Chapter one

     Andrew grew up in a Dutch town called Witte. As a child he dreamed of adventure and imagined himself a spy behind enemy lines. He would often attempt daring "missions". On one occasion, Andrew was passing a neighbor's kitchen window as she was baking cookies. He saw a piece of glass nearby and it gave him an idea. He picked up the glass and climbed up a ladder to the roof. Silently he placed the pane of glass on the chimney. Then he crept back down the ladder and across the street. He hid behind a fish-peddler's cart to watch the house and see if his sabotage had been a success. Sure enough the smoke backed down the chimney. It filled the kitchen and began to curl out the open window. The lady who was cooking ran into her kitchen with a scream, jerked open the oven door and fanned the smoke with her apron. Andrew watched from his hiding place and celebrated his victory.       Each Sunday gave Andrew another opportunity to practice his skills as a secret agent. Andrew did not like church when he was young, so he would sneak out of the chapel after his family had already sat down for the service. Then just as church was ending he would stand by the doors of the church and listen to people talk about the sermon. Later he would use the comments he had heard others use to convince his parents that he had indeed attended church.

      In September of 1940 life changed in the little town of Witte. The Germans invaded Holland and the next day Holland surrendered.

     At first Andrew took every opportunity to live out his fantasies of resistance. He even dared to throw fire-crackers at soldiers in broad daylight. But as the war continued, the Germans began kidnapping Dutch men and boys and forcing them to work for them. At that point Andrew fled any time he caught a glimpse of a German soldier. Finally in 1945 the war ended, and the people all rejoiced.

Chapter two

     Although World War II had ended, Holland was still involved in conflict. The Dutch East Indies, colonies of Holland, were rebelling and claiming independence. So when Andrew's father told him it was time for him to pick a career, he chose to join the army. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to find the adventure he had been seeking all his life.

     In December of 1946 Andrew said farewell to his family and traveled to Indonesia where he began his training. Andrew liked running the tough obstacle courses (scaling walls, swinging across creeks on vines and wriggling under machine gun fire), but when he finally fought his first battle, he realized that combat was no game. He saw the death and the suffering that he was causing all around him and he became disgusted with himself. He was so depressed that he even wanted to kill himself.

     From that point on he lived carelessly. When he fought, he fought as a mad man. When he drank, he drank until his reason was gone. But living this way did not take away the confusion in his mind. So he wrote about his concerns to his pen pals. Most of them told him not to worry about it, but one girl he had been writing, Thile, seemed to understand the guilt that he was feeling. She told him about God's forgiveness, but Andrew did not understand. He could not see past his guilt.

     The next time Andrew went out to battle, he was shot in the ankle. Andrew had accepted the fact that he might die in combat and had even hoped for death. But he had never considered that he might spend the rest of his life crippled. His great adventure had failed, and at 20 years of age he was beginning to think that there was no real adventure anywhere in the world.

Chapter three

     hospital to which Andrew had been assigned was run by nuns. The nuns were always busy treating patients, but they never complained. Instead Andrew heard them laughing and singing all day long. One day he asked one of the nuns why she and the others were always so cheerful. She replied, "It's the love of Christ." And then pointing to the Bible Andrew had beside his bed she added, "You've got the answer right here."

     Andrew's mother had given him her Bible just before he had left for Indonesia, but he had never even opened it. As he lay on his hospital bed, though, he began to read it for the first time.

     The weeks that followed were full of new hope. Thile wrote Andrew a letter that included a study outline of the Bible. Andrew continued to read the Bible and write his questions to Thile. But as Andrew looked at his leg and remembered that he would never by able to run again, he did not feel joy like the nuns at the hospital, but sorrow and resentment. So as soon as Andrew was back on his feet he began to limp to the nearest pub to get drunk and try to forget his heartache.

