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Sun-Hee and Su-Ah Print E-mail
Sun-Hee and Su-Ah are Mr. Choi’s daughters. Mr. Choi is a South Korean Christian who helps North Koreans who have fled from the bad conditions in their homeland. He and his family used to live in China.

Chinese officials put him in prison because he helped North Koreans who had escaped to China. (Read more about his time in prison in the story “North Korea and China: In Prison for Doing Good.”) Sun-Hee and Su-Ah tell more about their lives below.

Sun-Hee
When we lived in China, I had a good time with my family going to church and traveling together. Our own driver picked me up from school every day. My mother and father tried to buy everything I wanted.

My father always told me that there were many people who really need help. He encouraged me to help the poor. He was arrested by the government of China because he helped poor North Koreans and shared the gospel with them.

When I visited my father in prison, he told me that loving others could be a crime. I visited him three times with my mother, grandmother, and sister. We prayed that he would be released and that the whole family would return to South Korea together. But he had to stay in prison. We were so sad and wept with a broken heart.

My life was turned upside down after we returned to South Korea. My mother had to work at a factory to support my family. She came home late in the evening. I cried a lot because I was scared of being alone. I worried that my friends at school might find out that my father was in prison.

He was released after spending three years and 11 months in prison. He had been imprisoned because of his good deeds. Now I respect him for that.

Whenever my family has fallen into trouble, God has sent us angels. My father said, “People are angels. If something has wings, it is a bird. God’s angels are people who love each other.”

As long as we stay in the arms of God, he will show us the light of hope. There are people who have more trouble than we have. We should remember them when we fall into trouble. We also need to pray for them, that they keep their hope in God.

Su-Ah
Before my father went to prison, my family was happy. We loved and cared for each other.

I was scared when my father was arrested. I couldn’t sleep. I wept every day with my mother and sister. The Chinese police raided our home and took all of my father’s stuff. We had to move and find places to hide because the police watched us all the time.

At first I thought my father was arrested because he committed a crime. But I learned that he was arrested because he helped poor North Koreans.

We wanted to stay in China until my father was released, but we were afraid. My mother took us to South Korea by boat. On the way, I cried all the time.

It was hard to adjust to school in South Korea. I changed schools seven times. I thought my family’s life was ruined because of my father. I ran away from home several times and went to live in the park with my friends.

My family received my father’s letter [made out of words cut out of his Bible]. The letter showed his love for my family. My sister uploaded the letter on the Internet. Many people learned my father’s story and prayed for him.

Then teachers and friends at school began to encourage me. With their encouragement, I did my best to do well in school. Now I volunteer at a senior citizen home where I bathe old grandmothers and serve meals. I want to go to college.

My father has returned to our family. We are very happy. When my family goes out together, my father says, “Look at the sky. Can you imagine God beyond the sky? And he holds our family’s hands.”

God helps us overcome all our sufferings. I became a bad youth because of my family’s sufferings. That did not solve any problems. I realized that my family had more sufferings because of my bad attitude. My life used to be bitter in the past. Now I am so thankful to God that I am happier.