Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} God's Smuggler To by Brother David ‘God’s Smuggler’ to Receive Biola University’s Charles W. Colson Conviction and Courage Award. LA MIRADA, Calif. — Andrew van der Bijl — known as “God’s Smuggler” — is the recipient of Biola University’s 2020 Charles W. Colson Conviction and Courage Award. Biola President Barry H. Corey , will present the award to Dr. David Curry, president of , who is receiving it on behalf of Brother Andrew. A video of the ceremony will be released on Thursday, March 25. The Colson Award is honored to recipients who have demonstrated a life of serving God by surmounting adversity and overcoming challenges for Christ and his Kingdom. “Brother Andrew is known as ‘God’s Smuggler,’ a nickname well earned by his courageous lifestyle which emerged from his conviction that everyone in the world should have the freedom to know Jesus, no matter where they live,” said Corey. “His bold ministry began in the mid 1950s during the height of the , carrying out secret missions smuggling into areas of Eastern that were closed to the gospel and risky to enter as a Christian believer.” Brother Andrew’s autobiography, God’s Smuggler , tells of his early ministry which has been translated into 35 languages and has sold over 10 million copies. This book’s success led to the launch of his ministry, Open Doors USA , a global organization committed to reaching persecuted Christians. The organization provides Bibles, training, prayer and support for the persecuted Church across the Globe. The Colson Award was first established by Biola in 2014, named after Charles W. Colson. Biola established the award in honor of Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview in consultation with the Colson family. The award honors Colson with recognizing individuals displaying exceptional character that align with the conviction of Biola’s mission to impact the world for Christ through courage and resilience. Past recipients include John M. Perkins , Maggie Gobran, and Joni Eareckson Tada among others. Recipients of the award are found to be individuals who demonstrate unshakable commitment to the truths of a biblical worldview and embody conviction in the face of severe adversity. According to Corey, recipients are people committed to advancing Christ’s kingdom through evangelism, discipleship and Christian worldview training; individuals who defend religious freedom and advocate for the weak and defenseless; and men and women who model bold, visionary and courageous Christian leadership for the next generation. For over 60 years, Brother Andrew delivered Bibles across the globe where Christians are being persecuted and have restricted access to the Church and Christian literature. He has led efforts in countries such as , China, as well as conflict zones in Africa and Central America, such as Nicaragua and El Salvador during their civil wars. God's Smuggler. A True-Life Thriller That Will Leave You Breathless! In the anniversary edition of this electrifying real-life story, readers are gripped from the first page by the harrowing account of a young man who risked his life to smuggle Bibles through the borders of closed nations. Now, sixty years after Brother Andrew first prayed for God's miracle protection, this expanded edition of a classic work encourages new readers to meet this remarkable man and his mission for the first time. Working undercover for God, a mission that continues to this day, has made Brother Andrew one of the all-time heroes of the faith. His narrow escapes from danger to share the love of Jesus will encourage and embolden believers in their own walks of faith. God's Smuggler. As a boy he dreamed of being a spy - undercover behind enemy lines. As a man he found himself undercover for God. Brother Andrew was his name, and for decades his life story, recounted in God's Smuggler, has awed and inspired millions. This bestseller tells of the young Dutch factory worker's incredible efforts to transport Bibles across closed borders - and the miraculous ways in which God provided for him every step of the way. This story is reintroduced in a 35th anniversary edition with a new foreword and afterword. Brother Andrew's story remains as inspiring today as it was thirty-five years ago, and with this new release it will motivate a new generation to risk everything to follow God's call. Genres: Anonymous. awesome book an the narrator was the BEST. Mike Kinkade. Amazing book! Excellent narration and captivating story. Truly a man who lived daily by his faith in Christ. This book will cause you to rethink what it means to be Spirit filled and the role of the Spirit in our lives. Radio Free China. Brother David “God’s smuggler to China” had died at 70 today. Posted by radiofreechina on May 8, 2007. Doug Sutphen (Brother David) has gone to be with Jesus. By Paul Hattaway Special to ASSIST News Service. NORTH BEND, WA (ANS) — At 1:42 am on May 8, Doug Sutphen, who was better-known and loved around the world as “Brother David,” passed away in a hospital near his home in North Bend, Washington. He was 70-years-old. Doug Sutphen is best remembered for leading the audacious “Project Pearl” in 1981 – when one million Chinese Bibles, weighing 232 tons, were delivered by barge to thousands of waiting Christians on a beach in southern China. Time magazine described it as “A remarkable mission…the largest operation of its kind in the history of China.” Many Chinese church leaders today say that Project Pearl was a pivotal moment in their history. The Church had only started to re-emerge after decades of brutal oppression, and the desperate