July 2026

Letter from the Committee

Trust

Andrew van der Bijl was no stranger to war and hardship. He spent his youth under Nazi occupation in the Netherlands and later suffered an injury as a soldier in Indonesia. As his physical wounds healed, Christ reached into Andrew’s deep spiritual pain and healed his heart. Filled with a new and radical faith, Andrew answered his Father’s call and became “God’s smuggler” to countless nations and communities behind the Iron Curtain. Brother Andrew, as he became known, crossed border after border with a Bible-stuffed Volkswagen Beetle and a powerful trust in God to make “seeing eyes blind”. His obedient trust in God’s sovereignty dissolved borders and planted seeds that remain fruitful today.

We like to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We respect those who are self-made. In a world where those around us at times fail to follow through, we are attracted to the illusion that we stand taller when we aren’t leaning on others. We have the benefit of knowing ourselves, seeing the limits of determination, perceiving our own desire and motivation, and acting on the instinct we gain through experience. This is known, it is familiar, and it feels reliable.

However, most of us have walked through enough of life’s ups and downs to have reached a point at the farthest reaches of our efforts… and still fell short. These moments that reveal the true, tenuous nature of our personal strength disenthrall us from any notion of absolute self-reliance.

We were made to abide in Christ.

It is in Him where our confidence may rightly reside. As Brother Andrew often remarked, the Great Commission isn’t about safety. The journey of obedience often carries risk and danger. Yet, storm or calm, we are secure in our place as heirs of the Heavenly Father. We are loved and redeemed by Him, sealed and guided by Him, steadied and held by Him.

If you are too weak to hold on, know He is holding on to you. If you are burdened by lies challenging who you are as His child, affirm who you know Him to be. In dwelling upon His character, He will nurture truth within you. He can be trusted in growing our trust in Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

May God carry the truth planted in you across borders of all kinds to reach those who are yet to meet Him!

Your Stoa Alumni Committee,

Samuel Durand (CA), Nicole Kaiser (MT), Eliyah Speed (OK), Elizabeth Stapleton (OK)

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