I arrived at the San Antonio airport from Kansas City. It was the middle of February, but the weather was very humid and hot. I heard that Sarah, a woman from North Korea had already arrived and was waiting for me at the baggage claim area. I was a little nervous when I thought about meeting a stranger for the first time in person. “That must be her.” There was one Asian women sitting in between white people. Sarah was sitting like a shy cat who seemed very quiet yet wild. Although she was a pale younger girl, somehow she seemed stronger than she looked. While Sarah and I were having chitchat awkwardly, another Asian lady came right up to us. I guess she could tell who we were as easily as I found Sarah. The lady introduced herself. Her name was Amy. She smiled very pleasantly to me, but I could feel a wall between us as she answered my questions in short and few words. Wearing a short-sleeved shirt in the middle of February, I had no idea what was really going to happen with these strangers in the next few days.

We arrived at Pastor Sun’s home. Pastor Sun had been helping North Korean defectors for 10 years, and opened up her home for us to stay for the trip. It was a mansion in the richest neighborhood in San Antonio. I was amazed by the magnificence of the mansion because it just looked like a castle on the hill. I was very overwhelmed by all these strange new things, but I calmed down a little bit after the pastor’s family welcomed us with a big Southern hug. We had dinner together and were invited to join a prayer meeting. Pastor Chun and another girl from North Korea had not arrived yet, so Sarah, Amy, and I attended the prayer among many Americans until he came.

Over there at the prayer room, I felt something different because I had never seen any Americans cry out so desperately, praying on their knees with their faces down on the ground. These are the things that I saw back in my country: many elderly Korean Christians praying so heavily in the Holy Ghost. It was rare to see such prayers in the U.S. I wanted to watch them and see them cry and pray passionately. As my eyes were glued on the Americans during prayer, Sarah caught me with my eyes open, not praying - and I realized she was also watching the Americans as intently as I was. We smiled at each other. I suppose this was when Sarah and I clicked since first meeting her awkwardly at the airport. While we were still watching the people pray, Pastor Chun arrived.

Having not seen the Pastor since last year, I was very happy and exited to see him, but Sarah burst into tears upon seeing him when he walked in through the door. For her, it was the first time meeting him since her rescue from China, and I suppose a lot of thoughts and emotions crossed her mind. Being born and raised in a land of freedom, South Korea, I would never understand how she felt about all this - having lived in a place where is no freedom, and starting a new life in a place where there are no family and friends. I felt very sorry for her since I could only imagine that she must have cried a lot when no one was around. The younger girl from North Korea who arrived with the Pastor was called Colleen and was very small but attractive with a good skin wearing nice clothes. I was not able to get too close to her at first as she sometimes gave me a cold icy look. With all that, we four women shared one room together during the whole trip.

I was the only girl from South Korea in the room. Both North and South Koreans speak the same language, but My Seoul (capital city of South Korea) accent did not mix well as we spoke to each other. I tried to communicate with them and build our friendship by imitating their accent and singing North Korean songs, but it was never easy. I felt excluded in the room because perhaps they thought I was an affluent woman who grew up without any difficulties. Despite all this, I tried to just be myself - nothing more or less than me, because I thought we could be friends if they accepted me as I am. I also thought that was how I would know why God sent me to this strange place. Little by little, we got to know about each other.

On the third day of the trip, Pastor Chun called Amy. “Will you share a testimony for us?” I still do not know why he chose her, but Sarah readily agreed. This moment became the turning point for me, in that the purpose of my trip changed from being on vacation to meeting an awesome God. During Amy’s testimony, she shared stories about her life in China that she never told us. It was a life that she sold her body to earn money to support her 8-year-old daughter left alone back in North Korea. But she never received any money. There was no hope for her life, but she felt the love of Jesus through Pastor Chun and his Durihana rescue team who took risks and put themselves in danger to find and rescue her from China where she were being preyed on by human traffickers. Amy asserted in the testimony that she gave her life completely to Jesus and will live her life for Him. We all cried and prayed for the safety and a new life of her daughter in North Korea. It was so amazing that we all became one in the promise of God, during the prayer, no matter how we looked, what language we first used, and where we came from.

I came back to the room with Amy after her testimony. My eyes were badly swollen after a hard cry, but I was very proud and thankful to have that eyes that cried out for someone that Jesus really loves. My eyes shined through the heavy swollen eyelids. I really wanted to comfort and support her, as I knew how difficult it was to share a story of a life that she herself could not even understand. I reassured her how much I was touched, how my heart was on fire, and how I too have come to feel the love of Christ while she was sharing the testimony. We cried and prayed again together. God used her vulnerability to call me, and draw near to God, and help me live my life for Him again.

Pastor Chun asked me to help his ministry in San Antonio, but it was actually an opportunity God gave me to restore my relationship with Him. I came to realize that a life helping others is a time that we will be filed with the richness in the love of Christ. One may think that we need to be willing to spend time and money in order to help people, but I realized it is not all about giving but more about receiving. Receiving a love and joy that are fulfilling and eternal. We may see a lot of cultural differences and barriers that seem impossible to be knocked down, but I learned, by only the love of Jesus Christ, we can all become one, united in one family. When the time for reunification of South and North Korea finally arrives, the only way that North and South Koreans will become one after the 70-years of division is through the love of Christ. I picture and dream of that day.

Every time I meet Pastor Chun, I am amazed at how he can love people like they are his own children, even though he barely knows them. Pastor Chun encouraged me to become a family to the three North Korean women since he cannot come to the U.S. often to check on them. One of the most amazing gifts that I receive from God is the privilege that we are of one family, even if I met only once or not at all! We are a family in Christ. I am very grateful to have the privilege that has not granted to anyone to reach out to His people and call them my family in the name of Christ. Even today, I sincerely pray for North Korea, a country that I have yet to set foot on, and for my family I never met but whom I love in Christ.