The Gideons International

The 2012 Liberia International Scripture Blitz: The Power Of Prayer

The Gideons International — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:35:56 +0000

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.

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.

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.

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

The Gideons International — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:49:28 +0000

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

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.

A Hospital Patient Is Grateful For God’s Word

The Gideons International — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:37:43 +0000

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

Sharing God’s Word In Miami

The Gideons International — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:37:15 +0000

In February, over 150 Gideons and Auxiliary from the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico and South Africa joined together to share God’s Word in the Miami Metro Blitz.

Along with the city of Miami, the blitz also included the Dade County area of south Florida, comprising almost 1,900 square miles. With 3.2 million residents and 12 million visitors from around the world annually, the need for God’s Word is great.

For more than 30 years, the University of Miami has been closed to Scripture distributions. But local members have prayed faithfully for an opportunity to reach those students. Prayers were answered in God’s timing as Gideons were finally able to distribute God’s Word on the campus. Members were given specific instructions regarding distribution, prefaced with the caveat that this was a spiritually dead environment. Nonetheless, to the delight of those carrying out the distribution, over 1,000 people received a copy of God’s Word that day. Students, staff, and campus guests willingly received New Testaments, and many stopped to seek more information and express their gratitude. One particular young woman was involved in Zen and became very interested when a local Gideon shared with her about the Bible being the true source of wisdom.

Approximately fifteen miles away, two team members arrived at Miami Dade College – South Campus. They found tables and chairs had been set up in a low-traffic area. Only a few students came through. But God brought exactly the number He wanted. A team member shared, “He gave me confidence and the words to witness to students in a way that I have never experienced before. I was blessed to lead eight of the students to acceptance of Jesus as their Lord and Savior.” One young man said he was Muslim, one professed Buddhism, three claimed to be Catholic, and the others had no real spiritual beliefs at all. He discussed with the students what it meant to be a sinner, and explained our access to God’s unending love and the grace offered to us through Jesus. While no student was the same, they all had the same need—Christ as their Savior.

At a middle school distribution, the principal came out to speak with one team member just prior to dismissing the students. Sternly, he acknowledged that the Gideons had the right to be on the public sidewalk, but he warned that the distribution would be stopped if any Gideon approached the students. He alerted the security at the school, and as the students started coming out, he began shouting, “Stranger Danger…Stranger Danger…you don’t have to talk to any adults and you don’t have to take any literature!”

While the team watched prayerfully, the intrigued students began approaching them to see what this was all about. Gideons began offering New Testaments, and as word spread, more and more students came to get their own personal copy of God’s Word. Several parents thanked the team for being there and doing what they were doing. What could have been meant for evil, God meant for good.

At a doctor’s office, a woman became very emotional after receiving a New Testament from an Auxiliary member. The woman went on to explain that she had been an addict but had been clean for 14 months. She began to cry and expressed that Christ was exactly what she needed. The Auxiliary member took her through several verses in the back of the Medical Testament, and the tearful woman prayed to receive Christ right then and there.

By God’s provision, 108,213 Spanish, English, and French Scriptures were placed and distributed during this one-week blitz. Lives were impacted through the direction of the Holy Spirit and the activities of members from various cultures and walks of life. However, the opportunity does not end. Titus 3:7 reminds us that, “…having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” People in Miami and all across the world are still searching for the hope that we have to offer through Christ.

God’s Saving Grace Reaches A Jail Cell

The Gideons International — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:44:17 +0000

My childhood was not a happy one. My mother was always telling me she didn’t want me around.

I do, however, remember a few “God moments” in my life, one of them being a sign at one of the vacation Bible schools I attended. It read, “Ye must be born again.” I didn’t know what it meant, but it stuck with me.

By the time I reached my upper teens, I was having major problems at home and ended up in the county jail. I had no TV, radio, visitors, cellmates or even hygiene products.

There were only a few books—including a Bible placed by The Gideons. I started reading it, and everything that I had ever read in all vacation Bible schools seemed to finally “click.” I got down on my knees and prayed for the Lord to come into my heart. Immediately, I felt at peace, and knew that I was loved by Someone at last.

