“And my husband, Choi Sung-kyu, was immediately arrested by the police from the Tongdaemun police station in Seoul. The police charged him with refusing to worship at the Shinto shrine. During his 20 days in jail, he contracted typhoid fever, and they transferred him to a hospital. After 40 days in the hospital, he was released, only to be caught up in the arrests of the brothers that took place in June 1939.

“My husband’s brother-in-law had a position under the Japanese government, and he sent a lawyer to effect his release from prison. The lawyer told my husband that the only way he could arrange his release was for him to worship at the Shinto shrine. My husband rejected his offer on the spot and told him never to come to see him again. My husband then wrote me asking, ‘Who sent the lawyer? Keep awake! Read Romans 8:35-39.’ This letter greatly encouraged all of us on the outside, and the new ones were determined to continue to praise Jehovah.

“Later, in September 1941, I was arrested again but held for only 15 days. I was told that since my husband was being released from prison, I should bring 500 won ($250, U.S.). I borrowed the money and went to the prison. It was a dark, cold night. I found my husband lying on the ground, covered with a white sheet, more dead than alive. They had imprisoned him for two and a half years and now demanded 500 won to release him in this condition! My husband, at age 42, died eight hours later.

[Picture on page 153]

Choi Sung-kyu suffered severely unto death in 1941 because of his beliefs, but his faith was a great encouragement to his brothers