{"id":39876,"date":"2021-12-14T13:12:44","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T04:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=39876"},"modified":"2021-12-14T15:06:54","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T06:06:54","slug":"vomk-report-183","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/12\/14\/vomk-report-183\/","title":{"rendered":"MINISTRY REACHES OUT TO NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR \u201cLOST SHEEP\u201d IN SOUTH KOREAN COUNTRYSIDE"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”39866″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Citing government statistics that about 35% of North Korean defectors live outside of the Seoul\/Incheon\/Gyeonggi Province area, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley announced today a 500,000,000 KRW initiative to evangelize and disciple North Korean defector \u201clost sheep\u201d in the South Korean countryside in 2022.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus said\u00a0<\/span>if you have a hundred sheep and one gets lost, you should leave the 99 and go find the one,\u201d said Representative Foley. \u201cBut<\/span>\u00a0when it comes to North Korean defectors, most\u00a0<\/span>efforts to evangelize and disciple\u00a0<\/span>North Korean defector<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0continue to focus on the Seoul metropolitan area.<\/span>\u00a0There are very few churches or ministries reaching\u00a0<\/span>out to\u00a0<\/span>North Korean defectors in the countryside, yet more than ten thousand North Korean\u00a0<\/span>defectors live there.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says th<\/span>e involvement with defectors in the countryside is the result of the\u00a0<\/span>teaching\u00a0<\/span>strategy\u00a0<\/span>the ministry has\u00a0<\/span>employ<\/span>ed\u00a0<\/span>at its\u00a0<\/span>missionary training school<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for North Korean defectors\u00a0<\/span>in Seoul<\/span>\u00a0over the past 15 years<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u00a0<\/span>use<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0traditional North Korean underground church methods\u00a0<\/span>and materials\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>train North Koreans\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>reach\u00a0<\/span>other North Koreans<\/span>\u00a0for Christ<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0wherever North Koreans are found,<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe started with North Korean defector students from Seoul, and they\u00a0<\/span>evangelized and discipled North Korean defectors in places like\u00a0<\/span>Paju,\u00a0<\/span>Yongin<\/span>, and Yangju. These defectors then evangelized and discipled North Korean defectors in places like Daejeon<\/span>, Gwangju,\u00a0<\/span>Gimhae<\/span>, and Jeju<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0And now\u00a0<\/span>in this year alone th<\/span>ose North Korean defectors\u00a0<\/span>have been evangelizing<\/span>\u00a0and discipling North Korean defectors in\u00a0<\/span>Seosan,\u00a0<\/span>Wanju<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Gongju<\/span>, Cheongju, Okcheon, and Wando<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”39870″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”A North Korean defector student at Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s Underground University prays with a North Korean defector woman at her home in the South Korean countryside.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Representative\u00a0<\/span>Foley\u00a0<\/span>says that the\u00a0<\/span>mission\u00a0<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span>expanding rapidly\u00a0<\/span>because\u00a0<\/span>it is based on the\u00a0<\/span>principle that\u00a0<\/span>ordinary\u00a0<\/span>North Korean<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>are more effective at reaching\u00a0<\/span>other\u00a0<\/span>ordinary\u00a0<\/span>North<\/span>\u00a0Koreans<\/span>\u00a0than anyone else<\/span>. \u201cIt\u2019s very similar to the Bible women model of the early Korean church,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>, who note<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0that most of the defectors\u00a0<\/span>in Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s training schools are older women, active in a local church congregation but\u00a0<\/span>without a title<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>position<\/span>, or seminary education<\/span>. \u201cThey are just ordinary old North Korean defector women<\/span>\u00a0who love the Bible and who have learned how to\u00a0<\/span>use it to introduce other\u00a0<\/span>defectors\u00a0<\/span>to Jesus and\u00a0<\/span>how