My mother died when I was 10 years old. She left behind three children of whom I was the oldest. I felt very alone. My father was a polygamist and the only one who could sustain our family. He scattered my siblings and me throughout his various households. I ended up going to live with one of his other wives.

She had a son who was my stepbrother. He had a job and he took me in to live with him. He was instrumental in my first coming to know the Lord after I attended church with him. I then lost my stepmother through an illness and I had to return home, leaving behind my church. Upon returning home, my family would not allow me to continue in this church.

It was then that my life took a path away from God. I started to live as a lost sheep, completed high school and went on to college. This allowed me to be free from beneath my family’s wings.

It was at college where I received a New Testament from The Gideons International on my birthday. It was my first copy of God’s Word and it was the best birthday gift I could have received.

I pray that God blesses your association so that more people can receive God’s Word. Though I live alone, having this New Testament has put my loneliness in the past.

Heminio (19 years old)
Mozambique

Edited by International Headquarters

Both my mother and father were alcoholics. My sister was suicidal and my brother died from a crippling disease at a very early age. At the age of 13, I witnessed the stabbing death of my father. It was these traumatic experiences that caused me to harden my heart against the world. I got involved with drugs, alcohol, and prostitution, and yet I knew there was something missing in my life. I just didn’t know what it was.

An aunt would come by my house and take me to church with her, but I went reluctantly. I soon began stealing money from the collection plate to support my drug habit, and when I got caught, I didn’t have any more use for that church.

Back out on the streets of Philadelphia, I got more involved with all the destructive vices but that emptiness was still there. I decided that joining the military might be the answer and enlisted in the US Army. However, having gone AWOL twice within eight weeks, I ended up a military reject.

By the age of 30, I was on my third marriage, still searching for something to fill that emptiness in my life. My third wife had come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and she would tell me how Jesus could change my life, but I told her that nobody could change me. She began holding a Bible study in our home, but I did not like the idea of Christians coming over, so I would call my friends, determined to run those Christians out of my house. After a period of time my wife said, “I can’t live like this anymore,” and she packed up all of her things and moved back to Illinois.

Words That Performed Surgery On The Soul
The next day I got up early and began my usual drug routine, then went for a walk in the county park. I sat down on a park bench and began reviewing my life and thinking about all the things people had said about me: “You are useless,” “You are no good,” and “You will never amount to anything.” As those thoughts continued to run through my mind, I came to the conclusion that I would be better off dead. I decided then and there that I was going to go home and commit suicide—but God had other plans.

In the park that day were some faithful men witnessing to the homeless and giving them little New Testaments. One of them walked up to me with a big smile on his face and said, “Do you know Jesus?” I said, “No, and I don’t want to.” When he began to tell me that Jesus loved me, I said, “If you knew all the things I’ve done, and all the people I’ve hurt, you’d see that nobody could love me.”

When I pushed him aside, the Bible he had under his arm and all the Testaments he was carrying fell to the ground. When I reached down to pick up the Bible, my eyes fell on the following Scripture passage in Isaiah. I read, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” Those words did surgery on my soul. I began to cry as I fell to my knees, and that man took one of the New Testaments and showed me more of God’s Word.

That day, I learned that God “…so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…” Then the man turned to the book of Romans and showed me, step by step, how I could be saved. That was the day I prayed and asked Jesus to come into my heart, forgive my sins, clean up my life, and make me somebody. The Lord heard and answered that prayer, and I was instantly healed from my dependency on drugs.

When I returned home, I immediately called my wife and shared with her about my life-changing experience. She said, “I can tell there is something different about you, because we have been talking for 45 minutes and you have not used one curse word.” The Lord had even taught me how to speak proper English.

I can share my testimony today as a result of one little New Testament in the hands of one person asking the question, “Do you know Jesus? Have you accepted him as your Lord and Savior?”

-Leroy

Savannah, Tennessee. To Bob, it seemed like the ideal place to begin his family and his dentistry career. After all, his dad and brother already had a medical practice there. So he and his wife, Detra, moved there after he graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry.

Detra made it a priority to find a good church with a good music program. Bob, however, chose not to attend church with her. Instead, he sought fellowship in some of the local civic clubs. Sadly, some of the people he began to associate with in those organizations helped to re-awaken an old demon in Bob-an addiction to alcohol. And that opened the door for another vice-being unfaithful to his wife.

