Bae Hyung-kyu, we salute you!

The New York Times gives the backstory to the South Korean Christians held hostage by the Taliban. The man who was recently shot was a 42-year-old pastor with a nine-year-old daughter. I am confident that this man's blood was not spilled in vain. These Christians are obeying the command of Jesus, who said, "I have sent you out like sheep among wolves."

From the article:

"For South Koreans, this new crisis represents the cost of the aid and evangelical operations that its Christian churches conduct in some of the world’s most dangerous places.

In 2004, a South Korean interpreter and aspiring Christian missionary was beheaded by militants in Iraq.

Several South Korean missionaries have served time in or remain in Chinese prisons, accused of trying to convert North Korean refugees or for smuggling them to South Korea. One missionary, who was kidnapped by North Korean agents in 2000, is believed to have died in the North.

With 12,000 to 17,000 evangelists in more than 160 countries, South Korea has one of the most aggressive armies of Christian missionaries on earth. Only the United States sends out more — 46,000 by some estimates.

A conservative association of Protestant churches in South Korea has called for dispatching 100,000 missionaries by 2030. Along with those full-time missionaries, South Korean churches dispatch numerous evangelical, educational and medical missions. Saemmul Church has stressed that Mr. Bae’s group was not engaged in evangelism, but was doing only relief work at hospitals and kindergartens."