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Nehemiah One Million Prayer Petition & Nehemiah Prayer Gathering
“2,337 NGI Prayer Warriors remember, stand with and pray for the 25 million North Koreans”
As of September 21st, 2,337 prayer warriors (from 56 countries, and 500 cities) have signed the Nehemiah One Million Prayer Petition (pray4nk.org) to pray for the 25 million North Koreans.
Your participation truly encourages our 25 million North Korean brothers and sisters. We sincerely thank you for joining this campaign and encouraging your family and friends to participate as well. We look forward to the day that we hold hands with our North Korean brothers and sisters and say “I prayed for you! I stood with you!” opens.
Every Tuesday evening at the Nehemiah Prayer Gathering, we pray…
Pray for the 25 million North Korean citizens
1) For the day idolatry is demolished and the cross is rebuilt to come soon
2) North Koreans can get out of the bondage of idol worship and are set free. And for North Koreans’ human rights are restored.
3) North Korean underground church is allowed to worship the Lord in freedom.
Pray for China, Japan and Russia who surround the Korean Peninsula
1) For God's sovereignty over the universe, not only as the God of Israel, stands fully among these nations.
2) The grace of the Lord fills the many refugees who live under forced labor or human trafficking in China, Japan and Russia. And that each government will not force defectors to be sent back to North Korea, and gives each country’s leaders God's eyes and hearts to protect the refugees.
Pray for North Korean refugees living in South Korea
1) May all 33,000 North Korean defectors realize that they did not come to South Korea just to eat and live well, but as part of God's plan to regain their identity in the Lord.
2) For the stable settlement of North Korean refugees who recently graduated Hanawon (the settlement support center in South Korea for North Korean refugees)
3) For the many churches in South Korea who serve North Korean refugees to be aligned with God's eyes and heart, and for the refugees to grow spirituality in the churches.
■ About Nehemiah Prayer Night (Every Tuesday, 7:30 PM)
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12 North Korean refugees were freed
In July and August, NGI presented the freedom to 12 North Korean refugees. They arrived safely in Thailand and look forward to coming to South Korea.
Here is the story of a sister rescued in August who is proof of your prayers that refugees are restored by God’s grace and can live a new life after their arrival in South Korea.
Mi-Kyung Kim (alias, 30 years old) crossed the Tumen river from North Korea into China, at the age of 17. She escaped in order to support her mother, whose hand was cut and rendered her unable to work, and her father who was an alcoholic. Though Kim went to China to get a job, she was sold to a man in a remote area.
Kim cried every day out of fear. One day she tried to run away but was caught and afterward was bound by her wrists and locked in a tiny room for nearly a year. Kim refused to have sex with the “husband” to whom she had been sold, and one day was beaten by her whole in-law family. Though she ended up giving birth to a child, she continued to suffer and was treated with contempt. Eventually, she was connected to NGI and successfully escaped from the husband dreaming of a new life.
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NGI has moved to a new facility!
“We hope this will be the place for North Korean refugees and their children to visit any time they like”
On August 10th, NGI moved to Sinjeong-dong from Guro-dong, Seoul. The area in Sinjeong-dong, Yangcheon-gu is one of the most populated areas for North Korean refugees and allows NGI to be closer to our North Korean neighbors.
as the new facility is called the Nehemiah Global Community Center (NGCC). We were only able to open the doors of NGCC by God’s miraculous provision and through your prayers. Once again we humbly give thanks and praise to God.
Please pray with us, and join with us, to be an NGCC Builder! We pray NGCC becomes a place where our North Korean refugees and their children come and visit any time, and that it is a cocoon of a caring family to them. We also ask for your prayers that North Korean refugees are restored and rebuilt by the love of Christ at the NGCC.
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The Second Healing Trip (+ Sketch pictures)
“I wanted to show the sea in my mother’s hometown.”
Do you remember the North Korean refugee Lee Jihyeon (assumed name) that we met in the previous NGI newsletter No. 6? Ms. Lee (assumed name, 35) finally met her son who had been left in China, and they started to live together. It has been 1 year and 4 months since they were separated. Jihyeon said that what she wished the most in South Korea is to have a trip to the sea...
