Connie and I stood in line, along with other people, outside Checkpoint Charlie, the gate for foreigners into East Berlin. . . . Finally we were in front of the window. The guard looked at our passports, looked in a book, and then turned and said something to another man behind him.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

He turned and gave me a stern look. "Come with me," he said.

We were questioned then they opened my handbag. There they found two books. One of them was one of my books which had been published in East Germany. The other was a copy of Billy Graham's Peace With God which had also been translated into German.

The officer picked up Billy Graham's book and shouted, "What? A book by that machine gun of God!"

I laughed, "I like the name you give to Billy Graham. I will tell him what you called him the next time I see him – God's Machine Gun. However, if I am not allowed to take the books with me into East Berlin, I will just give them to you and you can let us go on."

"Oh, no," he said sternly, "it is not that easy. First we have to write up your deposition."

. . . "Lord," I complained silently, "why are You keeping us here when we need to be about your business in East Berlin?"

Then slowly it came through my stubborn Dutch mind that God had us in the guard office for a purpose. He not only loved the Christians in East Berlin but he loved these Communist guards also – the officer and the typist. . . . I remembered the words of Jesus when He said, "You will be led before kings and governors for My name's sake. This will be a time, an opportunity, for you to bear testimony. Resolve and settle it in your minds, not to meditate and prepare beforehand how you are to answer." (Matthew 10:18-19)

Suddenly my attitude toward the officer changed. Instead of an enemy, I saw him as one of those for whom Christ died. Now I answered every question testifying of my faith in Jesus. It became almost a kind of game.

I asked the officer, "Do you ever read the Bible?"

"No, I am a Marxist," he said stubbornly.

"The Bible was written especially for Marxists," I said. "It says that God so greatly loved the Marxists that He gave His only begotten Son so that any Marxist who believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

. . . I handed Billy Graham's book to the officer. "Sir, be sure and take this book by God's Machine Gun home with you. It will change your life."

He tried to look severe, but behind his eyes I could sense both hunger and thirst. Without saying a word he took the book and slipped it into his briefcase. He handed my book to the typist and motioned her to put it in her purse. Then he opened the door and pointed in the direction of East Berlin.

(Excerpted from Tramp for the Lord, First published 1976)