Chapter four

     After several months in the hospital, Andrew was able to sail home to Witte. But a lot had changed while he had been in Indonesia. His mother had passed away, his brother had married, and his sister had gotten engaged. Little did Andrew know that his heart was about to change, too. Andrew started to read his Bible again, but this time he really understood it. He began going to church; not just on Sundays, but every time there was a service. His behavior was so different that his family even thought something was wrong with him. Then one stormy winter night in 1950, Andrew lay awake listening to the howling wind. He wondered what was keeping him from God; what was holding him back. Finally Andrew let go of his ego and turned himself over to God. He prayed a simple prayer, "Lord, if you will show me the way, I will follow you. Amen." It was the beginning of a new life.

Chapter five

     When Andrew woke up in the morning he was so full of joy that he had to tell someone. He first told his neighbors, the Whetstras who were Christians and they praised God for Andrew's decision. Next he told his friend Kees and he too was encouraging.

     A couple of weeks later Andrew went with Kees to listen to a well-known preacher. Near the end of the service, the preacher said that he had a feeling that there was someone in the audience that wanted to be a missionary. Before they knew what was happening, both Kees and Andrew were standing to their feet even though they had never thought of being missionaries before. They didn't understand, but they trusted that God was calling them into missions. Thile suggested that the best place to start a ministry was at home, so Andrew got a job at a chocolate factory and considered it his first mission field. When Andrew started his job he was shocked. The girls who worked there talked dirty all the time and tried to embarrass him. He felt discouraged, but then he met another girl there, named Corrie, who also considered herself a missionary at the chocolate factory. The two of them began working together witnessing to the other girls and inviting them to weekend Bible studies. Even the girl who talked the dirtiest of all and made fun of the others came to one of the Bible studies and gave her life to God.

     But Andrew didn't feel like God wanted him to work in a chocolate factory all of his life. He knew that there was something more for him to do.

     One weekend at a Bible study, Andrew heard about a school called the WEC (Worldwide Evangelization Crusade) that trained missionaries. When he told his friend Kees about the school Kees was immediately interested and a few months later moved to Scotland to start classes. But Andrew still wasn't sure. He wasn't as educated as Kees. Besides, his injury from the war never healed and he walked with a limp. He wondered if he could really be a missionary with a lame ankle

     One Sunday after he had spent all day praying, Andrew realized that his answer to God's call had always been "yes, but. . ." ("yes, but I'm not educated" or "yes, but I am have a lame ankle") never just "yes". So Andrew finally decided to say "yes" to God. He stopped making excuses and agreed to do whatever God wanted him to do. When he had finished praying, Andrew stood up and took a step forward. All of a sudden he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. At first Andrew was afraid he had twisted it. But as he began to walk he noticed that his limp was gone. That night he walked all the way to church and didn't feel any pain. He continued to walk without limping as the days went by, and even the scar on his ankle began to heal. Andrew realized that God had worked a miracle in his life.

     The next week Andrew sent an application to WEC and he was accepted.

Chapter six

     While Andrew was attending WEC he learned to trust God more than ever before. The students of WEC went on missionary tours through Scotland and they were supposed to rely on God for all they needed (food, housing, transportation, etc.) One weekend Andrew's group was speaking to a large number of young people about Jesus. They needed a way to encourage people to come back again to hear more the next day, so one of the group members stood up and said, "we'd like you all to have tea with us here tomorrow evening." The other group members were shocked. They had no money to buy tea or cups or bread. Thankfully several of the young people in the audience offered to supply milk, sugar, tea and dishes, but there was still one thing missing: cake. Without cake, these Scottish boys and girls wouldn't consider tea tea. So that night the missionary group prayed a very specific prayer: "Lord, from somewhere we've got to get a cake. Will you help us?"

     The tea had been set for 4:00, and the group waited all day to see if their cake would come. Finally at 3:45 the postman delivered a box to Andrew. It was from a friend he had made in London. Slowly Andrew opened the lid and there was a perfect chocolate cake, just in time for the tea.

