North Korea | Hope for North Korean Refugees

Novo staff Jeremiah leads Novo NK, a ministry focused on helping refugees from North Korea including rescuing women who’ve been trafficked and forced into unwanted marriages in China where they are completely friendless and unable to speak the language. In February, Novo NK established a mission center in Southeast Asia called Bethel House to care for these women. 

Bethel House is a place where rescued women can experience God’s love, peace, and rest while being cared for and learning about Jesus through Bible studies and spiritual training. This year, eight women went through Bethel House’s 3-month program, and all eight encountered Jesus, experienced the Holy Spirit, received Jesus as Savior, and were baptized!

Bethel House is a place where rescued women can experience God’s love, peace, and rest while being cared for and learning about Jesus through Bible studies and spiritual training.

One of those women was Aera*. Aera was born into the family of a high-ranking officer in North Korea, and her life was comfortable until her father’s death. Her mother was left to raise four daughters alone, and life became very hard. When Aera was 23, her mother passed away suddenly, and Aera faced a desperate struggle to survive. 

Six years ago she decided to cross the frozen Yalu River into China, seeking a better life. Instead of freedom, Aera was trafficked and sold to a home where she was watched constantly and locked inside to keep her from escaping. She didn’t speak the language and felt completely hopeless. It took years for her to find a way to escape. Aera was brought to Bethel House, where she was welcomed with clothes and warm meals. For the first time in her life, she heard about Jesus and how he died to bear the burden of her sin.

Aera wrote, “Until then, I had thought surviving China and making it out safely was simply luck or good fortune. But I came to realize it was entirely God’s grace and that there were believers praying, giving, and working to rescue me … I now live in gratitude. By God’s grace, even I—who once walked through a tunnel of darkness—have begun to dream and envision a future.” 

By God’s grace, even I—who once walked through a tunnel of darkness—have begun to dream and envision a future.

*name changed