SPORTS + ARTS
One short term ‘sports camp’ mission team came to work with North Korean defectors. One grown woman, a North Korean defector, was deeply enjoying playing with a soccer ball. She laughed as she kicked the ball with others. A member of the team asked her, “what kinds of balls did you play with growing up, in North Korea?” The woman responded, “this is my first time ever playing ball…”
The answer stunned the member of the short term ‘sports camp’ team. They had never met anyone who had never played any form of ball before. They wondered, what sort of childhood did this person have? Then they saw the look on her face, as she, now a full grown adult, finally had that chance. How many years of her life, did she lose, living in North Korea? The following days, they spent time talking about Scripture, and God’s plan’s for peoples lives, and how God loved them. Suddenly this woman, who had been so resistant to speaking about God before, was thoroughly open to discussing the scripture. She started opening her heart to others. This sports camp created a tremendously open avenue to working in her life.
Just imagine, if we could get every North Korean in South Korea, China, etc. into a sports or arts camp like this? Imagine the conversations we could have. We have so many opportunities open to us today. Are we taking advantage of reaching the North Koreans, with whom we have access to today?
The United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace reports that, ‘Sport-based initiatives are used to help address the trauma experienced by many refugees and asylum seekers. These initiatives help normalize people’s existence and rebuild a sense of security, community and hope.’ Imagine now, if we ever got the opportunity to do this inside North Korea, if it opened?
Sport and arts play provide a mechanism for building relationships and reconnecting individuals to communities. ‘At the community level, regular, organized sport and arts activities in a safe and supervised setting can provide an important island of healthy, secure, stress-free enjoyment for people of all ages in conflict situations. This is particularly true for children, who may be more easily traumatized by the turmoil around them.’
Sport and arts are effective tools for establishing and building relationships with local communities, providing opportunities to proclaim the gospel and disciple people to Jesus. Trained, equipped volunteers can effectively assist local communities to spread the spirit of peace building and tolerance and rebuild a sense of security, community and hope.
We welcome you to join us, in engaging the North Korean people in the areas of Sports and Arts