     God provided for Andrew in many other ways, too. Andrew had no job, but every time he needed money he was given exactly the amount he required at exactly the right time.

Chapter seven

      Near the end of Andrew’s education at WEC he happened upon an advertisement in a magazine that attracted his attention. The article was promoting a 3-week youth conference for communism. Andrew had heard of communism before and knew that one of their teachings was that God was not real but made up in the minds of uneducated people. Andrew wondered if he could go to the conference and share his beliefs in God. His uncle encouraged him to go and even gave him money to pay for the trip. So in July of 1955 Andrew traveled to Poland to meet young communists.

     Thousands of people came to the conference. They were given tours of the best parts of the city, they listened to speeches, and they marched in a parade to celebrate communism. But Andrew did not celebrate. He knew that Christians were being persecuted because of communism and in some communist countries people were not even allowed to have Bibles. As Andrew watched the parade he wondered who would be able to stop such a strong force from spreading and polluting young minds. Just then he looked down at the Bible that he held in his lap. It was open to Revelations and his finger was pointing to the scripture, “Strengthen what remains and is on the point of death.” Andrew knew at this moment that God was calling him to help Christians behind the iron curtain, but how?

Chapter eight

     When Andrew returned to Witte everyone was curious about his trip to Poland. He was even invited to talk about communism to several churches. After one of his speeches, a group of communists came up to Andrew and told him they did not like his speech. “Obviously you haven’t seen enough. You need to travel more, visit more countries, meet more leaders,” one of them said. She invited Andrew to come to Czechoslovakia for a four-week trip with a group they were putting together. Andrew didn’t have much money, but when she offered to pay for his trip he agreed to go.

     When Andrew began touring with the group in Czechoslovakia the tour guides tried to convince the visitors that Christians were free to worship God under communism, but Andrew could see that it was a lie.

     On the last day of the trip, Andrew sneaked away from his group while they were taking a tour of the city so he could visit Czechoslovakian churches. When he found a church he discovered that the church members had to share Bibles because they didn’t have enough and couldn’t get more. The preacher told him it was considered unpatriotic to be a Christian and sometimes it was even hard for Christians to get good jobs. The communists who had invited Andrew on the tour of Czechoslovakia had hoped he would change his mind about communism, but after visiting Czechoslovakia he had become even more sure that communism was no friend of Christianity.

Chapter nine

     After his trip, Andrew began to ask communist countries for permission to visit, but the process was frustrating and slow. He was sent forms to fill out and questionnaires but never a visa. Even while Andrew was waiting, though, God was working.

     After Andrew had written an article for a Dutch magazine he received a letter from a prayer group which had read the article. The letter said that the Holy Spirit had told them to contact him. Andrew was amazed, so he went to visit the group. The group didn’t have a planned order of worship like most churches. Instead they spent most of their time quietly listening to God. But every once in a while someone would share with the group something that God had told them. Several days after Andrew’s visit the leader of the prayer group, Karl, came to tell Andrew what God had told them. “It’s important for you to be able to drive,” he said. Andrew couldn’t see why he needed to drive since he didn’t have a car, but Karl insisted that he should obey God, so Karl taught him how to drive and Andrew passed his driving test on his first try.

     Andrew was so excited when he finally received a visa for Yugoslavia that he called his friends the Whetstras to share the news. Little did he know that they had decided to give Andrew their car if he got his visa. As the Whetstras told him their plan, at last Andrew understood why God wanted him to be able to drive.

Chapter ten

     Andrew packed up his new car with Bibles, tracts and all he would need for his journey and soon he was on his way. No one was allowed to bring Bibles into Yugoslavia so as Andrew came to the Yugoslavian border he prayed this prayer: “Lord, in my luggage I have scripture that I want to take to your children across this border. When you were on earth, you made blind eyes see. Now I pray, make seeing eyes blind.” And God answered his prayer. Although the guards searched his car and opened a suitcase with tracts in it they did not notice the illegal materials.

