Is Kim Jong-Il Sick?

In the last week just about every major news source has reported the fact that the “Dear Leader” was missing from the 60th anniversary celebrations for the nation of North Korea.  There are speculations of multiple possibilities, from minor illness to death, and it has been reported that Kim Jong Il’s absence coincided with Chinese specialist doctors being flown in to attend him.

Articles have flooded the internet on the possible nuclear repercussions that could follow if North Korea’s generals take power, or further political degeneration if one of Kim Jong-Il’s sons succeeds him.  Now that the country is a nuclear state, turmoil and instability are what many fear the most.

As the world watches and waits to see what happens in North Korea, please join us in praying for the Lord’s protection and provision for the people of this impoverished nation.

Letters to NK Update!!

In July we asked you, our partners, to write letters to the persecuted church in North Korea as well as give a gift that would be used to bring Bibles or Scripture portions where they are desperately needed. Many of you heeded the call and shared your favorite verses, words of encouragement, and promises of prayer. The letters you wrote have been translated and, with the Scripture you provided, are waiting for just the right moment when crossing the border with such a precious cargo is safest. Our smugglers have indicated there is yet a small window of opportunity for those of you who would still like to participate in this secret outreach.

Here is what you can do:

1. WRITE: Grab the nearest piece of paper, post-it note, or saved reply card. Write a favorite scripture you’d like to share, or simply let a believer know that you are aware of the hardships they face and that you are praying for their strength.

2. SEND: Using the enclosed envelope, mail your note to us at: 2175 N. Academy Cir. Suite 101, Colorado Springs, CO 80909. You can also email your note to us at info@alpharelief.org.

3. DONATE: A gift of any size will be used to smuggle Bibles to the spiritually hungry in North Korea and China. Just $5 could purchase a North Korean New Testament. Either send your gift by check to the above address, or go online to make a secure donation at www.alpharelief.org.

All notes need to be received by the 30th of September, so don’t waste any time! The underground church in North Korea will be blessed and encouraged to hear of your love and support.

Alabama Youth Group: Small Stature, Big Heart

            This summer Alpha Relief and the persecuted church of North Korea gained a new group of young partners, whose lives have touched our hearts.  We want to share their story with the hope that it will encourage you as well.

 

            Every year Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Oneonta, Alabama, organizes a summer camp with the intent of cultivating young hearts for global missions. After a recent visit from Alpha Relief, the camp directors decided to focus on raising awareness of the desperate situation facing North Korean believers. 

 

            The directors shared the stories of the underground church and the great need of this dark country while the children sat wide-eyed in amazement.  Deeply moved, they put the stirring of their hearts into action, giving their time and energy to show God’s love toward their peers on the other side of the world.

 

            While other kids relaxed during the lazy days of summer, this small group of children prayed fervently, did extra chores, and pooled their resources to send a gift which could be used to help feed and care for children whose lives are so vastly different from their own.  The money they gathered was enough to send more than 2000 pounds of emergency food aid – enough to feed 50 kids for an entire month.

 

            The hope of the directors was brought to fruition as the camp set out to increase awareness of the North Korean church in the youth of Alabama.  What developed was a powerful group of young missionaries who are touching lives on the other side of the world.

 

            We are so grateful for our young partners in Alabama, and are proud to serve the persecuted church alongside them. 

 

            If this story has touched your heart as much as it has touched ours, we want to encourage you to go a step further.  Take the time to talk to your children or the youth in your church. Tell them about the persecuted church all over the world.  Let them know they can make a difference, even while they are still young. 

 

            Alpha Relief is here to help you and your church.  Please let us know if you would like materials or stories to share.  We are also available if you would like us to come and speak to your youth group.  You can send us an email at info@alpharelief.org or call us at 719-596-7531.  We look forward to hearing from you as the persecuted church’s story is told to future generations.

Presidential interview at the Olympics highlights underground churches

In a very frank interview with sportscaster Bob Costas that covered many topics but centered largely on foreign policy questions, President Bush repeated a direct appeal he made to Hu Jintao to “register the underground churches and give them a chance to flourish.”  The President spoke openly of the hospitality offered by the Chinese President and the opportunities that cordiality provided for discussion of policy.  

To read a transcript of the whole interview or to see the clip of the interview about the underground church click a link below. 

The transcript 

The clip

Meet the Staff: Jennifer H

Jennifer H.

