The 2012 Liberia International Scripture Blitz: The Power Of Prayer

by The Gideons International on May 15, 2012

student in Liberia with copy of God's Word from Gideons

One of the students in Liberia who received a Scripture during the 2012 International Scripture Blitz. © 2012 The Gideons International.

In late February, Gideons converged in Liberia for an International Scripture Blitz (ISB). The ISB team included Gideons from the USA as well as a Gideon from Australia. Also, ten Gideon camps from Liberia participated in the blitz.

“We experienced the power of prayer,” says ISB Team Leader, Tim Sharrock.

Getting Scriptures out of the port proved to be somewhat of a challenge. But God provided a way and Scriptures were delivered to the team the morning after the members arrived.

The Gideons were delighted to see doors were open to them. “Every institution was very receptive to us. Prayer and Bible reading were evident in the schools, universities, and even the police headquarters,” says Sharrock.

Students in Liberia proudly display their new copies of God's Word received during the blitz. © 2012 The Gideons International.


Sharing God’s Word in the Schools
Gideons in Liberia had pre-delivered their existing stock of Scriptures to the schools, so that once Gideons arrived at the schools, the Scripture supplies were in place for distribution. That saved time and resulted in more New Testaments getting into the hands of school children.

At one school, many of the children kissed the New Testaments as they received them, and other children placed them against their hearts. All of the children thanked the Gideons for their copies of God’s Word.

As Gideons were leaving the school grounds, they could hear the children sing, “I pray to Jesus and he answers my prayer, I am praying my way to the Lord, the Lord is coming to take me home.”

“What a joy we had in hearing that song,” said one of the Gideons.

Presenting a Bible to the President of Liberia
The ISB team saw the remnants of the long civil war that ravaged the country. However, the government is stable and favors Christianity.

Working through the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Gideons from the ISB team had the privilege of presenting a dignitary Bible to the President of Liberia, Her Excellency, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She is the first woman elected as a head of state in Africa. She is a Christian. In 2010, Newsweek named her one of the top 10 leaders in the world. She also was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and was re-elected to a second term.

Testimonies from Liberia
At the Pastors Event, one pastor stood up and proclaimed that he was raised a Muslim, but he had been given a New Testament from a Gideon. He read it and as a result, came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He said that today he is proud to be a Christian and a pastor preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some of the Gideons befriended an employee at the hotel where they were staying. When asked if he knew who Jesus was, the employee replied, “Yes, he was a prophet.” He stated that his entire family was Muslim. So one of the Gideons gave him a New Testament. Every day the Gideons witnessed to him, quoting Scripture passages. On the last night of the Gideons’ stay at the hotel, the employee gave his life to Jesus, accepting Him as his Lord and Savior. “I was lost but now I am found,” he told the Gideons, sharing that he is now very happy to have Jesus in his heart.

truck with scriptures loaded up

Fueling the truck to make more Scripture distributions in Liberia. © 2012 The Gideons International.


The National Field Coordinator for The Gideons International in Liberia said, “It was a blessing to see groups of God’s children reaching out to the lost through the distribution of God’s Word. During most of the distributions, especially while explaining the mission of The Gideons International, I always felt God’s presence. Men, women, boys, and girls were all enthusiastic in receiving God’s Word. You could see it in the expressions on their faces.”

By the end of the 1-week blitz, Gideons had distributed over 111,000 copies of God’s Word in a number of approved areas of distribution including schools, universities, jails, hotels, hospitals and military & police stations.

We praise God for the testimonies from this blitz, as well as for the testimonies we pray will come as a result of the Scriptures distributed there. And thank you for your support in helping us get God’s Word to the lost.

{ 2 comments }

Ukraine ISB 2012: Sowing Seeds Of Hope In A Land Of Sorrow

by The Gideons International on May 11, 2012

Urkaine students reading Bible recieved from The Gideons

Two school boys read their new copies of God’s Word. © 2012 The Gideons International.

