Women of the persecuted Church: Ji Ho

Ji Ho*, a young Christian woman from North Korea, still remembers how policemen ransacked her childhood home for evidence that her father was a Christian. And they got what they were looking for…

“The policemen destroyed our house and dug up the garden. They found a Bible, which was wrapped in plastic and buried in the garden. After this, my father was dragged out of the house and taken away,” she says.

To this day, she doesn’t know what happened to her father.

Ji Ho listens to her father’s secret transistor radio every night, desperate for news about food so she doesn’t starve like her neighbours. One day a new voice interrupted the airwaves.

“You are the salt of the earth,” said the radio voice. “These are the words of Jesus, and they remind us that we must never lose our love for others.”

She was stunned and suddenly remembered: “That was what my father told me many years ago.”

After this, Ji Ho gave her life to Christ. But just like the estimated 400 000 believers in North Korea, her faith must remain a secret and she faces starvation on a daily basis.

“I don’t know how many other Christians there are in the country, and I hope that one day I can meet another follower of Jesus. In the meantime, I will continue to listen to the radio and follow Jesus. I want to continue to be salt and light.”

Thanks to the gifts and prayer of our supporters, North Korean Christians are kept alive and receive spiritual support – with their faith strengthened by the broadcasting of secret Christian radio programs.

Isolated believers like Ji Ho need prayers and support now more than ever. Your gift below will help support believers across the world, following Jesus in the most dangerous places.

Name changed, and representative image used for security reasons.