When our first North Korean defector, Cathy walked into Elim House earlier this month, our missionaries prepared and fed her dinner. They asked her if they could pray for the meal, she agreed. They held her hands and prayed. She began to cry. She said that this was the very first time she was served a dinner by someone’s hands other than her mom. She barely ate anything.
She fell asleep in the clothes she had on her back. Our missionaries described her sleeping on the warm floor saying, “she was like a wet bird who had finally found shelter.”
For North Korean refugee women in China, South Korea represents both a safe harbor and a trap. It is a safe haven because, once their plane touches down in South Korea, they have human rights. They can no longer be bartered like a commodity. If they are taken advantage of for labor with no pay, there is a legal process for them.
South Korea is also a trap. North Korean women see it as a place where they might meet their dream man, a man who will love them and provide for their every need, according to experts we have spoken to on the ground. When this does not come to pass, something changes within them. It’s as if their dream turns into a nightmare. Some become suicidal. Some turn to a finely tuned prostitution industry that preys on their disillusionment. Others turn to men who can neither provide emotional or financial security. Most become obsessed with money.
Elim House was intended to help women like these, women who experienced the hellscape of North Korea only to be turned over into human trafficking in China. And then once again preyed upon in South Korea. We officially opened our doors on July 3 of this year but because of COVID-19, potential residents have been wary of entering a living situation with strangers. So Crossing Borders has taken this time to make vital repairs, deepen our roots in the North Korean defector community and receive further training on how to care for abused women. Early in October, our first client walked through our doors.
Cathy was found on a bridge over a river about to commit suicide. But before she could take that final plunge, the authorities were able to stop her. Her story was typical, sold in China and hoping for a new life full of riches and security in South Korea. But what met her was an abusive relationship. Her husband’s family in South Korea mistreated her and took her life’s savings. She was also victimized by her family in China.
She was homeless, broke and had nothing when she stepped on that bridge. All she has known in life has been people who exploited her and took from her. It will be different in Elim House. In the few short days of her stay, she heard the Gospel for the first time. For the first time, she heard about a man who covers her with His relentless love, a man her heart has been longing for.
In her first week at Elim House, Cathy accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.
Please pray for our first Elim House client, Cathy and for the many others who will enter its doors.
