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God's Smuggler

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I just finished the missions classic, God's Smugger, by Brother Andrew. Holy cow...read this book! It takes the reader through the journey of Brother Andrew's early life as an 'adrenaline junkie-heavy drinking-reckless Dutch soldier' turned Bible smuggling missionary to the nations of the Iron Curtain.

Each chapter is a gripping real life account of Brother Andrew's travels. It's like reading a good suspense novel. Brother Andrew doesn't gloss over his own shortcomings, nor his fears and trepidations about his work. He simply just tells the miracles as they happened, and gives God the complete credit.

I won't spoil the story for you but I will say that certain books have come into my life at certain times. I believe it's for a reason: to encourage me, teach me, and strengthen my faith. God's Smuggler is serving as one of those books. There are a few themes that run through the entirety of the book:

* The power of faith--The book is so full of miracles...There are countless occasions when Brother Andrew should've been arrested, or killed, or stranded or (you get the picture), but God intervened in a miraculous way.
* The power of prayer--Prayer was undoubtedly the fuel for this dangerous work serving God under Communism's oppression. Brother Andrew and his coworkers were prayer warriors.
* The power of trust--Brother Andrew didn't, upon sensing God's call to work in the Communist countries, apply to an already established missions organization. He simply trusted God, day by day, to provided for his needs, so long as He was following His call. His trust for provision is incredible, and would probably be considered crazy by today's standards.
* The power of sacrifice--Brother Andrew has lived a life most today would deem unlivable. He gave up multiple chances for 'the good life', and forsook even the most basic items that we today take for granted, all so that we could continue the work he felt called to.

Faith, prayer, trust, and sacrifice...much needed lessons for me in the 'here and now'.

This book has inspired me greatly! There have been times I have read this book and felt the uplift of inspiration. The best thing about the narrative is that its real to life with a transparency that is familiar to anyone who has ever prodded through life wandering about life, God, purpose, and destiny. Let me share from one story in the book. I truly believe there is no other book that has inspired me to be challenged in my faith as this by Brother Andrew.

"One night I went out for a long, solitary walk. On several occasions students had warned me not to 'go into Patrick.' Patrick was the slum sitting at the bottom of our hill. It was, they said, the home of addicts, drunks, thieves, even murderers, and walking its streets was unsafe. And yet this area drew me now as if it had something to say.


All around me were the dirty gray streets of Patrick. Litter blew across the cobblestones. The September air was already raw. Before I had gone five blocks I was accosted two times by beggars. I gave them all the money I had in my pockets and watched as they moved without pretense toward the nearest pub. I knew that these drifters, begging in the streets of the Glasgow slums, would receive a better income than the missionaries-in-training at the top of the hill.


I could not understand why this bothered me so. Was I greedy? I didnt think so. We had always been poor in my family, and I had never worried about it. What was it then?

And suddenly, walking back up the hill toward the school, I had my answer.


The question was not one of money at all. What I was worried about was a relationship.

At the chocolate factory I trusted Mr. Ringers to pay me in full and on time. Surely I said to myself, if an ordinary factory worker could be financially secure, so coud one of God's workers.


I turned through the gate of the school. Above me was the reminder 'Have Faith In God.'

That was it! It wasn't that I needed the security of a certain amount of money, it was that I needed the security of a relationship.

I walked up the crunchy pebblewalk feeling more and more certain that I was on the verge of something exciting. The school was asleep and quiet. I tiptoed upstairs and sat by the bedroom window looking out over Glasgow.

*******************************************************
If I were going to give my life as a servant of the King, I had to know that King. What was He like? In what WAY could I trust Him? In the same way I trusted a set of impersonal laws? Or could I trust Him as a living leader, as a very present commander in battle? The question was central. Because if He were a King in name only, I would rather go back to the chocolate factory. I would remain a Christian, but I would know that my religion was only a set of principles, excellent to be followed, but hardly demanding devotion.


Suppose on the other hand that I were to discover God to be a Person, in the sense that He communicated and cared and loved and led. That was something quite different. That was the kind of King I would follow into any battle.


And somehow, sitting there in the moonlight that September night in Glasgow, I knew that my probing into God's nature was gong to begin with this issue of money. That night I knelt in front of the window and made a covenant with Him. 'Lord,' I said, 'I need to know if I can trust You in practical things. I thank You for letting me earn the fees for the first semester. I ask You now to supply the rest of them. If I have to be so much as a day late in paying, I shall know that I am supposed to go back to the chocolate factory.'


It was a childish prayer, petulant and demanding. But then I was still a child in the Christian life. The remarkable thing is that God honored my prayer. But not without first testing me in some rather amusing ways."