As the years passed, Detra remained faithful and continued to take their two daughters, Ashley and Lesley, to Hopewell Baptist Church each week. She also volunteered to help out with the church’s youth program and joined the choir.

A Road Trip Becomes Painfully Awkward
One day, Detra learned from her husband’s employees that he was planning a weekend seminar at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. She persuaded Bob to allow her and the children to tag along.

On the drive down to South Carolina, Detra reached beneath the car seat and pulled out a case of audio cassettes.

“What’s that?” asked Bob.

“Oh, you won’t mind this… it’s child psychology,” Detra replied coyly.

She hit the play button on the tape player, and the words began to boom from the car’s speakers.

“First I want to speak to the dads. Dad, I don’t care what kind of car you’re driving. I don’t care what kind of clothes you’re wearing, I don’t care who you run around with, or where you live. If you, sir, are not taking your children by the hand to God’s house on Sunday, and if you’re not living a godly life in front of them during the week…then sir, no matter what those things I mentioned look like…you, sir, are a total failure in life.”

Those recorded words from the voice of Pastor Dr. Charles Stanley hit Dr. Bob like a ton of bricks. He swallowed hard and said nothing.

A Familiar Bible Verse
The family arrived in Hilton Head and checked into their hotel. The girls quickly changed into their beachwear and hurried out to the beach with their mother.

And there was Bob. Alone in that empty hotel room-the finest hotel he and his family had ever seen. Yet the feeling inside Bob’s heart was empty and lonely. He looked outside the window and saw his happy little girls and his beautiful Christian wife walking across the courtyard toward the beach.

He turned away from the window and something caught his eye. It was a Bible lying on the nightstand. “Great. Some idiot has left a Bible in my room,” he said to himself. Little did he know that the person who left that Bible in the room placed it there through The Gideons International.

Bob could not resist the urge to pick it up. As he did, a verse of Scripture he had learned as a boy in Vacation Bible School came to mind…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16

That familiar verse penetrated Bob’s heart. He sat there, anxiously turning that Bible over and over in his hands. He finally realized what he needed to do. So alone in that hotel room, Bob knelt between the beds and prayed, “Father I have sinned against you, please forgive me. I have totally messed up my life, and I need Jesus to be the boss in my life.”

When Detra came back from the beach, she could tell Bob had been crying. And then he told her his news:

“Honey, I’ve been born again!”

However, he had lied to her so many times before. Could she truly believe what he was saying?

Reserving any sign of emotion, she simply replied, “Well, we’ll see.”

A New Life, A New Hope
The first Sunday upon their return home, Detra and the kids went to church…and this time, Bob went as well. At the conclusion of the service, he shocked the entire congregation as he walked forward during the altar call. “I’ve been saved and I want to be baptized,” he told the pastor.

About eighteen months later, Jim, a fellow member at church, approached Bob and said, “We’ve seen what God has done in your life, Bob. We think you would do well serving with us in The Gideons International.”

Dr. Bob looked at him and said, “Jim, I’ve tried joining all the clubs in town, and they didn’t work out.”

“Bob, The Gideons International isn’t a club,” said Jim. “We’re a Christian organization of business and professional men.” And he went on to explain to Bob that one of the activities of The Gideons International was to place Bibles in hotel rooms-like the hotel room in Hilton Head where Bob turned his life over to Jesus.

Today, as a member of The Gideons International, Dr. Bob shares his testimony in churches, encouraging members as they enable more copies of God’s Word to be placed throughout the world by men and women serving in The Gideons International. All to help other husbands and fathers and countless other people like Bob come to receive the hope that is only possible through Jesus. All for the glory of God.

Edited by The Gideons International from the original testimony submitted by Dr. Bob T.

A housekeeper and manager of a hotel receive copies of God’s Word during the Newark distributions. © 2013 The Gideons International.

About 18 months ago, men and women who serve in The Gideons International began praying for open doors and open hearts in the city of Newark, New Jersey. All in anticipation of a Scripture distribution scheduled for April of 2013.

