God's Secret Agent- Brother Andrew

Hello guys! This is Brother Andrew's life story. I don't know how it will affect you personally, but it showed me that God can do the impossible, and he can use anyone.

Andrew van de Bijl was born in, 1928, in the country of Holland. Although he was born into a Christian family, religion was not important to him. Even when he was younger, he did not like church and used to sneak out during the sermon. He was also a great troublemaker and liked to torment his sweet Christian neighbors, the Whetstras. No one was ever able to catch him when he was younger, and he took pride in that.

Andrew had many siblings, but he was very attached to his six-year-older brother Bastian, or Bas, for short. Bas was different than other kids though. He couldn’t speak and would only be dressed, stand under his elm tree, and eat. Nothing else. Regardless, Andrew loved him dearly, and was heartbroken when he died when Andrew was only eleven. He missed his brother so much; he would stand under Bas’s elm tree every day.

Unfortunately, a shadow began to creep over Europe. The beginnings of WW2. Germany began advancing, and in order to keep them out, the citizens sunk part of Holland. A severe lack of room for the poor people that had to evacuate their sunk homes began. But no matter what they did, they couldn’t stop the Nazi. The Germans invaded, and on May 14, 1940, Holland’s Prime Minister surrendered.

Andrew was furious and wanted to do resistance work, but he was too little. He despised that. He knew he had to prove himself if he wanted to help, so he came up with a plan. He fire-crackered the German headquarters, and if that wasn’t enough, he stole a gun from a Dutch collaborator. On one of his adventures, he was shot at. If God hadn’t had bigger plans for Andrew, he would have been dead. But Andrew never saw his escape that way and kept giving himself the glory. His efforts paid off, because when the Resistance saw the German Luger pistol, they welcomed him. He began the job of clogging up the German’s car engines by dumping sugar into the gas tanks. The older he got, the more he was at risk of being taken for the German army, but again God stopped that from happening. And again, Andrew ignored God.

Now, Andrew was in a pickle. He was grown, and all he had ever known was war. So, he went to India to fight the PIN with the Dutch. It was a terrible war, and Andrew was deeply ashamed of things he had done. He went home, when he was shot in the ankle, but it was not the same without his mother, who had died. Andrew was overridden with guilt and shame and was angry at the world. And he still refused to turn to God.

He went to a rehabilitation program at a Veteran’s hospital in Doorn, as a last resort. But God could still be seen throughout his time there. They took him to church, although he was very drunk. Andrew had really sunk to his lowest. But it was there, that he finally opened himself up, allowed himself to listen, and heard God. While everyone was singing “Let My People Go”, he suddenly realized he needed to let go and let God, but it took a while for it to sink in. But when it did, he became obsessed with knowing God. He had been starving for God his entire life, and now that he had finally gotten a taste, he couldn’t stop.

Then something that didn’t seem important at the time, changed the course of his life. He went to a church in Amsterdam with his old friend Kees. Paster Arne Donker was preaching, when he suddenly said he felt there was a young man in the room who would become a missionary. Andrew and Kees felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave, but suddenly, without thinking, both he and Kees felt a conviction, and walked to the front. Paster Donker was pleased and asked them to speak their testimonies on the mains street in Sint Pancras. Andrew was so nervous to speak, but little did he know that this was just practice for what was to come.

Both he and Kees went to the WEC missionary school. (Worldwide Evangelization Crusade) One of the tests they had to do was to travel through Scotland with only one pound, preach about God, and return with a pound. They had to trust God to provide. When Andrew and his four friends got back, they had ten extra pounds left! Another time, Andrew led a violent drunk man back to the Lord, even after he tried to kill Andrew! Finally, he graduated. But now he had to wait to see where God would lead him.

He didn’t have to wait long. Andrew soon came upon a magazine that was filled with the smiling faces of Chinese, Russians, and Poles. It was showing off Socialism and Communism like they were a good thing. In that moment, he felt the strong conviction telling him he had to go behind the Iron Curtain. He saw that there was to be a festival in Warsaw in July welcoming everyone. So, he wrote to them asking to be let into the country, not bothering to hide that he was a Christian. If God wanted him there, he would provide a way. All Andrew was required to do was trust. Easier said than done. But when the reply came, it said they would love him to come and see how superior Communism was and to debate Christianity. He jumped on the opportunity the Lord had provided to share the gospel.

He filled his bag with copies of the booklet “The Way of Salvation” and went to Warsaw. The city was impressive, but behind the face was the damage of WW2. People sat homeless, living in the rubble. Surprisingly, though, the churches were open. He spread some of his booklets to soldiers as well. This was all and good, but he was troubled to learn that in Russia, Bibles were scarce.

Andrew went to Czechoslovakia for free on his next trip, but he snuck away from his group to go see the churches. He learned that the Communist government took away the old Bibles promising a new translation that would never be published. Pasters were also not allowed to preach a free sermon but had to have the government approval before they spoke on a subject. Also, they were not renewing some paster’s licenses that they didn’t like. Unfortunately, because he snuck away, Andrew was forbidden to come back into the country. But he had already seen that something needed to be done with the problem.

He started writing about his experiences in a magazine so others could understand how in need people were for the gospel. Not long after that, a strange occurrence happened. Karl de Graff, a friend, came to visit him. He told him that he felt that God wanted him to tell Andrew he needed to know how to drive. By this time, Andrew had learned not to question the ways in which God works, so he got his license.

He next journey was to Austria to go and assist the refugees. Andrew was shocked at the refugees’ lack of knowledge about the Bible. Day after day, he spoke to them about the bible with amazing results. Christianity caught fire there, because the people were desperate for the hope only God could bring.

Next, he applied for a visa to enter Yugoslavia, but he was rejected. Even after he was denied, he felt like the Lord was telling him to go there, so he applied in person. And remarkably, he got the visa.

Then came the surprise, Mr. and Mrs. Whetstras, the poor Christian couple he tormented as a boy, gave him their car! Good thing he knew how to drive. He stowed many hidden Bibles in the car, many that were in plain sight. When he drove up to the border, he was horrified to see that soldiers were dismantling other cars in a search for illegal items. Even if he hid the Bibles, they would still be found. But God made the seeing eyes blind and he got through.

Around this point, Andrew married Corrie van Dam. She went with him to the refugee camp as he continued bible smuggling. Once he even placed the bibles on the car’s passenger seat, and boarder control didn’t see them. It was a miracle. Another time, he ate lunch while the men searched, but when they saw him pray over his food they ran away. It was as if God had shielded his messenger.

As time passed, they traveled to America where a book was written about Andrew’s experiences. Now people all around could hear about the very real injustices that were being committed. Over time he had five children, had gone to China, and started the Christian organization Open Doors. He went from running away from God, to doing a 180 and serving Him for the rest of his life. Andrew died September 28, 2022, evermore, God’s secret agent.

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