      While Andrew was in Yugoslavia he found out even more about the persecution of Christians. Children were taught in School that there was no God. One child was even kicked out of school for praying before lunch. People were afraid of being arrested, so many churches met at night, but sometimes even at night the police found them.

     Even though persecution was rampant, Andrew met many people who wanted to give their lives to Jesus. But most of them did not own Bibles and could not get them, so Andrew became more and more sure of his life’s purpose. He would bring as many Bibles as he could into as many communist countries as possible. He didn’t know how he would do it, but he was determined to provide the word of God to those who could get it no other way.

Chapter eleven

     Andrew did not want to leave Yugoslavia. He had made friends there, and besides, he felt lonely in Witte, especially since his father’s death. He wished he had a wife to come home to. He had asked God once before for a wife and God led him to a scripture in Isaiah that said, “The children of the desolate are more than the children of the married.” Andrew understood that God was telling him that he did not need a wife, and that his life would be full of purpose even if he never had children. But Andrew did not want to be alone for the rest of his life, so He asked God a second time, but God gave him the same answer. Andrew decided he’d ask God one more time for a wife. If God told him “no” again he would accept God’s answer and never ask again. But this time God did not say “no”. Instead, one day when Andrew was praying he saw a beautiful face that he recognized floating in front of him. It was the face of Corrie, his missionary friend from the chocolate factory. He began to look for Corrie right away, and after he found her, he visited her regularly. He wondered whether Corrie would want to marry him since he would have to be gone from home so often and he would be in danger every time he went behind the iron curtain. He wouldn’t even have a steady job. It would be a hard life for a wife.

     Andrew had received his Hungarian visa and was planning on visiting Hungary soon. He wanted to ask Corrie to marry him right before he left for Hungary and let her think about her answer while he was gone. That way she would understand what life would be like being married to a missionary. One moonlit night he proposed just as he had planned. He would have to wait until his return to hear her answer.

     Andrew preached and delivered Bibles in Hungary for several weeks just as he had done in Yugoslavia, but this time he was anxious to come home to Holland. Andrew went straight to the hospital where Corrie was working.

          “I’m back, Corrie,” Andrew said. “And I love you. I love you whether the answer is yes or no.”

          “Oh Andy!” she laughed, “I love you too! Don’t you see that’s just the trouble? I’m going to worry about you, and miss you, and pray for you, no matter what. So hadn’t I better be a worried wife than just a cranky friend?”

          The next week as they placed engagement rings on each others’ hands Andrew said, “Corrie, we don’t know where the road leads, do we?”

          “But Andy,” she replied, “let’s go there together.”

Chapter twelve

     Andrew and Corrie were married in 1958. A few months after their wedding they began ministering together at refugee camps in Berlin, Germany, crowded shelters for people who had fled communism. There Corrie found that her nursing skills were badly needed, so when Andrew planned his next trip behind the iron curtain Corrie insisted on staying in Berlin.

     Andrew crossed over into East Germany and discovered that although the church there had plenty of Bibles, they needed a lot of encouragement. The Government was openly competing against God for the attention and allegiance of the people. They knew that church was important to many people because ceremonies (like weddings and funerals) were held there, so the government set up new ceremonies that would take the place of those normally held in a church. For example, many churches had confirmations (opportunities for teenagers to learn about their faith and commit to follow God). But the government started youth consecrations. They were exactly like church confirmations, but instead of committing to follow God the youth vowed to be loyal to their government. In a way, the government was creating a secular church and drawing many people away from real churches.

Chapter thirteen

     After preaching to many churches in East Germany Andrew returned to the refuge camps. When he found Corrie, he was immediately concerned for her. She looked pale and thin and there were circles under her eyes. Andrew regretted bringing her into the refuge camps. He thought that the filthy conditions had affected her health. But when he brought Corrie home and called a doctor he found out that it wasn’t that at all.