to\u00a0<\/span>apply\u00a0<\/span>his teachings\u00a0<\/span>to their lives<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says there is no\u00a0<\/span>available\u00a0<\/span>list<\/span>\u00a0of names and addresses of\u00a0<\/span>defectors\u00a0<\/span>living\u00a0<\/span>in the countryside. Instead,\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>defector\u00a0<\/span>students\u00a0<\/span>must\u00a0<\/span>use word of mouth to\u00a0<\/span>make contacts and plan trips to visit them<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cSometimes they\u00a0<\/span>are able to\u00a0<\/span>track down a defector\u00a0<\/span>who<\/span>\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0now living in the countryside who<\/span>m<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>they met when they first came to Korea,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cSometimes they\u00a0<\/span>get the name of a\u00a0<\/span>North Korean defector\u00a0<\/span>\u2018friend of a friend\u2019\u00a0<\/span>who married and moved to the countryside.\u00a0<\/span>They\u00a0<\/span>then\u00a0<\/span>call that\u00a0<\/span>defector in the countryside\u00a0<\/span>and set a time to visit. Then they work with us to get there. Sometimes\u00a0<\/span>we go\u00a0<\/span>by bus. Sometimes\u00a0<\/span>we go by\u00a0<\/span>train.<\/span>\u00a0This year we bought a used RV to drive to these places which are often very far out in the countryside.<\/span>\u00a0Our visitation schedule in the countryside is now so full that we are\u00a0<\/span>working to\u00a0<\/span>purchas<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0a second RV<\/span>\u00a0and hire a driver<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that while Voice of the Martyrs Korea staff always accompany the students, the students are\u00a0<\/span>the ministers. \u201c<\/span>When North Koreans meet other North Koreans, even a short visit can accomplish a lot<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d she says.<\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>O<\/span>rdinary North Koreans\u00a0<\/span>can\u00a0<\/span>talk<\/span>\u00a0frankly\u00a0<\/span>about common experiences\u00a0<\/span>using\u00a0<\/span>a common language<\/span>\u00a0without being embarrassed<\/span>. Even the Bible we use is a North Korean dialect Bible<\/span>, which they understand much\u00a0<\/span>better than other Korean translations<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u00a0<\/span>Representative Foley\u00a0<\/span>notes that the\u00a0<\/span>living conditions of North Korean defector women in the countryside are often tragically similar to those of sex-trafficked North Korean women living in China. \u201c<\/span>One North Korean defector woman\u00a0<\/span>we met\u00a0<\/span>in the countryside is married to a South Korean man who is extremely jealous<\/span>\u00a0and possessive<\/span>. He\u00a0<\/span>made h<\/span>is defector wife\u00a0<\/span>quit her job and stay at home<\/span>\u00a0all day every day<\/span>, and he\u00a0<\/span>set up CCTV all over their house so he can watch\u00a0<\/span>her\u00a0<\/span>when he is not home.\u00a0<\/span>Whenever she goes out, he calls her repeatedly to\u00a0<\/span>check up on her<\/span>. But our student\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0just an old North Korean defector woman<\/span>.\u00a0 W<\/span>hen she visit<\/span>ed their home<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>the husband\u00a0<\/span>wasn\u2019t there but could see her on the CCTV, so he\u00a0<\/span>was not suspicious. Our\u00a0<\/span>North Korean\u00a0<\/span>student\u00a0<\/span>could\u00a0<\/span>empathize with the\u00a0<\/span>North Korean\u00a0<\/span>wife immediately<\/span>, and she was able to share\u00a0<\/span>the gospel and share\u00a0<\/span>wisdom from the Bible about\u00a0<\/span>how to pray and\u00a0<\/span>what to do.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>She<\/span>\u00a0told the woman<\/span>, \u2018God has given you all this time at\u00a0<\/span>home<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>so you can\u00a0<\/span>read the Bible<\/span>\u00a0and pray<\/span>.<\/span>\u2019 She gave the woman a Bible, and the woman\u00a0<\/span>clutched\u00a0<\/span>it tightly and said,<\/span>\u00a0\u2018I will surely believe in God. He is very much knocking<\/span>\u00a0at my door.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”39873″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley and CEO Pastor Eric Foley train North Korean defector students for outreach to North Korean defectors in the South Korean countryside as part of its Underground University missionary training school.