So when the second week of April arrived, over 100 members of The Gideons International converged on the city of Newark and surrounding communities to share nearly 44,000 copies of God’s Word. How would God answer their prayers? Would people accept His Word?

A Seedy Motel–Just The Place To Share The Hope Of The Gospel
On the first day of the three-day event, one of the distribution teams stopped to distribute Scriptures at a motel that rented rooms by the hour. The team did not expect to be warmly received. However, as it turned out, the desk manager was eager to have them place the Bibles there.

One of the motel’s guests overheard the conversation and asked if he could purchase one of their Scriptures. He was given a New Testament by one of the team members, who also shared the plan of salvation with the man. The guest was listening but before he could accept the Gospel, he received a text message and had to depart. We pray God’s Word is already speaking to his heart.

Offering Prisoners Freedom From Sin
On Tuesday, one of the distribution teams visited a correctional facility which housed approximately 3,000 men and women. Prisoners were permitted to come to the doorway of their pods to receive a New Testament. Two of the inmates, Jovan and Shevall, asked for prayer. They were then presented with the plan of salvation and the two responded by praying to receive Christ. At least eight more men there also prayed to receive Christ that day.

“You are the answers to our prayers,” explained one inmate. He shared that they had been fasting and praying for someone to bring them copies of God’s Word. Two women asked for prayer and, with tears streaming down their faces, thanked the team for coming.

Into The Schools And Medical Facilities
On Wednesday, they were able to distribute 1,250 Scriptures at one high school. At another school, eight students prayed to receive Christ after receiving their New Testaments.

The team members also visited hospitals, nursing homes and medical offices. They had the opportunity to offer a Scripture to a woman who was coping with the grief of having recently lost a son, a brother and her husband. Upon hearing of her recent losses, they prayed with her. Afterwards, she expressed her sincere thanks for their prayer.

One of the teams had inquired with one hotel about placing Scriptures in the rooms there. The hotel’s management responded that they had just completed renovations and did not want to place Bibles in their newly remodeled building. The team didn’t give up. They prayed and then one of the team members met with the hotel manager to again request permission for the placements. He also brought along a powerful video testimony of Elliott Osowitt, who had checked into a motel to commit suicide but then encountered a Bible placed by Gideons and as a result, gave his life to Christ and became a pastor.

The Gideon played the video for the manager and a short time later, the team was allowed to place Bibles in the hotel’s rooms.

A team of men serving in The Gideons International prepares to distribute 150 Scriptures at a hotel in the Newark area. © 2013 The Gideons International.

“It’s The Closest Thing To Being In The Ministry That Jesus Was In”
Malcom Funn, who serves in The Gideons International and was the leader for this event, described what it’s like to participate in these distributions:

“Jesus was always out helping and witnessing to the multitudes. When you go on a Scripture blitz and you hand out New Testaments, and you witness to people, you’re doing the same thing Jesus was doing–reaching people on a one-to-one basis, and reaching them in the most intimate parts of their life. It’s the closest thing there is to being in the ministry that Jesus was in when he was walking the earth.”

We thank everyone one who participated in this event, sacrificing their time and personal resources to help share God’s Word. And we thank the pastors and churches who allow us to partner with them to help reach the lost. Of course, we give all glory and praise to the Lord for the decisions made for Christ during these three days, as well as the impact that these Scriptures will make on lives in the future. Please pray that more lives will be touched with the hope of Jesus Christ as a result of Scriptures placed during this event.

After a recent church presentation in Washington state, this testimony was shared with the Gideon church speaker:
 
My name is Aimee. I came to know Jesus and was called to be a missionary through a Scripture received from a Gideon.
 
I grew up in a Christian home, but I didn’t know God personally in my life. I was given a small New Testament from The Gideons International when I was born. It wasn’t until I was 11 that I began reading my small New Testament. I had other Bibles, but I felt drawn to my New Testament. 
 
For some reason, every time I opened it, it opened to the same page. On the page was the verse: John 3:3, “Except a man may be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” I read that same verse over and over for months.  It was when I admitted that I wasn’t born again that God came into my life and gave me His love. 
 
Later, when I graduated from high school, I was given another New Testament. That summer, I traveled to a couple of states to see relatives. I took that small Scripture. It was during that trip that God led me to read that New Testament. Every spare moment during that summer, I was reading. I truly began to meet God in a real way, and He called me to serve Him as a missionary. I went on to serve God as a music missionary for over seven years to 33 countries. God has truly blessed me through The Gideons International.
 

