Hospital Discipleship
David’s 2nd blog from North Korea
Dear Family,
You would think a hospital room to be an unlikely place to have a strategic meeting about how to covertly disciple underground believers in North Korea. And yet here I am. Let me explain…
Moses and Hanna are a Chinese-Korean couple who courageously provide discipleship and aid to the underground church inside North Korea. Several years ago they followed their only son into a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Then inexplicable heartache occurred. A long battle with a terminal illness took their son home to be with the Lord. But rather than allowing sorrow and bitterness to creep into their hearts, they found a deep strength in the Lord and a renewed determination to follow Jesus at any cost, knowing that someday they will be reunited with their son in heaven.
Hanna felt strongly called to begin reaching out to the vast darkness of North Korea, just a stone’s throw from their home in China. Strangely enough, the Lord put a North Korean man named Joseph on her heart who had cheated her and her husband out of thousands of dollars in a business venture years earlier. How could Jesus be asking us to reach out to that man? she wondered…If he turns us into the authorities we could be arrested and tortured. Finally, with certainty in God’s call, Hanna and Moses set out to share their growing faith.
Joseph was astonished by her offer of forgiveness and the boldness by which she shared her commitment to Christ. As Joseph’s heart melted by this extreme act of love, he soon became a full-fledged disciple of Jesus—and his whole family now believes as well!
As the small underground church grew, Heaven’s Family was able to offer a microloan through Hanna and Moses so Joseph could start a small business that would provide for his family. Today, that small business provides income for five believing families! This network of believers has continued to grow and Joseph has shared his faith with 200 families.
Hanna and Moses continue to be a vital part of the church’s growth as they secretly bring members over the closed North Korean border to protected locations where they offer focused discipleship training.
But this secret mission has not been easy. In fact, over the last few years, Moses’ health took a drastic turn for the worse. He experienced kidney failure and has required advanced dialysis treatments in South Korea to keep him alive. Yet even here in his hospital room, you can see the passion in his eyes to continue the work he and his wife have been called to. Praise God, his health is on the mend!
This is a life-changing moment for me. When you see the renewed passion in the face of death, it causes you to take a look at your own life. I want to be like this incredible couple, making disciples who will make disciples, even in one of the most dangerous places on earth. Through the Persecuted Christians Ministry and Disciple Multiplication Ministry you get to be a part of that mission too. May the vision of Hanna and Moses erupt all over North Korea, initiating a movement for Christ that cannot be stopped!
Moses and Hanna’s vision left a lasting mark on me—so much so that tomorrow I’ll share the story of my own smuggling efforts to aid North Korean believers.
Together in Christ,
David Promise
Director of Ministry Partnerships, Disciple Multiplication Ministry