Mike has given me permission to quote excerpts from his book, and I plan to do it. But I'd like to recommend that you just go ahead and buy the book for yourself before we begin enjoying it together. It's one of those "no-doubters", if I may borrow from baseball terminology the reference to a ball that has been hit so well that the crowd knows it's a home run.

I do not say that you will enjoy the book. Books like this should never be enjoyed. You will be troubled by it. But the story it tells needs to be treasured in the heart, and its contents poured out to a loving God Who alone has the answers to this land. With that in mind, let us begin a journey together using Mike Kim, Korean, as a guide.

I challenge my readers to try what Mike tried, a visit of your own. See if it affects you in the same way it affected Mike. On a preliminary trip to China-Korea, Mike...

"...returned to the States a bit shaken from what I had experienced. I distinctly remember sitting across from clients talking about mutual funds, retirement plans, and insurance while feeling disengaged from it all. The 'underground' house churches in China and the North Korean refugees weighed heavily on my heart."

He began praying for the land, and eventually had to go back for a much longer visit. Something about the place gets to you...

His report begins by examining the North Korean mind, the whole subject of brainwashing that this blog has frequently covered. While taking tae kwon do lessons, his North Korean teacher told him of anti-American games played in class:

"Sometimes the teacher hung up a picture representing America. Then when the teacher signaled, all of the children in class took a sharp object, charged at the picture screaming at the top of their lungs, and then ripped it up. During wintertime, I remember the teacher telling us to make two snowmen. On one snowman we wrote 'America', and on the other we wrote 'Japan.'.. " Screaming, with sticks in their hands, they would charge at the snowmen and break them.

Hatred, pure hatred. A taught life-style. Let us continue to pray that God's love will be allowed into North Korea, that His message will shatter the darkness and bring a new day.