This week, all eyes will be on another U.S.-North Korea summit as President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-Un meet for the second time.
“I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim and advancing the cause of peace!” Trump tweeted last week.
Peace. That’s the No. 1 thing that everyone is hoping and praying will come from this meeting in Vietnam. But while millions watch Kim Jung-Un and Trump at this summit, hoping for a denuclearization deal, thousands of people back in North Korea will be secretly praying for another kind of peace.
These are the underground Christians of North Korea, and they will be praying for the same thing they pray for every day — a future when they can finally worship God freely without fear of being sentenced to a political labor camp or even killed.
And they are also praying for something else — they are praying for Bibles.
In the midst of persecution, North Korea believers are desperate to read the comforting promises and words of Scripture. But Bibles are among the rarest items found in North Korea.
Occasionally, one can be glimpsed on the black market or secretly slipped from the palm of one trusted believer to another. Unfortunately, most North Korean Christians have never seen one … much less owned one for themselves.
Right now, if a North Korean is caught practicing Christianity, he can be sentenced to 15 years in a labor camp. Not many people survive more than a few years in these camps, so that’s essentially a death sentence.
But despite their persecution, North Korean believers are still crying out for Bibles. In fact, the demand is so high, our partners who secretly distribute copies can’t keep up with the demand!
While the media focuses on North Korea during this second summit, another part of North Korea will stay hidden away. The fact that thousands of North Koreans are imprisoned in labor camps, just for being Christians, will remain in the dark.
Though most of us will not participate in this week’s peace talks, we can still help bring peace to North Korea. Over the years, World Help has been at work providing tens of thousands of Bibles to Christians in North Korea.
It’s a small gift — it only takes $10 to provide a Bible — but to a Christian in North Korea who is suffering because of his faith, it can be a source of hope and strength.
Kelsey Campbell writes for World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization serving the physical and spiritual needs of people in impoverished communities around the world. To learn more about how you can help provide Bibles for North Korea, click here.