can imagine, raising the kids has become a full-time ministry for Pastor J and his wife. Pastor J tells people that the best way that they can help is to come on the weekends to play with the kids. School keeps the kids occupied during the week, but the kids can be a handful at home on the weekends.

You might be thinking, “What a great way to demonstrate God’s care for the orphans.”

But the children aren’t orphans!

Some North Korean women are trafficked to Chinese husbands in China in their late teens or early twenties. When they have children in China, they are not in a situation to know how to raise their children, since they are cut off from their family support base in North Korea.

And when they defect to South Korea, they are in an even less familiar situation when it comes to raising their children. They themselves must struggle daily to find and maintain work and adapt to South Korean society, let alone help their children to adapt and grow in society.

On top of this, because the children grew up in China, many of them speak fluent Chinese and only very broken Korean, especially those who came to South Korea as teens.

Unfortunately, many of the mothers feel that they have no choice but to leave their children at home alone by themselves while they travel around the country looking for farmwork, day labor, or even less seemly ways to make ends meet. And, due in large part to culture and language difficulties as well as lack of stable family situation, the children are often unable to understand or focus in school.

So, when Pastor J and his wife met one of these mothers and offered to help by taking her child in, she was thankful. Word spread quickly, and soon there were seven children from different mothers in their home.

Of course, this isn’t the ideal arragement. It would be best if the mothers could fid a stable job that doesn’t require travel, and if there was some way for them to be more responsible about raising their children themselves. Pastor J is hoping that God’s word would impact and change the mothers toward this end. Pastor J regularly sends scriptures from the South Korean Bible via text message to the mothers. He showed us that the mothers respond well to the text messages. He said, “I took their kids in… so they kind of have to listen to me.”

We brought MP3 players loaded with the Chinese audio Bible to Pastor J to give as special gifts to the children who speak Chinese. The children were amazed and thankful! And distributing the Chinese MP3 players opened up an opportunity for us to give North Korean language Bibles to Pastor J to distribute to the mothers as well!

We introduced Pastor J to a Bible app, which has the North Korean Bible in digital form. Pastor J was delighted to see that the application has a share button, so that he could directly share scripture verses to the mothers. He was also glad to see that the audio was playable, and that there was also an option to watch the Gospel of Mark video. He also found it useful that he could share a link to the mothers that would open up the application on their phones when they click it. He figured it would be better to send them the scripture in North Korean than to send them the scripture from the South Korean Bible.

God is continuing to open opportunities for distribution for Pastor J. Recently, as he distributed a North Korean Bible to one of the mothers of the children, he was able to distribute a Chinese audio Bible to her husband, who is Chinese and is also living in South Korea. Pastor J requested more MP3 players for distribution.

• Pray for Children of NK Defectors Living in South Korea – Sometimes, due to complicated family situations, children of NK defectors living in South Korea suffer neglect and struggle through life. Pray that they can receive Bibles in their heart language (Korean or Chinese), and that God will speak to them. Pray also for audio Bible distribution projects to their parents so that God may bring wholeness to their family through the hearing of His word.
• Pray for the distribution of the audio Bible in China. Due to the Coronavirus our partners have a difficult time traveling and distributing the audio devices. Pray that the Lord gives us new avenues of distribution and that many Chinese can hear the Word of God.