Wrestling With War
In the post-war years, Anne van der Bijl, known to the world as Brother Andrew, found himself wrestling with the consequences of war. Born on May 11, 1928, in the small village of Sint Pancras, Netherlands, he was thrust into the chaos of World War II. As a young man, he joined the Dutch army and later served in Indonesia, where he witnessed and participated in violence that left him searching for meaning and relief from guilt.
The Step of Yes
The turning point came when he was wounded in battle. During his recovery, he read the Bible his mother had given him and felt a profound conviction, leading him to surrender his life to Christ. This decision marked the beginning of a new chapter. In 1952, while studying at a Bible college in Glasgow, Scotland, he prayed, "Whenever, wherever, however you want me, I'll go… I'll begin this very minute. Lord as I stand up from this place, and as I take my first step forward, will you consider this a step towards complete obedience to you? I'll call it the step of yes."
Behind the Iron Curtain
This step led him behind the Iron Curtain in 1955, where he encountered Christians in Poland who were isolated and in desperate need of Bibles. Moved by their plight, Brother Andrew founded Open Doors, an organization dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians. His trips were fraught with danger, but his faith remained unshaken. At the Yugoslavian border in 1957, he prayed, "Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture that I want to take to Your children across this border... Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see." Miraculously, the guards waved him through, oblivious to the Bibles he carried.
A Legacy of Faith
Brother Andrew's life was a testament to the power of obedience and faith. He once said, "God does not choose people because of their ability, but because of their availability." His legacy, encapsulated in his autobiography *God's Smuggler*, continues to inspire believers to this day.
