North Korea Resources and the Orphan Spirit…

I’ve copied some different book suggestions and video suggestions below.  This video is an interesting story about a US soldier who defected to North Korea in the early 1960′s.  It is somewhat a bizarre story, until you hear more about his childhood and his background (in parts 1 and parts 2).  He is one of the clearest examples of someone marked by the orphan spirit, which caused him to simply try to “escape” life by running across to North Korea.  That is often what rejection does to people… causes them to try and detach from any relationship they can and just go their own way.  It’s an interesting video.  The other resources below are much more North Korea focused though…

Some good videos to watch on North Korea…

Children of the Secret State (this is the most comprehensive but also the most graphic… please watch this in a quiet setting where you won’t be interrupted):

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1875007335054132657&ei=Z0v4Ss7XDofCrQLOodgd&q=children+of+the+secret+state#

National Geographic Inside – Undercover in North Korea (Part 1 of 5):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQXfMMHV8FM

Inside North Korea:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5385077659281273870&ei=-0r4SszvC5HKqwKXnuznDg&q=inside+north+korea#

Movie – The Crossing (Part 1 of 10… this is a South Korea made movie based on the stories of different refugees who escaped North Korea, it is very realistic and well made):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhahvxABPGQ&feature=related

Escaping North Korea (perhaps the most up to date video I could find on NK… I’ve used it a lot while leading prayer in recent months)

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18170823wq4CmXs6 (need to download the veoh player to watch it)

Kimjongilia (documentary of stories of different defectors)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3l4DP07NpA

Kidnapped (documentary of the stories of Japanese people who were kidnapped by North Korea… it’s a chilling documentary)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2B06WToi34

Some good books to read (there are others)…

Chol-Hwan Kang – Aquariums of Pyongyang  (a good introductory book to North Korea, the autiobiography of a North Korean who survived the prison camps and escaped the country, it’s medium level graphic)

Mike Kim – Escaping North Korea (another good intro book to North Korea, not as graphic)

Soon Ok Lee – Eyes of the Tailless Animals (the most vivid book about the prison camps in North Korea… this book will break your heart and is a must read for anyone desiring to pray for North Korea, very graphic and shouldn’t be read without at least first having some basic understanding of NK)

Barbara Demick – Nothing to Envy (the stories of different North Korean defectors growing up in NK and then escaping to China… an excellent look into the life of ordinary NK citizens and how they are raised under the brainwashing of the regime)

Euna Lee – The World is Bigger Now (about one of the journalists detained in NK in 2009… I just finished it and found it a good read… it doesn’t reveal as much about North Korea as the other books though)

God bless!
 

Baptisms!

Yesterday I attended the church at my children’s home to cheer on a few of the kids who decided to get baptized this year.  It was a sweet time.  The kids had to do some Bible studies with the pastor beforehand, so they fully understood the symbolism of the act.  Their faith isn’t strong, but I was blessed by their desire to do it and by how each of them is growing in character.  I know God was smiling over them. 

Pastor Lee getting a confession of faith from each child before their baptism. 

Myung Bae (7th grade) coming down to the baptismal

Beforehand with Pastor Lee

Soo Yun (7th grade) being immersed

Jin So (8th grade) coming down the steps

Jin So is one of our newer kids and she is by far the shyest of all the children in the home.  I was really proud of her for deciding to be baptized despite it being such a public confession of faith (she usually always avoids getting her picture taken or being in front of people)

Seung Hwan (8th grade) coming into the water

He is gradually growing up

Hae Ji (8th grade) before

Hae Ji after

Her brother Dae Chul (12th grade) decided to get baptized before leaving the home.  I’ve noticed he has taken some interest in Christian books the past year.  He broke his arm (not horribly) a few days earlier from a bike accident, but removed his cast so he could get baptized.  I was thankful he followed through.

Immersed.  Pastor Lee prayed for each child afterward and I was really blessed by the words he prayed over them.  I know each child has been marked through this and I’m excited to see the fruit that will come.

The children taking their first communion.

