A prayer gathering on behalf of the North Korean people and reunification in the Korean peninsula took place in the South Bay region of Southern California.
Some 300 members of various churches attended the gathering on April 9 at One Family Chapel. The event featured messages by several pastors, testimonies of refugees, video screenings, and worship, but the event focused primarily on prayer.
Peter I. Sohn, the president of Until the Day Mission (UTD), preached a message on 2 Kings 6:15-18, and called on Christians to “weep and pray for the brothers and sisters in North Korea who are struggling in the worst human rights conditions, that God would intervene in their lives.”
A North Korean refugee known by her last name, Choi, shared a testimony during the event. Choi, who currently lives in Southern California, crossed the Tumen River with plans to temporarily stay in China to earn and send money to her family, but it was there that she met a Korean missionary whose ministry headquarters are located in Seattle. She entered the U.S. as a refugee with this missionary 10 years ago, and has been living in America since.
At the event, Choi also read a letter she wrote to her daughter 10 years ago, sharing the pain of separated refugee families.
Those who attended prayed that the dictatorship and human rights violations in North Korea would end; that members of the underground church and those who are imprisoned in political prisoner camps would be freed; and that a peaceful reunification without war would occur.
Attendees also prayed that the Korean church would awake and be a driving force in the reunification process, as they repented for the lack of action and indifference from the Korean church.
This article has been translated. For the original in Korean, visit kr.christianitydaily.com.