Here is a visual of the letter that I sent to each child:
Here is the text of the letter I sent (I had to squish the lines together to fit the entire text in the letter format):
Dear Name, I'd like to share another story with you!
Brother Andrew was born in the Netherlands in 1928. He served in WWI, where he was shot in the ankle while fighting. When he was recovering in the hospital, a nurse shared the gospel with Brother Andrew and when Brother Andrew returned to his home, he accepted Christ and dedicated his life to serve God. This is one story from his life serving God. In the 1940’s, Communist countries in Europe made it illegal to own Bibles or follow Christ. Brother Andrew brought many Bibles into these countries and he shares this story:
"When I pulled up to the checkpoint, I said to myself, "Well, I'm in luck. Only half a dozen cars. This Romanian border crossing should go swiftly." But when it took forty minutes to inspect the first car, I began to worry...literally everything that family was carrying had to be taken out and spread on the ground. Every car in line was put through the same routine. The fourth inspection lasted well over an hour. The guards took the driver inside and kept him there while they removed hub caps, took his engine apart, removed seats. "Dear Lord," I said, "what am I going to do? Any serious inspection will show up these Romanian Bibles right away.” "Lord," I went on, "I know that no amount of cleverness on my part can get me through this border search. Dare I ask for a miracle? Let me take some of the Bibles out and leave them in the open where they will be seen. Then, Lord I cannot possibly be depending on my own stratagems, can I? I will be depending utterly upon You." While the last car was going through its chilling inspection, I managed to take several Bibles from their hiding places and pile them on the seat beside me. It was my turn. I put the car in low gear, inched up to the officer standing at the left side of the road, handed him my papers, and started to get out. But his knee was against the door, holding it closed. He looked at my photograph in the passport, scribbled something down, shoved the papers back under my nose, and abruptly waved me on. Thirty seconds had not passed. I started the engine and inched forward. Was I supposed to pull over, out of the way where the car could be taken apart? Was I ... surely I wasn’t...I coasted forward, my foot poised above the brake. Nothing happened. I looked out the rear mirror. The guard was waving the next car to a stop, indicating to the driver that he had to get out. On I drove a few more yards. The guard was having the driver behind me open the hood of his car. And then I was too far away to doubt that indeed I had made it through that incredible checkpoint in the space of thirty seconds. My heart was racing. Not with the excitement of the crossing, but with the excitement of having caught such a spectacular glimpse of God at work!" Wasn't that a neat story? I loved hearing Andrew's words.
I'm praying for you and I love you! Love, Hannah
P.S. I included photos of Brother Andrew and a map showing where the Netherlands is located.
I googled the Netherlands to find map and googled Brother Andrew to find photos of him.
Feel free to copy and paste this letter to your kids also!