On August 27th, NGI set out on a trip to the second healing trip with 3 families of NK refugee women together including Sister Lee Jihyeon and her son.
The destination of this healing trip was Goseong city in Gangwon province.
During the journey for about 4 hours since the early morning, the conversation became animated. Since the NK refugee sisters and children had already met NGI members before so they seemed to open their minds quickly to them.
First of all, we headed to Ayajin Beach. Sister Ms. Lee’s son Haram (assumed name, 12) who saw the sea for the first time in his life, had quickened our step in his excited state of mind even before we arrived at the beach. No sooner had we arrived than he jumped into the sea and called out for his mother, and she smiled delightedly at his motion. We, from 2-year-old to 40-year-old mothers of the children, all watched the vast ocean, having the time of healing.
After having a nice dinner, it continued to ‘Healing Chatter Time’ with the NK refugee sisters. Especially a Christian Counselor also joined this trip, and we had time to look in our hearts each other together. We shared the stories while defecting from North Korea, the seasons in tears after being sold into China, difficulties encountered while educating children in the new environment in South Korea and so on, and at the same time we had time to look back on the feelings.
On the next day before noon at the worship service together, the topic was our identity. We shared about how precious existences they all are, how much God loves them, and ‘Who I am to Him’, and had time to pray for each other.
We rode cable cars for the first time in our lives in Seoraksan Mountain. Watching the amazing sceneries breaking out exclamations, both the mothers and children looked very excited.
On the journey to go back home putting the sadness behind us, we felt that the love and affection toward each other from the trip was flowing quietly. Also, NGI witnessed that, all the hurts from the past of not being treated as humans and being looked down, were washed away by ones and twos, and filled with God’s love.
We wish more and more NK refugees to be restored through Nehemiah Healing Trip, and deeply encounter God who is in control of their lives. We also ask you, fellow workers, to be together with us through prayers for this ministry.
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Nehemiah English Reunification Camp
"Return to God, Return to One Korea"
115 North and South Korean youth and international staff from 9 different countries held hands together at 2018 Nehemiah English Reunification Camp
“I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding” (Nehemiah 2:20a)
2018 Nehemiah English Reunification Camp at the University of the Nations, Jeju campus was held successfully by God's grace from July 29 to August 4.
This NERC was held with the theme of the ‘Return to God, Return to One Korea’ with 115 NK refugee students, SK youths, and international staff from 9 different countries such as Hong Kong, USA, Taiwan, Germany, France, and Brazil in attendance.
Campers spent seven activity-filled days. Activities included English Bible study and games, presentations, crafts, One Korea Culture Night, and a tour of Jeju Island. Especially at the One Korea Culture Night, North and South Korean students and international youth shared their cultures and stories of how they met God. The campers also prayed for one another as they held the map of the united Korean peninsula. It was also the time to redeem their hopes to ‘stand with the North Koreans who escaped’.
To top all that they also enjoyed surfing at the beautiful beaches in Jeju Island and traveled around some of the popular tourist spots.
NGI observed how our participating students and volunteers gradually changed during the camp. We were astounded that although the beginning was full of concern and fear, by the end of the camp everyone rejoiced, singing the gospel of Jesus and praying God. We even experienced our own version of small unification as everyone from South and North Korea praying, crying together hand in hand.
A participating North Korean refugee student remarked “I realized how loved I am. I hope to bring more of my friends next year.”
One participating South Korean student said “I learned so much about North Korea and about refugees. We are all friends and I hope to get to know them more.”
A volunteer from Hong Kong shared “this was not an ordinary short-term mission trip. NERC became a turning point in my faith.”
Everyone shouted “See you next year!” as they parted, returning to their livelihood with hopes and dreams about NERC. We praise the Lord who made all this possible.
Please pray for our future camps and those who joined to help us reach our mission.
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NERC Special Interview_Ethan Kim NERC Volunteer
“ God has lit a flame within my heart for North Koreans ”
Q. Can you briefly introduce yourself?
I’m Ethan Kim from Hong Kong who was volunteer in NERC. I’m 18 and now currently going to International school in Hong Kong.
