Lewis Codington, here with wife Elsbeth, helps defectors from North Korea.,,,
A Christian charity worker with years of experience in South Korea has given insight into a remarkable South-to-North defection.
Lewis Codington, a Christian Literature Crusade (CLC) international office consultant, teaches and mentors North Korean defectors in South Korea.
Tens of thousands of people have made the perilous journey from Kim Jong-Un’s dictatorship to the freedoms south of the border.
But earlier this year a crossing was confirmed through the heavily fortified border in the opposite direction, in a move described by the authorities as “extremely rare”.
Lewis said: “When they leave North Korea, they leave everything: family, friends, home, familiar life, and enter the glitzy and prosperous South. Here they are alone and bewildered, many times struggling to even find a job or friends. The terrible loneliness can be too much.
“North Korean defectors have a high suicide rate, and the occasional one will risk their lives to return to what is familiar.”
Lewis joined Christian Literature Crusade in 1990, witnessing God’s power across the world. While in Moldova in 1993 and heading for Russia, he didn’t realise God was at work when his host family insisted on giving him a gift.
“The man went to his yard and returned with a bag of walnuts and a jar of honey. I had only a small carry-on bag. The last thing I wanted was more stuff to carry with me on to Moscow. But it was clear he was giving me what he had.”
In Moscow, Lewis saw God’s incredible plans at work when he stayed with a retired couple who had been teachers. “They began to recount the trials they had struggled through. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, life had become very difficult. Their income had shrunk to $30 a month. They had been reduced to peddling their precious books on the streets.
“On top of that, their 13-year-old granddaughter lived with them. She had a serious condition, being born with three kidneys. They did not have money to pay for her treatment. The doctor related to them that without surgery or treatment, there was only one thing he could advise – give their granddaughter walnuts and honey, which they did not have. Out came the walnuts and honey from my bag!”