     “What’s the matter with her?” Andrew asked anxiously “Matter?” the doctor replied. “Congratulations. You’re going to be a father.” Andrew was relieved that Corrie was not ill. In a couple of months, when she was feeling much better, Andrew started to plan a trip to two of the most dangerous communist countries: Bulgaria and Romania. Corrie was nervous about letting him go. “You get arrested in those countries, and I might never see you again,” she said. But she knew that Andrew was doing what God had called him to do.

     Andrew was nervous too and frustrated. He was kicked out of Yugoslavia on the way to Bulgaria and so he had to go the long way around Italy and Greece. One day when he was feeling especially depressed and fearful of prison he noticed a sign that said “Filipi”. He realized right away that he was in the ancient city where Paul and Silas had been thrown into jail for preaching about Jesus. God used an earth-quake to brake open the prison doors and free them. At that moment Andrew remembered that he had nothing to fear because God was on his side.

Chapter fourteen

     When Andrew finally got across the Bulgarian border, he began looking for Petroff, a Christian man he had heard about during his visit to Yugoslavia. When Andrew checked into a hotel he asked the man behind the counter for a map. “All we have is this one here,” said the clerk, pointing to a hand painted map on the counter. The map had only the largest streets on it, and Andrew did not expect to find the small street on which Petroff lived. But there it was; the only small street labeled on the map, as if it had been painted just for him. The next morning Andrew set out to make contact with Petroff. As he neared his house, he noticed a man walking the same direction. When he reached the door, he glanced for a second into the man’s face and experienced a little miracle: without a word their spirits recognized each other. Quietly they walked into Petroff’s house and closed the door. After introducing themselves, Andrew, Petroff, and Petroff’s wife prayed to thank God for bringing them together.

     In Bulgaria Bibles were so rare that some churches didn’t have any Bibles at all. So when Andrew showed Petroff his boxes of Bibles Petroff cried with joy. The two of them set out right away delivering Bibles to churches all around Bulgaria and preaching about Jesus. Everywhere they went people responded with the same thankful joy that Petroff had.

Chapter fifteen

      In Romania, Christians responded differently. The government treated the church so strictly that most Christians were afraid to even touch a Bible. But this wasn’t true of everyone. One day Andrew went to a church office building to meet with a man named Gheorghe. Neither Andrew nor Gheorghe could speak the other’s language, but when Andrew noticed a Bible on Gheorghe’s desk he got an idea: he could use the Bible to communicate. Andrew turned to 1 Corinthians 16:20 and showed Gheorghe. Gheorghe understood right away and turned to the same page in his Bible so that he could read Andrew’s message in his own language: “All the brothers greet you,” Then it was Gheorghe’s turn. He flipped to Proverbs 25:25 and showed it to Andrew. Andrew read the Bible verse in his own Bible just as Gheorghe had done: “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country,” Next Andrew directed him to a verse in Philemon: “I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord. . .” They continued to share scriptures with each other and had a wonderful conversation for half an hour. Then Andrew gave his box of Bibles to Ion, Gheorghe’s secretary, so that he could deliver the Bibles to everyone who needed them.

Chapter sixteen

     Andrew returned to Witte in time to see the birth of his first child, Joppie. He was born on June 4th, 1959. One year later a second child was born, Mark Peter. Even though the family had two more mouths to feed, they never went hungry. God even provided enough money to buy a house.

     As Andrew’s ministry continued to expand, he began to consider taking on a partner. One day immediately after Corrie and Andrew had been praying a name came to their minds: Hans Gruber. He was a man Corrie and Andrew had met at one of the refugee camps. Andrew wrote him a letter that very night to ask whether he had ever felt led by God to preach behind the iron curtain. Hans replied that when he was in sixth grade he had looked up at a map of Russia and had felt a strange sensation. It was as though a voice was telling him, “Someday you will work for Me in that land.” Since that time Hans had studied the Russian language so that we would be ready to do God’s work in Russia some day. When Andrew received Hans’s letter, he realized that God had been preparing Hans for years to be Andrew’s partner.

