The Beloved Daughter

The Beloved Daughter is not an easy read. It is instead a book that will challenge you as the young heroine's tale unfolds. Ultimately it will impact your prayer life for you will be more faithful to remember the torment and trials that many Christians endure under regimes such as North Korea where this story takes place.

Alana Terry brings us into the world of a young girl whose father is a committed Christian in the midst of a hostile country where being a Christian can lead to imprisonment, torture and likely death, not only for him but also for his family. The family's capture ensues and this man's young daughter, Chung-Cha, will face horrific challenges to her physical, emotional and spiritual life. She will spend many years in prison. The Beloved Daugther is Chung-Cha's story.

In prison, Chung-Cha faces cruelty that will break your heart. She is but 12 years old when she is taken into captivity. In prison she faces beating and betrayals. We share with her as her limited faith will be questioned and her heart grows pessimistic. Then God places her in the presence of an old woman of faith. They share a cell for a brief time and God uses this situation to give our heroine a blessed reprieve that will help Chung-Cha's fragile faith grow.

Eventually Chung-Cha escapes to China where she will learn many more lessons and begin to slowly heal. Yet more tragedy is to follow and she will be called upon to endure more heartbreak.

I highly recommend this story because I found that it strengthened my awareness for Christians who suffer daily for their faith. Living in this country where we have abundant freedoms, food and comfort, we have a responsibility to these suffering brothers and sisters. We must step out in ways that can help ease their suffering by supporting ministries such as Gospel for Asia, Brother Andrew, and others of this nature, as well as being faithful prayer warriors for those we will likely never meet until heaven, can make a difference. How we would hope for the same should we ever find ourselves in these circumstances.