need of believers everywhere was for Bibles. A quarter of a century later reports are still being received of the tremendous impact those Bibles had on whole communities. Chinese Christians consider Project Pearl a key event which contributed greatly to the mighty revival presently sweeping the world’s most populous nation. Sutphen was born in Pennsylvania in 1936. His father’s job in the military resulted in the family moving to California. After a childhood made difficult by his dyslexia, Doug wandered away from the Lord and found his identity in playing football. Blessed with a powerful physique, he was offered a football playing scholarship at the University of Denver and moved to Colorado in 1955. After his college football career came to an end, Sutphen returned to California where he gained employment as a trainee lithographer in a print shop in downtown Los Angeles. This training would prove essential in later years when God called Sutphen to a ministry of printing and publishing the Scriptures in Asia. Before this happened, Sutphen completed a six-year stint in the US Marines. Doug Sutphen’s life experienced a dramatic change when he accepted Jesus Christ during a Billy Graham crusade on 4 September 1963. The change in his life was immediately evident, and he never wavered in his commitment to know and make known the Lord Jesus to as many people as possible. In May 1965 he commenced his career in the Philippines. Sutphen had joined the FEBC (Far East Broadcasting Company), becoming the head of the printing department which produced and distributed millions of Bibles and Gospel tracts throughout Asia. This was the start of 42 years of serving the Body of Christ in Asia, a service which continued up to his death. In the late 1960s Sutphen received a call from God to provide Bibles to the Church in China. China at the time was in the midst of the Cultural Revolution, and its borders were sealed to all outside influence. Most of the Sutphen shared his call with thought he was crazy, or naive, but this Gospel warrior soldiered on. Piece by piece the Lord unfolded His plan to Sutphen, and he was finally able to get a visa and enter China in 1976. In 1979 a few Christian ministries began to carry Bibles into China from Hong Kong. By now Sutphen had joined Open Doors, and he adopted the name “Brother David” in order to protect his identity. Despite leading teams of -carrying Christians into China, which resulted in the successful delivery of more than 30,000 Bibles, Sutphen saw that the needs of the Chinese Church were vast, and that carrying Bibles by hand would never be able to meet the demand. After much prayer with several key colleagues, the plan for “Project Pearl” was birthed. Operating under a cloak of secrecy because of the highly-sensitive nature of the work, Sutphen and his team worked closely with house church leaders inside China and settled on the bold and risky plan to take one million Bibles into China by boat, all at once. Starting with no money or resources, God supernaturally provided everything needed and the delivery was successfully completed in the evening of 18 June, 1981. More than 10,000 Chinese believers gathered along a beach near the city of Shantou in southern China, and took the one million Bibles away in trucks, cars, donkey carts, on bicycles, and strung across bamboo poles. The army arrived at the beach several hours after the delivery, but the vast majority of Bibles (at least 90%) had been successfully moved by the Chinese Christians. Later, the Three-Self church and others tried to denounce Project Pearl by claiming all the Bibles had been confiscated or swept out to sea, but this was not true. Within weeks, Project Pearl Bibles had made their way to hungry believers in 18 different provinces, and letters of overwhelming gratitude poured in from Christians who had received their first copy of God’s Word. The whole of Project Pearl, and indeed Doug Sutphen’s life from the time of his conversion, was focused on seeking first the kingdom of God. For decades he received no salary, and mentioned his personal needs only to God, and never to people. God responded to his faith in a marvelous way, and the Sutphen’s never lacked what they needed. In 1981 the inspirational story of “Brother David” up to that point was told in the best- selling book, “God’s Smuggler to China.” Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Sutphen continued to serve God in many parts of the world. His passion and love for China never diminished, and he constantly sought new ways to get Bibles to the believers there. When religious restrictions started to ease in the early 1990s, Sutphen traveled to China and asked the government-sanctioned Amity Press to print Bibles for the unregistered house churches. Many were shocked to see this man, who had in some people’s eyes been the champion of “Bible smuggling”, now engaging the official Church. He was strongly criticized in some quarters, but Doug forgave his critics and forged ahead. What mattered most to him was that God’s Word would get into the hands of Chinese believers. How they got there was of secondary importance to him. In the first 3 years Sutphen was able to oversee the distribution of an additional 1.1 million Bibles to Chinese Christians, most of them members of house church fellowships. Sutphen also had a great burden for North Korea. He visited the country on many occasions, and by God’s grace was able to share the Gospel with North Korean government officials and diplomats. In 1995 Doug was struck with four heart-attacks in the space of 72 days. Three different doctors told him he was going to