Candice, a North Korean refugee, was bought by and married to a Han Chinese man (China’s majority ethnic group) for five years in China when she came and joined one of our gatherings led by our pastor.

Over time, she often confided in our pastor about the difficulties she had endured because of her husband. According to Candice, her husband was always suspicious of her and harassed her about every small thing. Her attendance at our gatherings were infrequent, namely because her husband restricted it. Our pastor in China tells us she was always depressed and “there was no joy on her face.”

A local Chinese police officer who was compassionate towards her had told her recently to just live a quiet life and not to worry so much about being in China. He assured her that better days were ahead as long as she was patient and stayed out of trouble. Candice disappeared recently, taking her eldest child with her, just after a time of worship together with the group. Her husband started asking others in our group about her whereabouts. He even involved the local police, who also started to question others in the group. Knowing as much as he did about our group’s gatherings and other details, he shared information with the police about a planned weekend gathering this fall.

It has been a few weeks since we last saw Candice. We know from past experiences that there’s a high likelihood that she hired a broker and fled to South Korea with her child. We also know that there’s a very small chance we’ll see or hear from her again. Our prayer is that she did not get captured along the way.

Because of increased scrutiny by the local police in China, we decided to postpone our fall gathering. To reduce risk, the group will be asked to not bring their Bibles. Instead, our pastor will print scriptures and study materials for their time together. 

Would you please pray with us for: 

• The safety of this woman and her child.

• The safety of our network in China. 

• The safety of our pastor and worker in China.