The story continues in a fascinating exploration of faith in God:


"The first semester sped by. Mornings we spent in the
classrooms studying systematic theology, homiletics,
world religions, linguistics--the type of courses
taught in any seminary. In the afternoon we worked at
practical skills: bricklaying, plumbing, carpentry,
first aid, tropical hygiene, motor repair. For several
weeks all of us, girls as well as boys, worked at the
Ford factory in London, learning how to take a car
apart and put it back together. In addition to those
standard trades, we were taught to build huts out of
palm fronds and how to make mud jars that would hold
water.

And meanwhile we took turns in the kitchen and the
laundry and the garden. No one was exempt. One of the
students was a doctor, a German woman, and I used to
watch her scouring garbage pails as though she were
preparing a room for surgery.

The weeks passed so fast that soon it came time for me
to head out on the first of several training trips in
evangelism.

'You're going to like this, Andy,' said Mr. Dinnen.
'It's an exercise in trust. The rules are simple. Each
student on your team is given a one-pound banknote.
With that you go on a missionary tour through
Scotland. You're expected to pay your own
transportation, your own lodging, your food, any
advertising you want to do, the renting of halls,
providing refreshments--'

'All on a one-pound note?'

'Worse than that. When you get back to school after
four weeks, you're expected to pay back the pound!'

I laughed. 'Sounds like we'll be passing the hat all
the time.'

'Oh, you're not allowed to take up collections! Never.
You're not to mention money at your meetings. All of
your needs have got to be provided without any
manipulation on your part--or the experiment is a
failure.'

I was a member of a team of five boys. Later when I
tried to reconstruct where our funds came from during
those four weeks, it was hard to. It seemed that what
we needed was always just there. Sometimes a letter
would arrive from one of the boys' parents with a
little money. SOmetimes we would get a check in the
mail from a church we had visited days or weeks
earlier. The notes that came with those gifts were
always interesting. 'I know you don't need money or
you would have mentioned it,' someone would write.
'But God just wouldn't let me get to sleep tonight
until I had put this in an envelope for you.'

Contributions frequently came in the form of produce.
In one little town in the highlands of Scotland we
were given six hundred eggs. We had eggs for
breakfast, eggs for lunch, eggs as hors d'oeuvres
before a dinner of eggs with an egg-white meringue
dessert. It was weeks before we could look a chicken
in the eye.

But money or produce, we struck fast to two rules: we
never mentioned a need aloud, and we gave away a tithe
of whatever came to us as soon as we got it--within
twenty-four hours if possible.

Another team that set out from school at the same time
we did, was not so strict about tithing. They set
aside their ten percent all right, but they didn't
give it away immediately, 'in case we run into an
emergency.' Of course they had emergencies! So did we,
every day. But they ended their month owing money to
hotels, lecture halls, and markets all over Scotland,
while we came back to school almost ten pounds ahead.
Fast as we could give money away, God was always
swifter, and we ended with money to send to the WEC
work overseas.

There were times before the end of the tour, however,
when it looked as though the experiment were failing.
One weekend we were holding meetings in Edinburgh. We
had attracted a large group of young people the first
day and were casting about for a way to get them to
come back the next. Suddenly, without consulting
anyone, one of the team members stood up and made an
announcement.

'Before the meeting tomorrow evening,' he said, 'we'd
like you all to have tea with us here. Four o' clock.
How many think they can make it?'

A couple dozen hands went up, and we were committed.
At first, instead of being delighted, the rest of us
were horrified. All of us knew that we had no tea, no
cake, no bread and butter, and exactly five cups. Nor
did we have money to buy these things: our last penny
had gone to rent the hall. This was going to be a real
test of God's care.

And for a while it looked as though He was going to
provide everything through the young people
themselves. After the meeting several of them came
forward and said they would like to help. One offered
milk; another, half a pound of tea; another, sugar.
One girl even offered to bring dishes. Our tea was
rapidly taking shape. But there was one thing still
missing--the cake. Without cake, these Scottish boys
and girls wouldn't consider tea tea.

So that night in our evening prayer time, we put the
matter before God. 'Lord, we've got ourselves into a
spot. From somewhere we've got to get a cake. Will You
help us?'

That night as we rolled up in our blankets on the
floor of the hall, we played guessing games: How was
God going to give us that cake? Among the five of us,
we guessed everything imaginable--or so we thought.

Morning arrived. We half expected a heavenly messenger
to come to our door bearing a cake. But no one came.
The morning mail arrived. We ripped open the two
letters, hoping for money. There was none. A woman
from a nearby church came by to see if she could help.
'Cake,' was on the tip of all our tongues, but we
swallowed the word and shook our heads.

'Everything,' we assured her, 'is in God's hands.'

The tea had been announced for four o' clock in the
afternoon. At three the tables were set, but still we
had no cake. Three-thirty came. We put the water to
boil. Three-forty-five.

And then the doorbell rang.

All of us together ran to the big front entrance, and
there was the postman. In his hand was a large box.

'Hello, lads,' said the postman. 'Got something for
you that feels like a food package. ' He handed the
box to one of the boys. 'The delivery day is over,
actually,' he said, 'but I hate to leave a perishable
package overnight.'