Jennifer came on staff as the Office Administrator in May of 2008, but she has been familiar with Alpha Relief’s mission since its inception. She enjoyed babysitting the Director’s nephews while she was in Junior High School.

Mexico was the destination of Jennifer’s first missions trip at age 12 and she hasn’t stopped since. Street ministry, construction work, scripture distribution, and speaking to high school students have been some of her activities in Sri Lanka, South Korea, Germany, China, and Madagascar. One of the things that most touched her heart was talking with miners suffering from black lung disease in South Korea.

AR: Where are you from?

Jen: I am a Colorado native and I love it. Having lived elsewhere I can definitely say that I think this state is the perfect place for me. My parents still live in the house where I grew up. I feel like I have deep roots in my community and I’m grateful for the solid foundation my sister and I were raised on.

AR: What has most affected your spiritual growth and path in life?

Jen: I have been exposed to a pretty high level of missions focused ministry and have experienced firsthand

Jennifer and her sister, Sarabeth

the conditions around the world and seen the hand of God move in people’s hearts and lives. He is so faithful and loving, and getting to participate in caring for the people he loves so dearly has forever changed my worldview. There isn’t anything more amazing than having the opportunity to serve another person in the way that the Lord teaches you to.

AR: What do you do for Alpha Relief?

Jen: I do most of the administrative tasks, help with the logistics of the travel schedules, a little graphic design, and my favorite—hearing the stories of people involved with Alpha Relief. I worked at a publishing firm before coming to Alpha Relief, which seemed brilliant for an English major, but I didn’t feel settled there. I am glad to have had the experience, but am so happy to be here doing something that is truly fulfilling.

North Korea’s Bid for Survival

By Sue H.

North Korea once traded with many communist countries and scoffed at pressure to shut down their nuclear program. With sweeping changes of free markets emerging in formerly closed communist nations, North Korea has become increasingly isolated and stranded in its ideology. Even China has exerted increased pressure on them to disarm not wanting this nuclear threat in their own backyard.

Yongbyon Tower destroyed

On June 26, 2008, China received a 60 page declaration from North Korea detailing plutonium production at the Yongbyon plant since 1986. North Korea admitted to producing close to 40 kilograms of enriched plutonium, enough for about 7 nuclear bombs according to the U.S. State Department. On June 27 the cooling tower at Yongbyon was destroyed by North Korea as a show of good faith.

In response to the destruction of the cooling tower, the United States has removed North Korea from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, and some U.S. sanctions will be lifted. Experts agree that sanctions coupled with the lack of arable land have seriously weakened North Korea, making it impossible for it to feed its people.

The time is ripe for North Korea to cooperate in disarmament and verification to keep from total collapse. Even with the delivery of promised oil and emergency aid, much of it will arrive too late to help hundreds of thousands of people.

Alpha Relief is poised to move quickly should the tightly controlled borders become more accessible. During this window of opportunity, Alpha Relief asks that you pray for international trade routes to open into North Korea, which would greatly benefit our deliveries of crucial food aid and Bibles.

How Great is the Need?

Believers in both North Korea and China fervently pray for Bibles. In China there is only one legal Bible available for every four million believers. The danger of being on the government registry for buying a Bible is too risky for underground church members. In North Korea owning a Bible is punishable with a concentration camp sentence.

Through your prayers and your generous giving, you are a direct answer to their cries for spiritual nourishment. Every Bible is treasured, and will often be hand copied to be shared with as many people as possible.

Bibles are desperately needed for sound doctrine and to inoculate against heresy and ever prevalent cults. Thank you for the very real expansion of the Kingdom of God in recent months through the delivery of scriptures. Out of the first shipment of 200 MP3 players, 130 souls were led to Christ.

Delivered so far this year:

1248 Chinese Bibles
1500 mini North Korean New Testaments
200 MP3 players (with 270 more in progress)

Adrenaline Up!

As told to Sue H.

This was my third trip to China, but my first time smuggling Bibles. Now as we prepared to go through customs, my palms were sweaty, my heart was racing, and my mind was flooded with all the possible scenarios that could unfold in the next few minutes. If we were stopped and searched our visas could be confiscated, we could be arrested, we could actually be banned from returning to China. I had 50 mini New Testaments in my backpack, 500 in my suitcase, and if either were opened, nothing would prevent them from being seen.

Customs are a chaotic process and security is already heightened in preparation for the Olympics. People to either side of us were stopped and searched and I found myself praying as Brother Andrew* did, “God you are able to make the blind eyes see, now make the seeing eyes blind.”

