3. Faith in Risk of Death 

 After having heard the pastor preach, the Japanese military polices found that the pastor would not change his mind, and took him to arrest him. While the pastor was being arrested, they threatened  pastors who had belonged to Pyeongyang Presbytery to be sided with them so that the pastors can visit the shrine. The Japanese military polices forced the pastors to dismiss Pastor Gi-chul Choo (stop doing ministry work). They came to Sanjunghyun Church, following the pastors, who had betrayed, battering abusively and scrupling with the Christians who would keep the church. Eventually, they drove the church to be shut down, and kicked the family of Pastor Choo out of the parsonage in the street. 

After Pastor Choo had gone out of the prison for a minute, he continued to speak God's words, anytime and anywhere, although the church did no longer exist. He was put in prison for it, again. His family lost their home and kept moving around, without eating. Christians knew this fact and decided to help them. They looked for the chance for the Japanese military polices to take their eyes away from them, and threw food out of yard, to his family. Pastor Choo's family said thank you and lived on the food, as the Israeli people had eaten food that God gave, in a wide field. 

Yet, the Japanese military polices became crueler. One day, they brought the pastor's mother, wife, and his young son to the underground prison in the police station where he had been put. Then, they made his family see the scene through the window, in which he was tortured. They thought that when seeing his family beg for his life, he would be so heartbroken as to agree in visiting the shrine. This event forced other four pastors who had done the ministry with him to abandon their mission and surrender to the Japanese military polices. However, his wife, although seeing the scene of his being tortured, bowed down and kept praying. Then, she was tortured. At this, the pastor prayed. That was all that they showed. This event drove his mother to lose his mind (go crazy) and his young son to suffer aphasia (disease not to speak), for a long time. 

On August, 1941, the Japanese military polices brought the rest of 36 shrine worshipers to Pyeongyang and put them in Pyeongyang Prison. Paster Gi-chul Choo who had been brought there met his comrades and put up with tough times with them. No matter how painful the prison was, even the North Korean soldiers who had been captured for having done bad deeds saw the pastor's faith in God, and they got to believe in God. After having undergone severe tortures, the pastor got weaker and weaker until he passed away in the prison, on April, 21, 1944, a year before the Liberation. 

"When I go to God, I will do plead with the Lord to save Korean churches. I ask you not to forget to say my word to my Church Christians." 

He told his wife, in the day when he passed away. The Christians buried the pastor. Afterwards, they began to have stronger faith in God, praying more and more. His sacrifice has made many churches exist, today, in Korea. Everyone! Don't take it for granted that God loves us, but pray to God for the life that God is pleased with. I hope that everyone and I will not stop doing missionary work. 

Writer & Illustrator : Soo-ye Park (sysop)

Translator : Peter Jeon

References Books : korean version of the reference