 
Submitted by Lance Lindsley, Puyallup, Washington

By the world’s standards I was too old and too educated to get saved. I was a clueless medical school professor with a dual Ph.D. in neurobiology and biophysics. I had no interest in spiritual matters. I’d never read the Bible. I occasionally attended church just to please my devout Christian wife. I thought Christianity was her hobby.

When I was 52 years old, I was rushed by an ambulance to a local hospital. The emergency room doctor quickly transferred me into the cardiac intensive care unit. As a medical school professor I fully understood the implications of data displayed on the CICU electronic monitors. It meant that I was as good as dead. In my desperation I called out to a God who I did not know. I said aloud “God, if you’re a God, send me a messenger to show me where I made a wrong turn.”

A nurse came into my room. She had the countenance of a Christian and she blushed when I inquired if in fact she was a believer. I learned later that she was a pastor’s mom. My inquiry opened a spiritual door and she witnessed to me as I lay in the hospital bed. She presented God’s plan for salvation verse by verse. At 2 a.m. I repented of my sins and accepted Jesus. I was immediately filled with an indescribable joy. I was stunned and didn’t understand what was happening to me.

The first words out of my newborn mouth surprised me–”Can I have a Bible?” The nurse handed me a New Testament that had been distributed by The Gideons International. The Holy Spirit led me to Acts, Chapter 22 where for the first time I read about some guy named Saul walking on the road to Damascus. I read how Jesus had miraculously transformed him in a flash of faith. I suddenly understood what had happened to me. I was sealed as a born-again believer by the power of the Word.

After my recovery I began serving in The Gideons International, which has given me the opportunity to travel to the uttermost parts of the earth to distribute Scriptures and share the hope of the Gospel. The Lord has allowed me to present the ministry in church services from California to the Republic of Congo. He has allowed me to carry the Gospel into the darkest corners of the earth; I’ve been wrongfully arrested for the sake of the Gospel; I’ve led the lost to Christ in languages that I don’t know; and I’ve led murderers to Jesus. All glory be to God.

I testify as a witness to the life changing power of God’s Holy Word and to how He is using The Gideons International to glorify His name.

Houston, TX

There was a top leader of a religious temple in Thailand who was so strict about the religious laws that he would not even kill a mosquito when being bitten.

Then he received a copy of God’s Word from a member of The Gideons International. Eventually he came to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

Today, he serves as a member of The Gideons International. Regarding his former religion, he says that no human could live up to those standards. He now has a hope for eternity that he never had under his former religion. “Eternity cannot be accomplished by any means other than the blood of Jesus who redeemed us,” he says. “Every breath of my life is from the Lord,” he says.

Edited by The Gideons International

It was on December 27, 1972, that I invited Christ into my heart, experienced the forgiveness of my sins, and was given the assurance of salvation.
 
I was reading II Corinthians, Chapter 5 in a New Testament given to me by a Gideon at the Armed Forces Induction Center in Louisville, Kentucky. At the time of my conversion, I was spending my first night at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. It would be eight months later, after my assignment to Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, that I would have the opportunity to be baptized and to publicly profess my faith.
 
Today, I give God thanks once again for his amazing grace and for the Gideon he sent to the Induction Center to give a brief witness and share His Word. I call this individual the greatest person I never met. Somewhere in Kentucky, an individual gave a monetary gift through their church that made the Scripture placement possible. I owe so much to so many nameless and faceless individuals who cared enough for the lost that they opened pocketbooks, pulpits and church services to make an appeal.
 
Consider me a leper who was healed and takes every opportunity to return and say thanks.
 
The Holy Spirit continues to work in my life, helping me to become the person God created me to be. I am not perfect, and God is not finished with me yet. I have a lot to learn and life is a school in session every day.
 
How will God work through us today to reach those “beyond the walls of the church” with the Gospel?”
—J. A. Geary

We are pleased to announce that The Gideons International has officially organized in two additional countries–Nauru and Anguilla.

Our first camp in Nauru was organized in February with 18 members. The potential for Scripture distribution there is estimated to be 4,600 copies annually.