There was one other boy who also got baptized.  He is from the community and had been invited by Pastor Lee’s son to the church.  This is a picture of all the kids who got baptized along with Pastor Chae and Pastor Lee

With Hae Ji, Jin So, and Soo Yun

With Dae Chul, Seung Hwan, and Myung Bae

God bless

Praying From Faith, Not From Fear

Recently a friend of mine had a big accident before a big meeting.  Despite the accident, my friend said he was fine… that is until a friend of his prayed for him.  It was when his friend prayed this prayer, “God, I pray he won’t feel discouraged by this accident…” that my friend suddenly felt discouragement over himself.  It was like his friend had planted the discouragement over him when he brought it up in prayer. 

His friend’s prayer was an example of praying from fear.  I’ve heard many other people pray prayers like this… “God, I pray this person won’t feel fear about speaking in front of everyone” or “God, I pray this person won’t feel stress about all his work.”  Think about how much those prayers are rooted in fear.  And think about how they plant wrong thoughts that don’t need to be there.  Anyone who would say things to another person like, “I hope you don’t feel stupid” or “I hope you don’t feel ugly” will immediately plant thoughts into the other person of, “Should I feel stupid?” or “Should I feel ugly?”  If we pray out of fear, or out of doubt, we are only aiding the enemy.

We are called to pray from faith, not from fear.  So if we feel someone might feel discouragement (but we aren’t sure), then we should pray, “God, I declare that this person is filled with faith and can do all things because you are with him.  I declare your joy being his strength.”  If we feel someone might be struggling with fear (but again aren’t sure), then a good way to pray is, “God, I declare this person is filled with your Spirit and is more than a conqueror.  I declare your perfect love covers her.  She is secure and safe under the shadow of your wings.”  Notice how those prayers point the person to faith rather than to self analyzing? 

It’s only if we know the person is struggling with someone that we address it in prayer.  So if someone says, “I am feeling discouraged” then all we need to do is pray, “God, I reject the discouragement over this person and declare…” and go right back to the prayers of faith.  The enemy needs no more recognition than that.  If we focus on the negative too much then the negative will only grow stronger in our mind.  We need to focus on faith and on the promises and truth of God, both in our thoughts and in our words. 

Pray from faith, not from fear!

Benefit Concert and Cute Kids…

This past Saturday my orphanage ministry (Jerusalem Ministry), with the amazing help of the worship team from Jubilee Church in Seoul, hosted a benefit concert.  We had some great performances by pop star Tim, amazing guitarist Park Ju-won, an energetic and gifted acappella group Hello Africa, and an ensemble.  People who attended were really impressed and the concert, after taking out all the costs to hold the event, raised over $10,000 for the ministry.  Praise God! 

Here I am speaking before intermission with my friend Caelyn translating into Korean.  Caelyn was amazing in organizing so much of the event!

I would have more pictures, but I’ve yet to get them from our photographers.  I’ll likely do another posting later.  The three pictures I have were taken by my fiance’s camera.

This picture is of me and my boys who attended the event as VIP guests.  They got amazing seats and loved the event.  Our other full time volunteers (Jee and Mi Jeong) also brought kids from their homes. 

With the amazing guitarist Park Ju-won (next to me), his group, and also my fiance Sky, Caelyn, and to the far right Tae who was also an amazing help in setting everything up

I’ll post more pictures and videos of the event in the future.  Instead, here are some pics of my kids…

Jae Won seems to like the camera, I believe this is his second week in a row getting on this xanga

Sisters Eun Ji and Eun Suh

Their younger brother Kyung Min

Siblings

Byung Ho digging a hole… Why? I don’t know… ^^

Joon Hyuk deciding he should help out

Blessings everyone

Overcoming Sin and Bondage

I have been serving in my church’s healing and deliverance ministry since it began around the end of 2006.  I have sat in and led many different sessions with the sins and traumas covered widely varying.  I have seen people dramatically delivered and healed, while for others their sessions were more peaceful and for some they were just simple.  But regardless of how dramatic or “uneventful” the session was, I have noticed the true fruit from the ministry hasn’t been dependent so much on the session, but instead on the time after the session.  For those who immediately left the church to return to America (or wherever), a high percent of them eventually fell back into some or all of the struggles they had before.  But for those who remained in the church, especially for those who were committed to the discipleship program, they not only overcame their past but have become mighty leaders in the church.  The need for covering, accountability, and support is critical for overcoming sin and bondage.

