| With the support of good friends,
Sakie and her husband became leaders of a group seeking information
about family members who were abducted and may still be being
held by North Koreans. For many years the Japanese government
seemed unwilling to become actively involved in seeking information
or pressing for solutions. Then, in 2002, when Prime Minister
Koizumi made a historic visit to North Korea, the problem of the
abductees was finally brought out into the open. Some of them
were said to have died, although the circumstances of their deaths
seem questionable and their graves have “disappeared,”
but some were still alive and could be identified.
The return of five such Japanese was arranged last autumn through
the International Red Cross. North Korea had agreed to their coming
for a three-week visit, but the Japanese government decided not
to return them, so since then they have remained in Japan separated
from family members who are not being permitted to leave North
Korea. There are two couples who met and married in North Korea
and now have teenage children. There is also a wife who has left
her American husband and her daughter behind. When these five
were waiting to take the plane out of North Korea, a high school
student also came to the airport claiming to be Megumi's daughter,
but she was not allowed to come to Japan. DNA tests have subsequently
proved that her claim is true. One of the five who did return
had had contact with Megumi, but had not seen her for some time
recently; so although Sakie now knows that she has a grandaughter,
it is not clear whether Megumi is still alive or not.
Sakie has traveled throughout Japan and also to the United Nations,
drawing support as she seeks God’s shalom for all these
people. She knows that she cannot do it alone. The program that
was held in Nagasaki included gospel music and prayers and emphasized
that true peace is only possible when we and God are working toward
the same purposes. Incidentally, Megumi’s name means “Grace,”
and her mother wishes to tell her that it is by God’s grace
that they will be reunited.
Please join in prayer for the reunion of the families and also
for the needs of the people of North Korea who are caught up in
a system that leads to inhumanity. Let us give thanks for God’s
presence in this world as we enter the Advent season and pray
that the power of the United States might be used for good ends.
The efforts of each person are important in preparing for God’s
reign among all people.
With prayers that, even among difficulties, we may all feel joy
in the coming days, with Jesus Christ as Lord.
Barbara Easton
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
178 |