“While Nauru is a small island, we recognize that there is still a need for people there to receive Jesus,” says Don Gleaves, Director, International Outreach Division of The Gideons International.

Nauru is situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 60 kilometers south of the equator. The island is six kilometers in length and four kilometers in width. The nearest neighbors are two countries where we have camps as well–the republic of Kiribati, and Papua New Guinea.

March brought the opening of a camp in Anguilla. It has 13 members. The potential for Scripture distribution there is estimated to be 10,000 copies annually. Anguilla is situated in the Caribbean and is a British dependent territory.

“Anguilla is another small island and tourism is its chief industry,” Gleaves says. “As an organization whose primary purpose is winning people for Christ through personal witnessing and distribution of Scripture, we pray the addition of Anguilla will expose many of the tourists visiting there to the Gospel, as well as islanders.”

“Thanks to the prayers of many around the world and their generous contributions, The Gideons International continues to discover opportunities to reach people with the Gospel before it’s eternally too late,” adds Gleaves.

In other news, The Gideons International regrets to announce the closing of our ministry in Eritrea. This decision results from the country’s unrest and an inability to establish contact with our membership there. It has been several years since we have been able to successfully ship Scriptures into the country. We pray that in the Lord’s timing, the doors there may re-open.

We thank the Lord for the opening of our two new countries, which now puts The Gideons International in 195 countries.

Located in West Texas, just across the border from Mexico, El Paso is a town with a rich history.

And in March, members of The Gideons International came from states as far away as Virginia and North Carolina to share God’s Word with the people of El Paso during a three-day Scripture distribution event.

It was bright, sunny El Paso weather with wind, blowing sand and dust. “Just smile in the blowing sand and you’ll get a free teeth cleaning,” jokingly remarked one of the local team members.

The goal? Distribute over 61,000 Bibles and New Testaments and return home knowing that at least 50 people came to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the event. And the distributions were to take place over just a three-day period.

The planning for this event had begun a year earlier. Prayers had gone up across several different states for the Lord to bless the planning and other activities related to the event.

Sharing God’s Word In The Sun City

On Monday morning of the event, vehicles were loaded with boxes of Scriptures and the teams set out across El Paso and surrounding areas, ready to share God’s Word. Would there be open doors? And would there be open hearts?

A Gideon distributes copies of God’s Word at a local college campus during the El Paso event. © 2013 The Gideons International

Between distributions, one of the team members met a man named Fernie who was waiting for his clothes to dry at a laundromat. He presented God’s plan of salvation to Fernie, who prayed to receive Christ. The team member then referred the new Christian to a local church where he could grow in his newfound faith.

It was the end of the day and the team members—hot, tired and covered with remains of a West Texas dust storm—had stopped for some rest and refreshment. Sensing a tug of the Holy Spirit, one of the team members approached a man coming down the street and shared the Gospel with him. The man, whose name was Jonathan, responded with a broken and repentant heart as he received Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.

Scriptures Placed In Hands Of Thousands

The teams were able to distribute more than 15,000 copies of God’s Word on campuses at the local colleges and universities. More than 9,000 copies were distributed to local schools. Hospitals, nursing homes, and medical facilities received nearly 13,000 Scriptures. Police, firefighters, border patrols and military personnel were also recipients of God’s Word. And more than 11,500 Scriptures were placed in the area hotels and motels.

At the end of the event, it was obvious that the prayers and the planning had paid off. When it was all said and done, 61,775 Scriptures had been distributed. And the number of souls saved in the three-day period as a result of hearing the Gospel presented by one of our members and praying to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior? 53. We trust that in the weeks, months and even years to come, many more souls will be won as a result of encounters with Jesus through the Bibles and New Testaments placed in these distributions.

And as always happens with these Scripture distribution events, the members who served together day in and day out grew closer together in the true Christian spirit of love.

“Fellowship is the glue that binds us together when doing the work of this ministry. God never meant for us to serve in a vacuum,” said one of the team members.

We praise God for the doors opened and the Bibles and New Testaments distributed during this blitz. We thank all of our members who worked tirelessly to help make this event successful. And we thank the churches and other supporters whose prayers and giving helped make it possible to share God’s Word with tens of thousands in El Paso.