My step-grandmother said she would like to give me a home, so I was released into her custody. I know this also was God-ordained, because I had nowhere else to go.

I am an adult now, and my mother and I have made peace. She is a believer now, also. I am now very active in jail ministry, because I believe this is where the Lord wants me. I have been commissioned as a women’s chaplain. I want the women to whom I minister to know that no matter what they’ve done, or who they are, God’s saving grace is there for them also.

Thank you for putting Scriptures in the hands of prisoners, hospitals, and all the other places they are found.

Auxiliary Distributes Medical Testaments In Nashville

The Gideons International — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:40:35 +0000

NASHVILLE – The Auxiliary of The Gideons International (wives of Gideons who serve in the association) distributed Medical Testaments at the national conference of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN), Tuesday April 24th at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Shirley Wright, an Auxiliary member who participated in the distribution, said that by Tuesday afternoon the team of Auxiliary distributed approximately 200 Medical Testaments. Many attendees expressed their sincere appreciation for their very own copy of God’s Word. In the past year, over 200 national and state medical conventions were attended by Auxiliary members around the USA.

This was Shirley’s ninth distribution at a medical convention in the past year.

As an Auxiliary member now for 30 years, Shirley says she has grown spiritually serving beside her husband who has been a Gideon for 30 years as well.

“The nurses and medical personnel give us encouraging words about how they use the Testaments,” says Shirley. Earlier in the day, one nurse shared an amusing anecdote. Not only had her Medical Testament come in handy for witnessing to others, but that recently she even used it as a makeshift splint in an emergency situation.

Shirley explained that it’s important to share God’s Word with medical workers as they are in contact with people who are open to what God has to say.

“They come into contact with people who are hurting and searching for answers to their problems. And they’re afraid, too. Medical personnel can use the Word to comfort and encourage patients,” says Shirley. She added that the New Testaments give medical workers a chance to witness to a lost individual at what may be the one time in a person’s life that they are open to hearing the Gospel.

“It’s an important avenue for us as Auxiliary and I’m happy that we serve the Lord in this way,” says Shirley.

God’s Word Brings Comfort To A Soldier

The Gideons International — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:47:35 +0000

In July of 1967, just prior to boarding a plane for Air Force Basic training in Texas, my dad, a World War II veteran, handed me a Gideon New Testament. He hugged and kissed me without saying a word. During my flight, I opened the book to discover that Dad had been given the Bible on January 6, 1943, at the time he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 147th Army Infantry in the Fiji Islands.

I confess that the New Testament stayed inside my footlocker from that day until November of 1969. At that time, I was halfway through my four-year commitment and stationed in Louisiana.

This was a very anxious time for me, but not because of my service. I had already been to Vietnam and had safely returned. Rather, I worried because I had no direction for my life and no clue about what I would do after I left the Air Force.

I remember being drawn to the footlocker—or to that “Good Book” within. I opened the pages and read Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” I continued to read and learned that Jesus would forgive my sins and remember my iniquities no more. What comfort those words gave me then, and they continue to comfort me today—41 years later.

Growing up, I had gone to Sunday School and certainly “knew of” Jesus. But it took those days in 1969 to really “get to know” Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord.

After my discharge from the service, I spent the next 25 years of my life serving as a police officer and always knew it was God’s plan for me. Now I have a second career and feel the same way about it being God’s plan and not mine! More importantly, I have continued to read God’s Word each and every day since that day in November of 1969.

There is a special place in my heart for Gideons and the Good News that they share—not just for me, but also for my dad who found comfort in the Word and knew I would, too. So, thank you Gideons for your wonderful service to Him.

George Butler
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

The 2012 Thailand International Scripture Blitz

The Gideons International — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:32:16 +0000

In late January and early February, an International Team of Gideons conducted an International Scripture Blitz (ISB) in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thailand.

The team included Gideons from Australia, the United States, Germany, the British Isles, Korea, South Africa, Sweden, Finland, Taiwan Republic of China as well as local Gideons in Thailand.

