Tramp For The Lord - Corrie ten Boom

With Jamie Buckingham.
Published by Christian Literature Crusade & Fleming H. Revell Company: Pennsylvania & New Jersey, 1974.

 More a collection of short anecdotes from her life than a straight-forward narrative, Tramp For The Lord tells of Corrie ten Boom's life and ministry following the events outlined in the book The Hiding Place. The stories don't take place in any chronological or thematic order, but are short bite-sized chunks of faith and challenge from a remarkable evangelist. Corrie came to fame as an unlikely evangelist following her experiences in the concentration camps of World War 2. In Tramp we see her travelling the world by faith, going wherever she feels the Spirit leading and speaking to whomever she feels God prompt her to.

In humble and self-deprecating fashion, Corrie often highlights stories in which she has learned 'the hard way' some truth from God, but is also able to gently point to moments where her faith in God has been stronger and has led to fascinating moments.

One such memorable incident involves a travel agent who changed the order of Corrie's itinerary. Corrie, who always chose her order of travel based on the promptings of the Spirit, rang the agent to query this change:

"Why have you changed my schedule?" I asked. "My Chief has told me I must go first to Cape Town and after that to Tel Aviv. However, you have changed the sequence. God is my Master and I must obey Him."
"Then God has made a mistake," she said, half-seriously. "There is no direct flight from Australia to Africa since there is no island in the Indian Ocean for the plane to land and refuel. That is why you must first go overland to Tel Aviv and then down to Cape Town."
"No," I argued. "I cannot follow that route. I must do what my Chief has told me. I'll just have to pray for an island in the Indian Ocean."
We both laughed and hung up. "Lord," I Prayed, "if I have made a mistake in hearing Your direction, please show me. But if I heard correctly, then open the way."
An hour later the girl called back. "Did you really pray for an island in the Indian Ocean?" she asked, incredulous. Before I could answer she continued, "I just received a telegram from Qantas, the Australian airline. They have just begun to use the Cocos Islands for a refueling station and beginning tomorrow will have a direct flight from Sydney to Cape Town."
I thanked her and hung up. It was good to know that God does not make mistakes in His plans (pages 89-90).

 Stories like this make the book a fascinating and faith-stretching experience. Elise and I took a long time to finish this one, as it is the sort of book that is worth digesting over time.

Completed with Elise, 11 July 2020.

(Elise Books)

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