die, but Sutphen felt his work for the Church in Asia was not yet finished and continued on. At a time when many of his colleagues were expecting news of his death, Doug and his wife founded a new ministry, Love China Ministries International, and they continued to serve the Church in Asia. Doug Sutphen’s loving wife Meiling has cared for him like an angel. Together they have made a beautiful team, and walked through many struggles and successes together. Meiling broke the news of Doug’s passing, and is heart-broken by the loss of her best friend and life partner. Please pray the peace of the Holy Spirit will comfort her during these difficult days. Meiling plans to continue the work of Love China Ministries from their home in North Bend. God kept Doug Sutphen alive and allowed him to serve Jesus Christ for 12 more years after the doctors announced he would die. These years have been filled with challenges, as partial blindness and the scourge of diabetes have ravaged Sutphen’s body. Still he retained a joyful and positive spirit, and was always full of encouragement to everyone he met. In 2005 I was privileged to spend a week at his bedside in Washington, and felt closely bonded to this dear brother in Christ as we prayed and talked about God’s work in China. Remarkably, in late 2005 Doug made yet another trip to his beloved China to meet with church leaders and plan new strategies for the kingdom of God. Months of planning had to go into finding an airline that could accept his wheelchair and walker, hotels in China with ramps and facilities, and a thousand other things. When the Chinese Christians saw him they hugged him dearly and tears rolled down their cheeks. Here was a warrior of the gospel – someone who had been literally willing to die to bring them the Word of God during their darkest hour of suffering; someone who brought them food when they were hungry, water when they were thirsty, and clothes when they were naked. There are thousands of missionaries working in China today, doing a myriad of different activities, but those who can claim to have been serving the Lord in China as far back as the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s can be counted on one hand. Doug Sutphen is one of them, and the Chinese have long memories. One of Sutphen’s closest friends has been David Aikman, journalist and author of “Jesus in Beijing.” Aikman recently said, “I consider it a rare privilege to have been considered a true friend by this saintly brother. To me, he has always been ‘closer than a brother.’ Overall, there is no other Christian I can recall in the four decades of my own Christian life who has so consistently exhibited such an absolutely Christ-like attitude towards life and towards other Christians; even his adversaries. Quite simply, he is the most remarkable Christian missionary I have ever met.” Jackie Pullinger, author of “Chasing the Dragon,” was another of Doug’s friends. She says, “Doug Sutphen is a warrior who wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. Yet this man I have known for decades was also gentle, kind and used the weapons of faith and prayer and wisdom to bring about a miracle for the sake of his beloved China and his wonderful Saviour.” The last time I saw Doug Sutphen he wanted to share a message for Christians everywhere. He said, “When I die, I want a revival and not a funeral. How about you? Do you want a revival too? Then begin crying out to God. Stop shrinking from His will and begin working under His direction. Take the time to be alone with Him and His Word, and He will begin blessing and giving guidance to you as He has done for me. There is so much more I want to do for Jesus, and sometimes my condition frustrates me. If you have your sight and two legs, please don’t waste them! Our time on this earth is short, and getting shorter every day. There are so many people whom Jesus wants to reach out to, and He wants to do it through people just like you. God Bless You. I look forward to getting to know you in heaven.” There are many who have been deeply impacted by the life and ministry of this warrior of God, who has now gone to his eternal reward. He is now happy, whole, and safe in the embrace of Jesus Christ. Note: Doug Sutphen’s story is told in the book, “God’s Smuggler to China,” which he co-authored with Dan Wooding and Sara Bruce. A Holy Crime: The Night Missionaries Smuggled One Million Bibles into China. On June 18, 1981, several thousand men and women watched from a coastline near Shantou, China as a tugboat that had been christened Michael towed a massive, 137-foot barge and came to a stop just a few dozen feet from land. The observers began wading into the water, some of them up to their necks, and retrieved the waterproof boxes the boat occupants were releasing into the sea. A handful of small boats pushed out toward the barge and were able to grab several at a time. Under the cover of night, the barge and the tugboat began receding into the distance. The recipients hid the boxes where they could, including under trees and overgrowth. Others were handed off to co-conspirators, who were waiting nearby in idling vehicles. All the subterfuge hinted at a drug transaction. While it was true the group was dealing with contraband, it wasn't of the narcotic variety. Each of the boxes contained 90 Bibles, written in Chinese characters, which were notoriously difficult to come by under the country's Communist rule. A group of foreign missionaries had spent millions of dollars and risked their lives smuggling the Bibles into China. It was now up to the subversive citizens who had retrieved them from the water to