Brother Andrew

Have you ever wondered what a hero is? Not a super hero but a hero. A hero doesn't need to have a super ability or wear a cape; all they need is a good heart. A person who will help another person or fight for what is right, now that is a hero. Brother Andrew is one of those heroes; he used to fight for our country but then switched over to fighting for God. He switched over to God when he got injured and nuns were treating him and that got him interested in the Bible. Brother Andrew did what no one would probably think of doing. He smuggled bibles into communist countries that didn't allow Catholicism.

Brother Andrew was born May 11, 1928. He was born in a city called Sint Pancras, Holland. He was the fourth out of seven kids in his family. As a young boy, Brother Andrew joined the Dutch Army but was severely injured in Indonesia. The hospital he was sent to was run by nuns. The nuns were always so happy that he had to ask why. One nun replied "Why Andrew you know the answer to that. It is the love of Christ. But you're teasing me, aren't you?"  She then said, "You've got the answer right here" while she said that, she tapped the bible on the table next to his bed. Brother Andrew then picked up the book and started reading one page at a time. Brother Andrew became so interested that he decided to start preaching.    

Brother Andrew had many adventures. He would travel to communist countries just to smuggle in bibles. In one of his adventures he wanted to smuggle bibles into Danube. There were just a few cars on the border crossing to Danube. Brother Andrew thought that it will take just a little bit of time. He was extremely wrong. The first car almost took an hour to get an inspection! Brother Andrew began to worry about how he is going to get through. As the car in front of Brother Andrew was going he said a prayer to God. He said to Him "Lord I know that no amount of cleverness on my part can get through this border search. Dare I ask for a miracle? Let me take some Bibles out of their hiding places and leave them in the open where they can be seen. Then Lord, I cannot be depending on my own stratagems, can't I? I will be depending on You". He grabbed all the Bibles and piled them on the seat next to him. It was his turn and he drove up to the officer and was prepared to get out but the officer was blocking the door. He gave him his papers and got them handed right back and was waved on. He was shocked on how fast that was. His heart was pounding because he just saw God at work! He never forgot that moment when God saved him.

Although people say that he is such a great hero there are some people who say the opposite. People might say "He isn't a hero he didn't save any one's life or he didn't get any medals." That is true, Brother Andrew didn't save a life by stopping a bullet or saving a drowning child, but he might have saved lives by someone finding God by reading one of the smuggled bibles. You don't need to do something spectacular to be a hero; all you need to do is make a difference. The reason some people think Brother Andrew is a hero is because he did the unthinkable. No one would ever think taking that risk to smuggle Bibles into communist countries. People would be too afraid to even step foot in a country like that. 

The most important lesson of Brother Andrew's life is that a hero doesn't have to wear a cape or have dozens of medals but only a good heart. Brother Andrew thought about other people and felt it was unfair for them to not be able to worship freely. Brother Andrew wanted to end that problem. He had a brilliant idea to smuggle bibles into those countries for those poor people. He didn't want them to give up on their faith. Brother Andrew is a great man. He is one of those people that will never be forgotten!