We flew into a small airport, close to the final destination of this precious and eagerly anticipated cargo. In these smaller airports, it’s not unusual for Americans to be assigned a “tail,” someone who observes your movements, watches what you’re up to. Had we already been given our tail? Would they have reason to alert security? How do I not look suspicious or nervous? How do I stop my palms from sweating?

My respect deepened for the teams that have been doing this on a regular basis since the inception of Alpha Relief. I had been on a plane for 15 hours, but the absolute relief of no longer being on a plane faded; at least my bags won’t be searched on the plane. It’s our turn now…we neither one are stopped, we walk right through, and I am almost giddy with relief. The adrenaline rush stays with me for the rest of the day, and I am honored to have been part of this adventure!

Note: Our travelers must remain nameless as they are Alpha Relief representatives who will make many more trips in the future.
*Brother Andrew is quite possibly the most famous Bible smuggler ever, who was getting the scriptures into countries prohibiting them since before our first time smuggler was born.

Letters to North Korea

To send Bibles to China and North Korea, DONATE HERE.

A letter from Alpha Relief Director, Chris Moore:

Don’t you just love getting a letter from a loved one…especially if they are far away and maybe even in a dangerous place? I must confess I’m really not that good at writing a letter back. I am pretty good at picking out greeting cards though, especially funny ones. I can jot a few lines letting someone know I’m thinking of them, perhaps giving them some words of encouragement while they are so far away.

I’ve recently received thank you letters for food aid from underground church members. These letters were smuggled to me from folks in North Korea, one of the most isolated nations in the world. Isn’t that amazing?

How would YOU like to write to someone in North Korea?

I thought you might enjoy the opportunity to respond to the letters from North Korea. And I’d love to send a note from you with Bible deliveries this summer. Alpha Relief is conducting a special emphasis to address the spiritual famine of God’s word our brothers and sisters are facing. Would you consider giving an offering just for Bibles? Here’s how it works:

• Indicate your gift on the donation page
• Write a few lines or share a scripture in the comment box, or send an email to info@alpharelief.org
• We’ll translate it and deliver it to a believer inside North Korea
• Excerpts from some of their responses will be shared in the September newsletter
• I will personally mail their full responses to everyone who participates in this project by donating funds or writing a note

You might have a favorite scripture you’d like to share, or you might want to let a believer know that you are aware of the hardships they face and that you are praying for their strength. I’m sure they will appreciate hearing of your love and support!

Remember Jesus asking Peter to feed his sheep? You can feed Jesus’ sheep by sending his word into spiritually hungry places.

I am very excited about the different ways we can get God’s word into the hands of believers. When delivering food aid to North Korea, we can slip New Testaments less than the size of your palm, or even thinner individual gospels into the bags of food.

Do you ever feel you just can’t live without your ipod or mp3 player? Mine is invaluable on long trips!

I’ve already heard of 130 salvations as a result of North Koreans listening to the Word on 200 mp3 players loaded with the Bible. Another 270 players are making their way to North Korea right now. Can you imagine how easy this device makes it for believers to safely share the Good News?

Of course, China is still in desperate need of Bibles too. There are more than 100 million believers in China, with 3 to 4 million more joining the family every year. Of the often publicized “legal” Bibles, printed by the Chinese government, perhaps 20 million have been sold to believers. That’s a pretty big shortfall! And believers who get their Bibles from the government are often tracked.

The study of scripture is so important for growing Christians, especially in countries that forbid freedom of religion. They simply do not have the resources available to them that you and I do. Let’s help them stay the course, discern correct doctrine (remember Paul commending the Bereans for studying the word to know if what they were being taught was true?), and evangelize their countries.

So, together, we can feed Jesus’ sheep with increasingly diverse formats. And for an extra personal touch, you can include a special word of encouragement for a North Korean believer living in possibly the harshest conditions on our planet.

Please prayerfully consider joining with me for this special effort to provide Bibles. It is an honor and privilege for me to partner with you.

Chris Moore

Alpha Relief Director

PS: Remember, fill out the amount you want to give in Bibles on the Donation page, then write a brief note to encourage North Korean believers in the comment box!

North Korea nuclear accounting won’t include bombs

In the news today, I ran across this article.  It looks like North Korea is attempting to become more “user friendly.”

I’m not sure how this will play out in politics or if it will change aspects of the nation of North Korea.  We can only hope and pray for the best possible outcome.

To help send relief to North Korea, click here.