Dear Friends and Members of IBC,

In the coming weeks, I would like to take the opportunity to introduce us to a few courageous, devoted, godly men and women whose lives vividly demonstrate God’s faithfulness and power. My hope is that their testimonies would encourage and inspire us to see what an awesome God we have and help us to continue to place our trust in Him. For the first testimony, we will look at the life of Brother Andrew. We will continue with his amazing story next week as well.

Andrew van der Bijl, widely known as Brother Andrew, was born in the Netherlands in 1928. He died in 2022. His testimony is a wonderful example of someone who continued to hold fast to God’s faithfulness despite constant adversity. He lived during the rise of Communism, when in many East European countries it was illegal to practice Christianity. His courageous journeys across the dangerous Iron Curtain, to deliver Bibles and hope to the persecuted Church, helped to strengthen the faith of many needy Christians. His whole story can be found in ‘God’s Smuggler’, which is one of the best-selling Christian biographies of all time.

Conversion

Brother Andrew enlisted in the Dutch army at the age of 17, just after the Second World War ended, and was soon deployed to the Dutch East Indies, to fight during the rebellion that would eventually become Indonesia. For the first two years he was there he did everything to the extreme. He became renowned for his crazy bravado on the battlefield where he would wear a yellow straw hat into combat. During rest periods he drank to oblivion, meandering from bar to bar, throwing empty gin bottles at store windows.

His time of active duty came to a demoralising end when he was abruptly shot in the ankle and sent to a hospital for a prolonged time of recuperation. It was during this time, cared for by kind, loving nuns, that he finally opened the little Bible that his mum had packed for him and began to read it. God’s word began to get a hold of him but it took a little time for him to truly surrender. He still wanted to hang on to the illusion of freedom that comes with drinking. After returning to the Netherlands, he met up again with a Christian friend he had kept in touch with, who encouraged his search for God. A little time later, on a cold, wintry night, he finally let go of his ego and let God into his life. He prayed a simple prayer that if God would show him the way, then he would follow. The next morning, he woke up secure in a way that he had never experienced before.

Calling

Not long after his conversion, Andrew was in a church meeting when the preacher prophesied that someone in the congregation was going to give his life to the mission field. Despite misgivings, Andrew and a friend responded to the inner tug of the Holy Spirit and responded to the call. He later applied to a missionary training college in Glasgow, but was initially rejected and told to try again later. It was during this time that his faith in God was refined and tested, in readiness for a life that would see him hold fast to God’s promise of provision. For the two years that he attended the college, he continuously had to rely on small miraculous acts in order for him to financially afford the college fees, as well as food and accommodation. At the end of his studies, just before he was due to return home to the Netherlands, he happened to see a magazine which showed masses of marching youths in Warsaw and Prague that were part of the growing socialist movement. There was an announcement about a youth festival and Andrew contacted the organisers, candidly informing them that he was training to be a Christian missionary and was interested in an exchange of ideas. An answer quickly bounced back to him, saying that they would be happy to host him. The letter included necessary identification. The only person he told about the proposed trip generously paid for his expenses and so began his first adventure behind the Iron Curtain.

Andrew entered Communist Warsaw with a suitcase packed full of small booklets entitled ‘The Way of Salvation’. A few weeks later, at the end of his visit, he sat on a public bench and reflected on everything that had happened to him, diligently praying for all of the remarkable people that he had met. He had managed to give out the pamphlets freely, on street corners and market places, even distributing some of them to soldiers on duty. He had attended several different church services and been asked to speak at them. And he had even visited a Bible shop. As he sat on the bench, ranks of young men and women passed by him, accompanied by loud music. It was the sounds of the hundreds of young Socialists, marching down the avenue, shouting their ‘good news’. What could he do? What should he do? It was then that his open Bible started fluttering in the wind, and as he put his hand down to stop it, his eyes turned to the verse where his finger was resting. It was Revelation 3:2: “Awake and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death.” In a blur of tears, he realised that God had answered him. He was to dedicate his life to strengthening and giving hope to the persecuted Church.

Find out more about Brother Andrew in part two next week!

God bless you

James