God's Smuggler

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Andrew spent the first few months in England painting the WEC headquarters building (Bulstrode). While living at Bulstrode, Andrew began spending time with God at the beginning of everyday – a Quiet Time. This was something that Andrew found helpful and endeavoured to do every day of his life. Once Andrew had finished painting Bulstrode, he then moved in with Mr and Mrs Hopkins. Living with Mr and Mrs Hopkins, they developed a wonderful relationship. Andy learnt so much from the couple because they were utterly without self-consciousness and opened up their home to drunks and beggars. I couldn’t not put this book down. Story after story of his putting Bibles into hands of the Chinese, Germans, Hungarians, Russians, and so many more was so compelling. His prayer life and listening to that still small voice was so convicting.

One example of God providing miraculously was when Andrew needed to pay his visa. When Andrew received a visitor the day before he needed to send off his application for a visa, he was confident that the visitor would have come to give him money to pay for the visa. But the visitor was Richard, a man who Andrew had met in the slums in Glasgow. Richard had not come to give, but to ask. Andy explained that he had no money himself to give to Richard, but as he spoke, Andy saw a Shilling on the floor. This shilling was how much Andy needed to pay for his visa which would mean he could stay at the bible school. Rather than keeping the Shilling for himself, Andrew gave the Shilling to Richard. Andy had done what he knew was right, but how would God provide? Minutes later, Andy received a letter and in it was 30 Shillings! God had provided in His way, a Kingly Manner of provision. God calls Andrew behind the Iron curtain He was shot in the ankle and started reading a Bible his mother had given him during his convalescence. After he returned to the Netherlands, he started compulsively going to church, and in early 1950, he surrendered himself to God. He made his first trip to Cuba in the late 1960s and went on to visit several other Latin American countries. In 2001 he met leaders of the Colombian rebel group AUC (Autodefensas de Colombia) and urged them to lay down their weapons. Within a year 15,000 members of AUC surrendered their guns – in exchange for Bibles. Brother Andrew's zeal to preach Christ and His Word above all else led him to make a statement that has convicted me about the way I sometimes write and speak to others. He said when we have more to say about certain evils than we have to say about the goodness of Christ, then we are ill equipped for faithful service.Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to Your children. When You were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.” More than Bibles I first read God's Smuggler as a teenager years ago and am glad there is now a concise version for young readers. This version is especially written for young readers. ages 9 - 12. It is a book sure to hold the interest of any reader, inspiring them to trust God and live boldly. It gives you an overview of the life of 'Brother Andrew, as he later became known, he was a Bible smuggler. After Andrew was severely wounded during his time in the army, he began reading the Bible one day and eventually accepted Christ as his Savior. After sensing the Lord calling him to ministry, he went to the WEC Missionary Training College in Glasgow, Scotland. There he learned to rely on God for everything, from food and clothing to lodging and visas. Sixty years ago a young Dutchman was inspired to smuggle Bibles into Communist Eastern Europe. It was the start of a great adventure.

Brother Andrew; Sherrill, John; Sherrill, Elizabeth (2001). God's Smuggler. Chosen Books. ISBN 0-8007-9301-3. Andrew’s place at the bible college was delayed by a year. Despite receiving a telegram from WEC telling him not to come, Andrew believed God was instructing him to go. In faith he obeyed God and left for England in 1952.Van der Bijl died at age 94 on 27 September 2022; [7] [14] he had been married for 59 years to his wife, Corry (1931–2018). [15] [16] They had continued to live in Holland and were survived by five children and 11 grandchildren. [17] At the time of his death, Open Doors was active in over 60 countries. The ministry yearly distributes 300,000 Bibles and 1.5 million Christian books and materials. The group is active in providing relief, aid, community development, and trauma counseling, while advocating for persecuted Christians around the globe. [2] Books [ edit ] The first time I met Brother Andrew, was in June 1979, at the headquarters of Hospital Christian Fellowship (HCF), in Kempton Park, in the Transvaal. Brother Andrew mentioned that while communist governments may close down churches, it is a lot harder for them to close down hospitals. That is why he supported the work of Francis Grim, evangelising and training doctors and nurses to be ongoing daily witnesses to patients and other medical personnel. "More people pass through the hospitals of the world than through its churches." Brother Andrew reminded us that God has placed us “ at the foot of Africa to take the Gospel of Christ throughout Africa .” The continent of Africa was “ the special missionary responsibility of the church in South Africa. You have the manpower and the materials to fulfil the Great Commission throughout Africa!” Cornelia van der Bijl Passes Away at 86". missionsbox.org. 3 February 2018. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018 . Retrieved 17 November 2018. In 1955, Brother Andrew risked it all. Today, will you commit to pray, give and speak out to support your persecuted family? In "God's Smuggler," Brother Andrew tells his own story of smuggling Bibles to Christians behind the Iron Curtain. When he first started this ministry, he just went alone and carried Bibles and literature with him. He began to see just how limited religious freedom was in many of the Communist countries, and his burden grew to get as many Bibles to as many people as possible. In some cases, he found churches with no Bibles in their possessions. Just bringing one single Bible to such a fellowship would bring tears of gratitude and appreciation. It is indeed moving to read of these people who thirsted for Word of God and were not allowed to have it.

Anne van der Bijl was born 11 May, 1928, in the village of Sint Pancras in the northern part of the Netherlands.

Strengthen that which remains...

Astonishing anecdotes of complete trust in the Savior repeatedly brought tears to my eyes. I want to trust God and love people like Brother Andrew does.

I don't pray that God will lift the persecution because if there is persecution there is a plan that God has, otherwise God wouldn't allow it,” explained van der Bijl in a 2013 interview with The Christian Post. The world first became aware of Brother Andrew’s ministry when his biography, God’s Smuggler, written with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, was published in 1967. It was translated into 35 languages and sold 10 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling Christian books of all time. A comic-book adaptation was published in 1972. This is a must-read, especially if you're weary of waiting, have doubts, or simply don't quite believe, but every Christian should read this at least once. Brother Andrew’s story is extraordinary. But he himself is always at pains to stress that it was simply because he followed God.His thirst for adventure led him into the Dutch army at the age of 18 where he became a notorious commando. Andrew and his comrades became famous for wearing yellow straw hats in battle, their motto was: ‘get smart – lose your mind’. Brother Andrew, who in 1993 was knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, married Corrine in 1958. She died in 2018 and he is survived by their five children. More visits behind the Iron Curtain followed, with religious tracts hidden in secret compartments and under blankets. Meanwhile, volunteers who heard about his work signed up to undertake their own missions. On one occasion he was arrested in Yugoslavia and deported. That led to the establishment of the charity Open Doors, which put his work on a formal footing, and today the charity has a presence in several countries. Written in 1967 I've heard about this book for a long time and always "meant to get around to it". Well based on a recommendation here that reminded me of it I finally got it (after 46 years) and it was well worth the read. The measure of celebrity he acquired from God’s Smuggler and the various sequels meant that his days of personally delivering Bibles to oppressed areas were curtailed. Instead, he embarked on tours of North America and western Europe, including several visits to Britain, evangelising, telling the story of his work and raising funds for Open Doors.