One of the largest areas of impact this year was made through our distribution of MP3 players that were loaded with the dramatized North Korean New Testament.  My wife recently had the privilege of seeing first-hand the impact that these MP3 players (loaded with God’s word) are making among North Koreans. She said . . .

I followed Esther as she led me up the steep hill to Joy’s home. Joy, a North Korean woman, had been sold to a Chinese man when she was only 14 years old. Esther had also been a victim of sex trafficking, but became a Christian after receiving a Bible and an MP3 player through VOM Korea, and now she was discipling other women, like Joy. As we approached, Esther told us that Joy‘s Chinese husband, unlike many of the other Chinese men, is kind to her and so are his parents, who they live with in a small two-room shack.

Joy beamed as we arrived. Since her home is high on the side of a mountain and is not accessible by car, she doesn’t get many visitors. After inviting us to sit down, Joy began to share with us and tears rolled down her face. Before the translator had the chance to tell me what she was saying, I had already made up my mind that she was explaining how hard her life is. To my humbling, I learned that she was crying because she was so thankful that God loved her so much to send workers that had given her a Bible and an MP3 player that was loaded with NK style songs and the dramatized New Testament, and it had changed her life. Joy is especially thankful for the MP3 player because she works long days in the fields of her husband’s elderly parents, harvesting food. She told us that she carries the MP3 player with her throughout the day, to receive the strength and encouragement that God’s word brings.

Her identity is no longer sex-slave with no future, but precious child of God with a new hope and faith. Now, she does not desire to escape her current situation or abandon her husband or son (like so many NK women do who have had children with Chinese men), but hopes that they will also open their hearts to the same faith that she has found. As we left, it was not the dirt floor or the lack of running water that had touched my heart the most, but the fact that all she asked from us was that we pray that God would help her to continue to be faithful each day.