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.

Eastern Europe was not his only target. He also took Bibles into Communist Cuba, explaining that the Caribbean island was easier to visit than the US because Dutch citizens did not need a visa. In June 1981 he co-ordinated an operation known as Project Pearl, overseeing the delivery to China in a single night of one million American-printed, Chinese-language Bibles. On another occasion, after visiting the church in Uganda, he learnt that his name was on a list of people whom Idi Amin, the country’s dictator, wanted executed. I believe everyone is reachable. People are never the enemy—only the devil,” van der Bijl said. “Bin Laden was on my prayer list. I wanted to meet him. I wanted to tell him who is the real boss in the world.” The man who would become “God’s Smuggler” didn’t start out as a giant of faith. He served in World War II and afterward in the Dutch army. As he was recovering from being shot in the line of duty in 1950, he began to read the Bible and soon devoted his life to ministry. He felt God speaking to him, urging him to minister to people in Communist countries.I will say that the events recounted here caused me to reevaluate my own life, my own Christianity, my own faith and my attitude toward faith. I've known for some time that the phrase "my faith" is a misnomer in that we need "the faith of Christ" not "our own" faith. Brother Andrew (Andrew van der Bijl) lived that out. He did it (with God's help) in a simple low key way. From his home in the Netherlands he traveled to and through the Iron Curtain countries and later across the world witnessing and speaking of Christ. After the war, van der Bijl joined the Dutch army and was sent to Indonesia as part of the colonial force attempting to quash the Indonesian struggle for independence. He was excited about the adventure until the shooting started and he killed people. By his own account, van der Bijl was involved in the massacre of an Indonesian village, indiscriminately killing everyone who lived there.

I promised God that as often as I could lay my hands on a Bible, I would bring it to these children of his behind the wall that men built to every … country where God opened the door long enough for me to slip through,” van der Bijl recalled. 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.Intense. Edge-of-your-seat action. Heart-wrenching. Each of these three Praises only scratch the surface of how impactful God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill produced by chosen books actually is. Somehow however, when he return home, he developed a thirst for God. Every evening Andrew attended a meeting and during the day he would read the bible and lookup up bible verses mentioned in the sermons he had heard. At last, one evening he gave up his ego and prayed: ‘Lord if You will show me the way, I will follow You. Amen’. God calls Brother Andrew to mission 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. Thom, Mike (28 September 2022). "Brother Andrew, famous for smuggling Bibles into Soviet Union, dies at 94". CHVN Radio. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022 . Retrieved 1 October 2022. 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.

Anne van der Bijl, the Dutch missionary known for smuggling Bibles into communist nations and founding the Christian persecution watchdog group Open Doors, has died at age 94. a b c d e f g Silliman, Daniel (27 September 2022). "Died: Brother Andrew, Who Smuggled Bibles into Communist Countries". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022 . Retrieved 30 September 2022. In my early days of walking with Christ, it seemed every Christian was recommending this book. Thirty years later, I've finally read it. All I can say is: What took me so long? There are many good books out there. But there are only a few that really pull you into the story, keep you on the edge of your seat, and leave you breathless and deeply inspired. Brother Andrew’s flexibility when it came to his Christian living. For example, even though he never borrowed money as a principle he was able to follow the Lord when it came to him buying a house and needing to borrow money. Then when his car broke down in Austria and he needed to have men from the pub help him get his car out of the mud. After they helped him get his car out they insisted on him having a beer with them, and even though by principle he did not drink as a Christian, he realized the Lord in Him was leading him to just drink the beer they had bought him to take care of them. Lastly, in his living he at first was living in utter poverty tithing away almost all that came in to go towards the work; but the Lord touched him that His wife and family needed to be in more than just poverty so he went ahead and took care of them in a proper way.

The Easter Message of ‘He is Risen’

I really appreciated that it was written from Andrew's perspective, which made it more of a story, instead of just a biography. His way of telling the story was conversational and easy to follow--simple, yet full of profound truth. There were so many wonderful quotes throughout the book that were so inspiring and insightful. His last major release, co-authored with Al Janssen and published by Revell and Hodder and Stoughton, was Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ. In 2003, in California, he was given the Heritage of Faithfulness Award from the Christian Association of Senior Adults. Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland, said: “When Brother Andrew started his ministry, little did he imagine that within 60 years it would embrace millions of Christians worldwide. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy.”

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. Each time he went, he encouraged the Christians that they were not forgotten by their brothers around the world. And once he returned home, he brought news to the Free World of what life was really like behind the Iron Curtain. People of other faiths even recognize Brother Andrew’s incredible legacy, including U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Rashad Hussain, who is Muslim. F.P. (3 October 2012). "Portes ouvertes, une histoire dans l'Histoire [Open doors, a story in history]". La Voix du Nord (in French).Anne van der Bijl, a Dutch evangelical known to Christians worldwide as Brother Andrew, the man who smuggled Bibles into closed Communist countries, has died at the age of 94. Besides God’s Smuggler Brother Andrew wrote 15 other books, including The Calling, which reveals his secrets for ministry.