get the books into the hands of the devout before Chinese authorities arrived—and they were coming fast. Smuggling scripture was something Andrew van der Bijl had plenty of practice in. Born in 1928 in the , Bijl, or "Brother Andrew" as he was known to many, heeded a higher calling after being wounded in the Dutch army. Traveling around the and other Communist- ruled areas, Bijl would obscure hundreds of Bibles in a modified Volkswagen Beetle and talk his way through border or customs checkpoints. It was an interesting juxtaposition—a man of faith breaking man's law to facilitate God's word—and Brother Andrew achieved a degree of notoriety for it after authoring his 1967 autobiography, God's Smuggler . But having a measure of celebrity meant his days of personally delivering Bibles to oppressed areas were over. Instead, he supervised the activities of Open Doors International, a missionary effort that services countries where is discouraged or persecuted. In 1979, Open Doors learned that Protestants and Catholics in China were voicing concern over the limited availability of Bibles in the country. Since the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, many churches had been forcibly shut down and Bible production had come to a halt. Chinese officials never declared an outright ban on the religion, but they continued making empty promises of allowing more Bible distribution. By most accounts, there were simply not enough Bibles to put into the hands of the eight to 10 million Christians in China. Brother Andrew and Open Doors vice president Ed Neteland began plotting an attempt to satisfy demand on a scale that missionaries had never before attempted. Their first obstacle was the ambition to distribute a Chinese Bible, which was not something easily ordered through conventional means. According to a 1981 article in The New York Times , Neteland approached Thomas Nelson Publishers and asked an executive, Thomas Harris, if he would be willing to accept a printing job under a strict veil of secrecy. When Harris agreed, Neteland placed an order for roughly 1 million Bibles to be printed from a Chinese printing plate provided by Open Doors. (Another version of the story has Open Doors talking to Thomas Nelson's president Sam Moore, who demonstrated his Bible's toughness by throwing it against a wall and leaving a shrink-wrapped box in a tub of water over a lunch break.) Harris handled the order—for which he charged Neteland $1 per Bible—by distributing the work between two plants: a Rand McNally facility in Chicago and another press in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After two months, Thomas Nelson delivered the 232-ton order to Open Doors in California. Neteland had used the time it took to produce the books to raise funds for the project via mail order solicitations and television advertisements. (While such public methods of fundraising may have tipped off Chinese authorities to what Open Doors was planning, they couldn’t know when— or how—the volumes would get into the country.) In addition to the cost of Bibles, there was the expense of commandeering a barge, a crew, and other necessary transportation. The Bibles were trafficked from California to the Philippines, where 20 volunteers from the United States, Europe, and England set course for the Chinese coast. Dragging their cargo through a maze of idle Chinese navy ships, they arrived at the Shantou beach on the evening of June 18, 1981. Flashlights flickered on and off between the boat occupants and those waiting on land. A steady cascade of Bibles, poly-wrapped to avoid saturation, flowed for two hours toward the people on the shore who were seeking the freedom to pursue their chosen religion. As the Open Doors missionaries departed, the books' recipients began stowing, stashing, and moving the Bibles, picking hiding places on the beach or dispensing the boxes to waiting vehicles. As expected, Chinese Army patrol authorities were quick to catch on and arrived with menacing intentions. Some of the volunteers were beaten and hauled to jail. Others watched as the Bibles were pushed back into the water, only to be recovered later by fishermen who made a tidy profit selling them. The Bibles that had managed to leak out into the general population were also targeted for disposal. Chinese authorities once dumped a cache of them into a cesspool, believing they were soiled beyond use. Quickly, Chinese Catholics who had witnessed the vandalism hosed them off and sprayed them with perfume. Such was the hunger for these Bibles that even waterlogged and pungent copies were in high demand. In total, Open Doors estimated that the project had likely disseminated up to 80 percent of the million Bibles shipped to China. While many lauded the effort, others—especially those living inside the Communist regime—weren't so pleased. Han Wenzao of the China Christian Council argued that these efforts made religion seem even more of a threat in the eyes of the Chinese government, with Bibles being interpreted as contraband. For Brother Andrew, it may have been the culmination of his life's work of making scripture available to individuals living in areas that were hostile to such religious freedom. Technology has made these attempts easier; for instance, missionaries have floated helium balloons into North Korea that have flash drives containing the Bible attached to them. Despite these innovations, finding the word of God in China can still prove problematic. In April 2018, the country banned the sale of Bibles in online marketplaces. While it's legal to print the Bible, copies can only be purchased at church bookstores.