In 1955, a young Dutch missionary went to a Communist youth congress in Poland, at that time a part of the Soviet bloc. But he wasn’t a communist: he was a Christian. His suitcase contained his Bible, a change of clothes and hundreds of tracts entitled The Way of Salvation, which he intended to give away.
The trip was to change his life. Behind the Iron Curtain, he discovered churches desperately in need of Bibles, support and prayer. Above all, he found a group of Christians who felt isolated and alone and who thought the rest of the world had forgotten them.
One evening during that first visit, he went to a Baptist church in Warsaw where he was invited to speak. He tells the story in his best-selling book God’s Smuggler: “At the end of my little talk the pastor said the most interesting thing of all, ‘We want to thank you,’ he said, ‘for being here. Even if you had not said a word, just seeing you would have meant so much. We feel at times as if we are all alone in our struggle.”
That young man became known as Brother Andrew. And his trip changed the world.
Come along to one of our services to hear about what happened next and what Open Doors UK is doing today...
- St Peter's, Shaldon, 10th August at 11.00am,
- St Michael's, Teignmouth 24th August at 9.30am, or
- St James', Teignmouth 24th August at 11.00am
Please click or tap here to find more information about Open Doors UK (opens in new window)