Chapter eighteen

     A trip to Russia was Hans and Andrew’s first mission together. They found it difficult to go anywhere in Russia without being watched by policemen, but they were still able to get their Bibles to the people who needed them.

     One night Hans and Andrew were visiting a Russian church. After the service they walked around in the crowd of people who had attended the church service to find out who God wanted them to give their Bibles to. Without talking to each other Andrew and Hans both felt God leading them to talk to the same man. They found out that he was from Siberia and his church had 150 members, but no Bibles. He had been told by God in a dream to go to Moscow where he would find a Bible for his church. It seemed like the least likely place he would find a Bible, but he trusted God and traveled to Moscow to receive his Bible. Hans and Andrew were amazed when they heard his story. Joyfully Hans began to tell the man their good news: “You were told to come eastward for 2000 miles to get a Bible, and we were told to go westward 2000 miles carrying Bibles to churches in Russia. And here we are tonight, recognizing each other the instant we meet.” Then they gave him the Bible that they had carried with them. The Siberian man was so excited that he hugged them both and thanked them over and over again.

     Andrew and Hans told the man that if he met with them the next morning they would give him a half a dozen more Bibles, but when they came to their meeting place he wasn’t there. Ivanhoff, the pastor of the Russian church they had visited came instead. He told them that the secret police had heard them talking the night before and had kept the Siberian man from coming to meet them, so Ivanhoff agreed to take the five Bibles to the man. Andrew and Hans gave the rest of their Bibles to Ivanhoff’s friend Markov so that he could distribute them to other Russian pastors.

     On their way back home, Hans and Andrew passed through the Ukraine so that they could deliver the Ukrainian Bibles they had with them. At one of the churches they visited, someone showed Andrew a pocket-sized Bible. It was ¼ the size of a regular Bible. Andrew was intrigued. He thought about how many Bibles they would be able to fit in their car if they could find a way to print small ones. At that moment, a dream caught hold of Andrew. He hoped that one day he would find a way to print small Bibles like the one he saw in the Ukraine so that he could take more Bibles than he had ever imagined behind the Iron Curtain.

Chapter nineteen

      Hans and Andrew continued to go on missions together and from time to time they split up so that they’d be able to help two countries at once. But there were still times when two men were not enough, so they prayed that God would provide another partner, and it wasn’t long before Rolf joined their team. Andrew’s family also had a new addition: Stephanie, Corrie and Andrew’s first baby girl

     But while Andrew’s ministry and family were growing larger, he continued to look for ways to make Bibles smaller. It was difficult to find a Bible society that was willing and able to take on the unique project of printing pocket-sized Bibles, but finally the Dutch Bible Society agreed to help Andrew and in six months he had the tiny bibles he needed for his next trip to Russia.

Chapter twenty

      It had always been difficult to get visas into any communist country, but Andrew found out when he flew into Hong Kong that getting onto mainland China was the most difficult of all. Everyone Andrew talked to discouraged him. The consulate, the Chinese travel agency, even the missionary family he was staying with told him that it would be impossible for him to get a visa. But Andrew refused to give up. He had seen God do incredible things in the past and knew that nothing was truly impossible. So Andrew began to pray and fast and three days later, just as he had hoped, he received his visa.

      Many of the people in China were excited about their new government. After the revolution, there was less poverty and illiteracy. Andrew tried to give Bibles away to many people, but no one would take them. “Religion is for the helpless,” one Chinese man had said. “Here in China we are not helpless anymore.”