Q. How did you get involved in NERC? And how did you prepare it?
I first came into contact with this trip via my church’s bulletin. As I had a previous interest and desire to help North Korea and its people before this trip really captivated me. However, quickly after I signed up to go I started to question how useful I would be on the trip and if God could really use me. I realised that, although I was a Korean-American, I did not speak Korean very well and I was going to be younger than some of the students who were going to be attending the camp. These thoughts really started to take its hold, and as the date crept closer and closer, my anxiety for the trip grew ever so slightly. I did not know how I would talk to these students, I did not know how I would connect with them and I did not know how God really would work through me.
Then the camp came around. As staff members we got to the camp earlier than the students and were accommodated with the campus and the other staff who joined us worldwide. The reality of actually teaching South and North Korean students finally dawned on me. Although I am not one to be anxious, I was very anxious in the beginning of that week. As the staff orientation continued the NGI team assigned the staff to different rooms, as per usual on any camp. In every room there are 6 people and usually 2 staff members in each room. However, much to my surprise the NGI staff put my in a room with 5 other students. I was the only staff member in my room. This also added to the anxiety that I felt about how I would connect with the students and how they would perceive me as a person probably their age. At that point I was not thinking about God’s bigger plan with the students, but my own comfort.
Q. How was the first day of NERC?
When the students first came I was finally able to meet the students in my group. There were 2 guys, 2 girls and 5 leaders, and at the very beginning of the trip the students were a little hesitant to speak and converse. We sat down in our tables and tried making some conversations, and quickly I realised that there was one student from South Korea who was already very good at English, and he helped me also talk to the other students as well. The first day was the most nerve racking and the most awkward as many of the students and many of the staff were not comfortable with each other yet. So the first day passed very quickly without any major breakthroughs. The first night in the dorm room was also as expected, not many students talked, they were mostly on their phones and they all eventually fell asleep. That night I prayed to God to work through me in any way possible, and throughout the week He would do just that.
Q. How was your relationship with students while serving as a volunteer staff at NERC?
The next day I wished to make more solid connections with my group and the people in my dorm especially. We ended up playing some Korean games that they taught me and that really broke down a lot of walls that we had between each other.
We were able to communicate with the students effectively and well. Slowly, some of my superficial anxiety went away and it was replaced with happiness and joy to be in a community with these amazing people!
Because of the varied English levels it was harder at the beginning for some students to understand what we were trying to say, but as our group became closer, the students also started helping each other out in understanding English and through that became even closer. As soon as the second day God managed to turn the entire situation around on its head; Instead of being strangers who could not speak the same language, we became friends who made an active effort to communicate with each other. The miracles that God worked in this camp were very tangible and were amazing to see!
We would share many laughs and inside jokes, and we quickly all became friends. . At the end of the games the rest of the guys went to bed, however I asked 3 of my other roommates if they wanted to go outside and admire the night sky for a couple of seconds before we went to bed, and they agreed. We walked That night God was able to forge an amazing brotherhood and create a connection that would outlast the week we were at camp. We ended up talking for 2 hours, and eventually we decided to go to sleep in preparation for the last full day of camp, however we all came away from that conversation buzzing and just filled with so much joy realising the amazing truths that God revealed to all of us during the trip. outside and marvelled under the amazing sky that God had created.
Q. What is the most memorable thing when you think of NERC?
God really changed me and many others during this camp, not only making amazing relationships that we never thought we happen, but truly revealing the bigger problem that the camp wished to address which was the absence of unity between North and South Korea. I’ve always known that there were bad things happening in North Korea, and that the people who lived in there were suffering. However, it did not become a reality to me until I finally met these people face to face and made a real relationship with them. When I realised that the people that I love, the people who I am so blessed to call my friends, had suffered underneath the dictatorship in North Korea, I could no longer stand idly by because the way in which they were living was just not acceptable. My friends and family in Christ had gone through so much hardship and struggle, and before this camp I did not give it a second thought. However, God has lit a flame within my heart for North Koreans and the only thing I regret right now is that I had not realised these things sooner.
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