Hello there. This is Mark Bauerline with another conversation. Before we get to it, a word about one of our sponsors.

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American higher education at Wyoming Catholic.edu. Matthew Heise joins us today. He is director of the

Lutheran Heritage Foundation. His new book is The Gates of Hell, an untold story of faith and perseverance

in the early Soviet Union, our topic today.

Welcome, Director Heisey.

Thank you, Mark.

Thank you for having me.

It's a strong story, a powerful story.

Through all the darkness, several moments of inspiration and extraordinary courage on the part of several individuals.

Let me ask, before we get into the details, did your interest in this subject arise because of

your missionary work in that part of the world?

Well, I guess I should say this first.

My missionary experience also arose because of my family's background.

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