      Andrew knew that not everyone was pleased with life in China, though. When he had first entered the country he crossed over what the soldiers called the “Bride of Weeping”. It was given that name because every day Chinese people tried to sneak across the water and leave their country. When the soldiers would catch them and make them cross over the bridge again, they would weep and beg the soldiers not to send them back.

      Andrew didn’t know how to help the Chinese people, but he prayed that Christians from within China would become missionaries in their own country, and he prayed that one day there would be no more bridges of weeping.

Chapter twentyone

      Andrew often spoke about his travels at churches and other Christian organizations around the world. One day he received a letter from a man named Marcus who had heard one of his speeches at a Bible college. Marcus had been behind the iron curtain like Andrew to pass out information about Jesus and was interested in joining them in their ministry. Andrew realized that he needed more team members, so he told Marcus, "I think I'll let you take a trip with Rolf. Then come back and tell me whether you still want to work with us." When Marcus returned, he was sure about joining their team and so became one of the Bible smugglers.

      Two months later Hans and Andrew left Europe to visit Cuba, the only communist country on the continent of America. The two of them found that there were more freedoms in Cuba than in other communist countries, but even in Cuba, Christians were persecuted. Ministers were considered "non-productive members of society" and were given no food or clothing coupons. Sometimes they were even forced to labor like slaves. But the Christians that Hans and Andrew met were inspired to serve God in spite of the difficulties they faced. One man they met had been a minister but was working as a barber instead because of persecution. After hearing Andrew speak he decided to return to his life of ministry. Similarly, a family had been waiting to leave the country for a long time and had finally gotten permission to do so, but after hearing Andrew's sermon they decided to stay and become missionaries in Cuba.

      While Hans and Andrew were ministering across the Atlantic Ocean, the ministry throughout Europe was continually growing. Soon it would be time to add more team members. Klaas and Eduard were teachers in Holland who had heard about Andrew's work as a Bible smuggler. They were interested in the ministry and came to ask Andrew many questions, but they did not tell him that they wanted to join the team. They were waiting to see what God wanted. Several months later the directors of the school where Klaas and Eduard taught sent the two men letters saying that unless they stopped telling their students about Jesus during class and holding prayer meetings for students in their homes at night they would have to leave the school. When Andrew heard that Klaas and Eduard might loose their jobs he knew right away that they were meant to join his team. Klaas and Eduard were delighted to hear that Andrew wanted their help. They had been praying for months that they could minister with him.

      When Klaas and Eduard became a part of Andrew's work, there were finally enough people to make it possible to return to each of the countries they had visited once a year. Andrew even began to involve part-time members. People who were interested in his ministry would go on a training trip with one of the team members, and sometimes after they returned home they would plan their own missionary ventures.

      Andrew's ministry, now called Open Doors, is alive even today and this year (2005) they celebrated their 50th anniversary. Open Doors continues to minister to the persecuted church in response to Andrew's first calling: "strengthen what remains."

Attempt- to try
Combat- fighting (usually with weapons)
Communism- A system of government that limits personal freedoms (like freedom of speech and freedom of worship) and controls the means of production (like factories and farms)
Desolate (barren)- without children
Ego- pride; conceit
Fast- to go without food for a period of time for spiritual reasons
Illegal- against the law
Intrigued- amazed; interested
Iron Curtain- a symbolic term for the separation between the communist countries and the rest of the world
Missionary- a person who preaches about God and does charitable work (usually in foreign countries)
Persecuted- treated badly because of beliefs
Rampant- uncontrolled; without restraint
Rebelling- resisting authority; fighting against the government
Refugee camps- a place for people to live who are fleeing their country to escape danger or persecution
Resentment- a feeling that someone experiences when they believe that another person has wronged them; like anger
Sabotage- destructive action against an enemy
Secular- not specifically religious or spiritual
Sensation- feeling
Smugglers- people who take illegal items into a country
Tracts- booklets with scripture and/ or information about a certain belief
Unique- one of a kind
Visa- permission to enter a country
for more information please visit the open doors website
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