The Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL)Department of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) held the second “Good Neighbors Gathering” for North Korean refugees living in South Korea, from September 12 to 14, 2014, at the NSD Leadership Training Center on Jeju Island.
Around 50 participants, most of them in their 20s and 30s, gathered to worship together on Sabbath, attend lectures, and have group discussions. Not only did they fulfill their spiritual needs, but they also took delight in meeting and socializing.
Compared to the first gathering, which was held at Yangpyeong English Village last May, this gathering proceeded in afriendlieratmosphere. It seemed as though a sense of closeness and belonging had developed among participants.
For the gathering, Pastor Kim SiYoung, NSD PARL director, Pastor Han SukHee, NSD communication director, and Pastor Choi YoungIl, NSD associate director for Pioneer Mission Movement, served as lecturers. Pastor Pae Xion, a retired pastor and a great supporter of Good Neighbors, visited the gathering in order to encourage the refugees.
“Through this gathering, Igot to know that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Christ-centered, Bible-based, mission-focused church,”said one of the participants. “We can move away from the bias implanted by other Christian denominations.” It is believedthat the faith of our “good neighbors”will grow and that they will work for North Korea mission as servants of God.