We thanked him profusely, and the minute he closed the
door the boy solemnly handed me the box. 'It's for
you, Andrew. From a Mrs. William Hopkins in London.'

I took the package and carefully unwrapped it. Off
came the twine. Off came the brown outside paper.
Inside, there was no note--only a large white box.
Deep in my soul I knew that I could afford the drama
of lifting the lid slowly. As I did, there, in perfect
condition, to be admired by five sets of wondering
eyes, was an enormous, glistening, moist, chocolate
cake."

:) It is a great book! You will not be disappointed!

~Sean

In 1968 I received this book as a bonus from the Farm Family Book Club. I started to read it in the evening and read until I was finished at 4:00 a.m. The next day I said, "If Brother Andrew can trust God for 365 days a year, I can trust Him for one day, no matter how foolish it makes me look." I did, and I did look foolish. But I found out that He is faithful. My life has never been the same.

God's Smuggler is by far one of the best books I have ever read. It is told in a simple, humble, yet gripping style. Brother Andrew relates his life story in many different stages: boy, young man, soldier, Christian, missionary, and Bible smuggler behind the Iron Curtain. He has such a devotion to the Lord that it cannot help but be inspiring. I am so grateful for the testimony of such a devoted Christian. God's Smuggler is also the story of Brother Andrew's spiritual journey. Even a few chapters into the book, you feel as though you are Brother Andrew's old friend and laugh and cry along with him. This book is heartbreaking in the descriptions of the persecution Christians faced under communism's thumb despite "propaganda" stating otherwise. This is especially important today - despite the fact that many western Christians are oblivious to it, persecution of Christians still goes on all around the world. Reading God's Smuggler may inspire people to become involved in supporting the Churches in countries where religious freedom is just a dream. I would highly recommend this book to everyone from spy-novel lover to dedicated Christian. Enjoy!

This book reads like a fast-paced suspense novel, but the fact that it is non-fiction makes every word all the more incredible. God is so real in Brother Andrew's life that he cannot help but convey that reality to the reader. Miracles of the most extraodinary nature happen routinely in this book, and while Brother Andrew is constantly amazed at God's provisions, he seems to also have the attitude:" Why not?" As if to say, our God is the Creator of all there is and yet why are we still confounded by the fact that He can make "seeing eyes blind" and "blind eyes see"!

This is an incredible book about an incredible God. The theme and heart of this book is that God can be trusted--what a timely and desperately needed lesson for mdern America. This book profoundly affected my faith. Best of all, I discovered that God can be trusted. Thanks Brother Andrew for your help.

This is an outstanding Christian autobiography. I literally could not put it down. I couldn't even hear my family speak my name while I was engrossed in its pages. This is the true story of Brother Andrew who is well known for smuggling bibles to beleaguered Christians behind the Iron Curtain. The story began with his childhood in Holland. His taste for daring and adventure showed up while he resisted the Nazis during their occupation of his country. He later joined the army, in search of adventure and meaning. He eventually found salvation, and dedicated his life to preach God's word. When he found out from Yugoslavian refugees that they had no access in their home country to the message of salvation, his life calling emerged.
The story spans many of the countries that suffered under communist rule. The many lives he touched and was touched by are recorded for us to meet and learn from. The miracles of provision and eyes blinded to hidden bibles are stunning. His observations of life behind the iron curtain are amazing. The parallels between the communist education plan and our own public education system are frightening. This is one of those books that every Christian should read.

I loved this book - couldn't put it down. Made me ponder my own faith. Will read it again and recommend it to others.

If self-sacrifice is the mark of true heroism, then Brother Andrew is in a class with the most valient. This book tells his story from birth and youth in WWII poverty, to the agnosticysm of a young man to the realization that God is REAL and part of his life. It will challenge your faith to rely on God as if he were a king leading his troops into battle. He is. Brother Andrew's story is one of the most involving STORIES I have read. But it isn't just a story, it is the life of a real man who has given everything for the mission to spread light to a dark land. Just because the Iron Curtin has fallen, dosen't mean that this book is any less relevant today. It will change your faith. Gaurenteed.

This book can change your life and how you see God. Brother Andrew gave his life totally to God, and God remained faithful to him. you cannot read this book and come away with the same view on God. I read this book, and could not put it down. Sure to strengthen your Christian experience. As thrilling as any spy novel. Not one to be missed by any christian. What one person can do when they give themselves totally to God. If you thought the result would be a dull life, you're dead wrong! Read the book!
IF YOU LIKED THIS, I HAVE ANOTHER TO RECCOMEND. It's called "A Thousand Shall Fall" But you must be sure to get the right one. The full title is "A thousand shall Fall: The electrifying story of a soldier and his family that dared to practice their faith in Hitler's Germany." Written by Suzy Hazel Mundy. It's as much of a page turner as this book and will also change your life.

Happy reading!