“The spirit of unity that prevailed the first week continued right through to the end of the second week,” said Raymond Christinat, the ISB team leader. He also commended the local Gideons for their great commitment and dedication.

The Gideons were well-accepted by the people of Thailand. Though about 95% of the people there are Buddhist (1% or less are Christian), they are very open to other faiths. Religion in Thailand is very intertwined with public life. In fact, some public schools have daily prayer.

There were several instances during the blitz where the seeds sown by previous Gideon activities could still be seen bearing fruit.

During one distribution, a woman recognized the New Testaments being handed out and approached the Gideons. She shared with them that she had received a New Testament about 40 years earlier as a school student. That New Testament was instrumental in her coming to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The National Field Rep for The Gideons International in Thailand said that he regularly meets Christians in Thailand who share similar stories of how a Scripture placed by Gideons was instrumental in their coming to receive Christ as Lord and Savior

At one of the universities where Gideons were placing Scriptures, a young student-leader of an on-campus Christian organization helped the ISB team coordinate blitz activities. He revealed to them that it was through a Scripture given to his school teacher by The Gideons International that he came to receive Christ. He also shared that both his sister and mother have come to know Jesus as their personal savior.

During the 2-week distribution, Gideons and local Auxiliary, distributed and placed over 255,000 copies of God’s Word. That included over 102,000 copies at schools and over 139,000 copies at universities. Distributions and placements were also made at jails, hotels, hospitals, military installations and police stations.

Recent church growth in Thailand may signal an emerging Christian movement. A new camp in Chiang Mai is planned to open soon.

Pray that many will receive Christ in the days ahead. Continue to pray for strong church leadership and that Christians will grow in sound doctrine. And please pray for growth of The Gideons International in Thailand.

God Is Always On Time

The Gideons International — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:28:30 +0000

Have you ever questioned God’s timing? Or have you questioned if God really works things out for His will?

We are reminded of God’s profound wisdom and how He can work all things together to accomplish His will in this passage:

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” –Romans 8:28

Here are three testimonies from our blog that demonstrate the perfect nature of God’s timing:

During a Scripture Blitz in Brazil, Gideons were confronted by an angry young man who threw the New Testament he was given onto a nearby roof. But as you’ll see, that action had greater significance than anyone might have suspected at first. Read the amazing testimony here.

By placing a Gideon at a church presentation on a given Sunday, God not only changed the course of a young girl’s life, but in doing so, He worked things out so that she would someday be in a position to lead a lost soul to Jesus Christ within hours before it would be too late. Read the full testimony here.

Only minutes after receiving a copy of God’s Word from a Gideon, Maria Graver received an alarming phone call that would change her life. See how God’s timing was at work to help Maria come to know Jesus as Lord and to give her peace when she would need it more than ever. Click here for Maria’s testimony.

Two Different Languages, One Lord and Savior

The Gideons International — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:41:14 +0000

We recently received the following testimony from a Gideon in North Carolina. We would like to share it with you.

During the 2012 International Scripture Blitz in Brazil, while making a distribution at a college research facility in Rio, I walked out onto the street. I noticed a police car only a short distance away. Two police officers were assisting a wrecker, picking up what appeared to be an abandoned vehicle. I watched but did not approach the police officers. God was telling me to go, but my feet did not move.

After 5 minutes of refusing God’s direction, I started to approach the scene. Once I got there, both officers looked at me.

“Do you speak English,” I asked the officers. They shook their heads and indicated, “No.”

I then handed each of them a New Testament, written in Portuguese. They both nodded, and expressed their thanks.

One of the officers continued to stand by me, looking at the New Testament. I then pulled out my English copy of the New Testament and indicated to her to please turn to the last page in in her Portuguese copy.

Together, each in our own language, we read the plan of salvation. I showed her how I had signed the decision page in my New Testament many years ago. The police officer again nodded that she understood and then took a pen and signed her name on her Testament’s decision page. To God be the Glory.

John Groesser,

North Carolina

(Edited by The Gideons International)