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”39863″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”North Korean defector students at Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s Underground University missionary training program pray together with a North Korean defector in the countryside, aboard a used RV the ministry is using in its new \u201cLost Sheep\u201d outreach project.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>says the outreach to North Korean defectors in the countryside is a missed opportunity of the Korean church. \u201c<\/span>It\u2019s popular these days for\u00a0<\/span>South\u00a0<\/span>Korean churches\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>each\u00a0<\/span>adopt<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>different\u00a0<\/span>cit<\/span>ies<\/span>\u00a0in North Korea and\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>set aside money<\/span>\u00a0to plant church<\/span>es<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>there\u00a0<\/span>some day\u00a0<\/span>in the future. But\u00a0<\/span>what we are\u00a0<\/span>seeing\u00a0<\/span>happen\u00a0<\/span>today\u00a0<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span>North Korean defector<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>each\u00a0<\/span>adopt<\/span>ing\u00a0<\/span>different cities\u00a0<\/span>in\u00a0<\/span>South Korea and\u00a0<\/span>reaching the North Korean defector<\/span>\u00a0\u2018lost sheep\u2019\u00a0<\/span>who live\u00a0<\/span>in these cities.<\/span>\u00a0God is using these ordinary North Korean defectors to turn the traditional South Korean model for North Korean evangelism upside down.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that the Coronavirus has also played a role in the move to the countryside. \u201cIn following the Coronavirus restrictions, it became impossible to continue to gather\u00a0<\/span>our large number of\u00a0<\/span>students together<\/span>\u00a0for class<\/span>,\u201d she says. \u201cWe prayed, \u2018Lord, what do you want us to do now?\u2019 And at that\u00a0<\/span>time<\/span>\u00a0we received a\u00a0<\/span>phone\u00a0<\/span>call from\u00a0<\/span>a few\u00a0<\/span>North Korean defectors in Daejeon,\u00a0<\/span>asking\u00a0<\/span>us\u00a0<\/span>to go\u00a0<\/span>down\u00a0<\/span>there\u00a0<\/span>to teach them. We realized that God was using the Coronavirus to shift us away from a \u2018gathering\u2019\u00a0<\/span>model\u00a0<\/span>to a \u2018going\u2019\u00a0<\/span>model<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>S<\/span>o<\/span>\u00a0we\u00a0<\/span>shut down the classroom and told our students, \u2018It\u2019s time\u00a0<\/span>for us all\u00a0<\/span>to go out to the countryside<\/span>\u00a0and reach\u00a0<\/span>every\u00a0<\/span>lost North Korean defector sheep, one at a time<\/span>.\u2019\u00a0<\/span>W<\/span>e started going<\/span>\u00a0out the next week. We typically\u00a0<\/span>driv<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0hours to visit one\u00a0<\/span>or two\u00a0<\/span>defector<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0in one\u00a0<\/span>or two\u00a0<\/span>home<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0in the countryside<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0And the Lord<\/span>\u00a0pour<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0out his Spirit<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>You can feel his good pleasure with this work.\u00a0<\/span>The farther out in the countryside we go<\/span>\u00a0just to meet one lost North Korean defector sheep<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>we\u00a0<\/span>rediscover the\u00a0<\/span>spiritual power and fruit of the early Korean church.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]More information about Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s outreach to North Korean defectors in the South Korean countryside is available at https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/project\/northkorea\/uu-school\/<\/a><\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that those who are interested in\u00a0participating in\u202fthe\u00a0\u201cLost Sheep\u201d outreach project\u00a0can make their donation at\u202f<\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0or give via electronic transfer to:\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uad6d\ubbfc\uc740\ud589<\/span>\u202f(KB Bank) 463501-01-243303\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uc608\uae08\uc8fc<\/span>\u202f(Account holder): (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please include the phrase \u201cNK Ministry\u201d on the donation<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”39866″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Citing government statistics that about 35% of North Korean defectors live outside of the Seoul\/Incheon\/Gyeonggi Province area, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":39867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}