Doing God's Work    
In the Devil's Kingdom     

   While President Trump and Kim Jong Un insult each other, God is quietly working in, of all places, Kim's hermit kingdom. 

   Christian Friends of Korea (CFK) works in mountains and rural valleys, running clinics for TB and hepatitis B patients. 

   Mindy Belz of WORLD magazine met CFK's Heidi Linton in the Beijing airport for this report. Linton was returning from her 54th trip into North Korea, having founded CFK 20 years ago. 

   A few other U.S. relief groups also have working relationships with the communist dictatorship. 

   The work has become even harder, with tensions high over the regime's nuclear program and the death (murder?) of American student Otto Warmbier. A ban on U.S. travel took effect September 1, although 200 aid workers have applied for humanitarian exemptions, with no assurance. 

   New economic sanctions make supplies even harder to get.

   Belz writes, "With so many obstacles...what's amazing is that anyone would continue to try."

   Linton, a mother of three, explains: "These are end-of-the-road places. They are hard to get to, but also places no one steps into if we aren't there. It's more than medicine. It's about relationships and trust..."

   "We are making a difference in a lot of lives. And that goes beyond the physical. We don't hide the fact that we are Christians. This is about lifting up the name of Christ in North Korea, a name vilified there for decades."

   "When you can't preach the gospel, you have to share it through love and caring for people. We feel strongly that God has called us to do this work. It's too hard otherwise." 

        Jimmy