The following is a report from Ken Stephens, of The Gideons International, one of the team members who participated in the 2012 Ukraine International Scripture Blitz.

In April, an international team of 7 Gideons from the USA and Finland joined forces with a team of Ukrainian Gideons for an International Scripture Blitz (ISB). The goal was to distribute 40,000 copies of God’s Word in Dnepropetrovsk, a city of about one million people.

The people of Ukraine have suffered greatly in the modern era. It is generally accepted that about 7 million Ukrainians died in a man-made famine in 1932 and 1933 under Stalin.

Even today, many Ukrainians hover at the edge of poverty. It is against this dark backdrop of suffering that we intended to shine the light of the Gospel as we shared God’s Word.

A Life Changed During A Hospital Placement
We joined forces with a couple of the other teams to place New Testaments in a large hospital. The conditions were appalling by anyone’s standards. The building itself was dilapidated, and there were five beds crowded into each room. There was one bathroom on a hall to serve about 40 patients.

The rooms were poorly lit, but I could see the fear and desperation in the eyes of the patients. Almost all the patients gladly accepted a New Testament for their bedside, and many of them asked for prayer. One man stood up and said, “I want to change my life.” We went through the plan of salvation verses in a Personal Workers New Testament, and he prayed for God to forgive him of his sins and asked Jesus to be his Savior. His life was changed right there!

The Cost Of Being A Disciple
On another day I found myself going from classroom to classroom distributing New Testaments in a trade school for electricians and welders. My partner was Viktor, another Gideon with seemingly limitless zeal for the Lord. I would make a brief Gospel presentation about the book they were about to receive, pass out the New Testaments, thank the students and teacher for their time and then move quickly to the next class. Each time, I would have to go back and get Viktor because he was still talking to the previous class. I asked Viktor why he was so “on fire” for Jesus. He told me that his grandfather had spent 10 years in prison because of his faith in Jesus, and he had to leave Viktor’s grandmother to raise their seven children alone. Viktor knew the cost of being a disciple first hand, and his love for the Lord was intense.

A Scary Reminder Of The Need For Sharing God’s Word

Investigators search bomb scene

Ukraine officials investigate the bomb blasts that occurred near the hotel where the Gideons had been staying during the blitz. © 2012 The Gideons International.

On Friday, our last day of distributing Scriptures in Dnepropetrovsk, as we were packing up to leave, my interpreter, Sergei, came to me and said, “We need to return to the hotel. There has been some trouble.” When we returned to the vicinity of the hotel, the street was blocked off and uniformed police and military were swarming all around. It seems some bombs had been detonated near our hotel in front of a popular restaurant that the blitz team had been frequenting all week.

The disruption caused by the bombings came after our work was done and did not hinder us from leaving the next day as planned. At the end of the week, the teams had distributed 87,007 copies of His Word, more than double the original goal. Thanks be to God! Continue to pray that the Ukrainian people will partake of The Bread of Life and that their spiritual hunger will be satisfied.

–Ken Stephens
The Gideons International

Look for the full story of the 2012 Ukraine ISB in the Oct/Nov edition of The Gideon magazine.

{ 3 comments }

A Hospital Patient Is Grateful For God’s Word

by The Gideons International on May 8, 2012

Recently we received the following thank-you letter at our headquarters. We would like to share it with you. And also we thank you for your support in helping us share Scriptures so that more men, women, boys and girls can come to know Jesus while receiving the blessing of His Word.


Dear Gideons International,

I would like to thank you so much for your Scriptures that you give to so many people. I am writing this note on top of a Bible you placed in the mental hospital where I am currently a patient. I don’t know what I would do without a Bible in here, and we need even more. I am attempting to get a Christian group started here, and your book enables me to do that.

Again, thanks so much for spreading the Word of God.

Kristen
Medical Lake, Washington

{ 1 comment }

← Previous Entries