In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus makes it clear that when sin and evil are dealt with, the demons that are cast away eventually will return with much stronger demons.  There is a clear need for both the person to be filled with God’s Spirit and for the person to have protection (covering).  There is a reason how Alcoholics Anonymous and drug rehab programs are successful… the people who submit themselves to the group/program allow for the accountability, openness, and covering they need to overcome their temptations (demons).  Until the person is fully free from their addiction, they will likely fall back into their addiction if they leave the covering of the group/program. 

Many Christians succumb to the lie that they can do it on their own.  That lie alone creates pride, so when the Christian eventually falls the pride mixes with shame causing the Christian to refuse to confess to anyone or to deal with the sin.  That only allows the sin, the pride, and the shame to increase in a vicious cycle. 

If you are in bondage to a sin or an unhealthy mindset (fear, confusion, etc), there is a great need for you to confess your struggles to someone and submit to their accountability, encouragement, and discipline.  And who you confess to should be someone walking in freedom and integrity, or at least sincerely pursuing such a lifestyle.  A smoker usually can’t expect another smoker to help him quit.  They might be able to help each other be accountable to a degree, but there must be someone free from addiction who they can look to for encouragement and hope. 

Walk in freedom!  If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed!  -John 8:36.

God bless!

PICTURES OF THE KIDS!!!

After a brief respite of blogging about my fiance and about fashion (did I really do that???), we are back to pictures of the kids!  Woo hoo!!!

But first, I found this written on one of my kid’s English worksheets… gotta love my kids’ English ability!

Jae Won and Myung Bae

Kee Baek and Jung Ho

Eun Ho

Ji Won fixing the bike that keeps breaking

Soo Ah

Sun Ah

Da Heen

With Sun Ah

Joon Hyuk after dinner… I love it when we eat sloppy food…

Seung Hwan in his usual pose… *sigh*

Myung Bae again… locked and loaded…

God bless!

God of Fashion

Yesterday I found myself in a new situation… paying more than $6 for my hair cut in Korea.    If you’ve known me, you would have probably noticed that I’ve never been that much into anything that has to do with fashion.  In fact, I’m so bad about it that even my kids at the children’s home have gotten on me at times about the things I wear.  But times have changed suddenly, and I now have a girlfriend who knows what she is doing and it has been new for me to look nice and even fashionable.  So yesterday, as we went to a higher quality place for hair cuts to get ready to take pictures for our wedding invitations, I have to admit that inside I still felt a little weird about spending extra money and getting all nice…

And without me saying anything, my fiance Sky brought up what she had read during her quiet time that morning… Exodus 39 – 40 about the priestly garments for Aaron and the other priests.  She told me as she was reflecting over the passages about how detailed God was about the garments and how nice they were that she feels that God is into fashion too.  And that made me reflect…

Jesus Himself wore a seamless, linen garment that was extremely high quality for His day.  In fact, it was so nice that the soldiers divided His garments even after He had been beaten and bloodied.  Throughout the psalms and the prophets God speaks of special garments for His people… garments of salvation and robes of righteousness.  The martyrs will receive special robes in heaven.  And God isn’t just into the clothes, but also the perfume.  His gifts included myrrh and frankincense.  He was especially pleased by the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume.  In the book of Ruth, Naomi’s advice to Ruth in pursuing Boaz was, “Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes” (Ruth 3:3). 

I really do believe that our God is God over fashion.  That while the enemy has tried to infiltrate the fashion industry to promote lust or excessive stuff, God is still the one behind creativity and making His creation, made in His image, look good.  It was God who clothed Adam and Eve.  And I believe that just as Joseph had his coat of many colors that God is wanting to clothe His people both in the spiritual and in the natural, that we may reflect His image and His beauty to those around us. 

No, I don’t plan on becoming a fashion guru and I still like my ugly but comfortable exercise pants, but I do have a new respect for those in the fashion industry and I pray that it will be fully redeemed.  I see a new confidence in my kids at the children’s home when they get to wear clothes that fit them well and they look good in.  I hope to see that confidence spread more and more for all of us. 

God bless