I have had the privilege to have been invited into Albany and Parkhurst Prisons by the Prison Chaplain during the past few weeks. On the 24th July I was able to spend three hours with 21 prisoners at Albany Prison, Isle of Wight. It was a time of great blessing as I was able to share what the Lord is doing through The Gideons International and sharing a number of testimonies of the power of the Word of God.

One prisoner pulled out from the inside of his trousers a polythene bag with his Gideon Testament he received at school in 1976. At the end of my presentation one prisoner asked for prayer and another one wanted to know how he could become a Christian.

On the 7th August I visited Parkhurst Prison, Isle of Wight and spent two hours with fifteen prisoners. Once again it was a time of real blessing.

One prisoner shared his testimony with me. When he entered the prison he was given a Gideon Bible by the Prison Chaplain. When he was given the Bible he said he had no use for it and put it to one side. However, after two years he decided he could take no more and had decided to end his life. He saved up all his sleeping tablets in preparation to take them all at once.

The time arrived when he was prepared to end his life and got the glass of water ready. He put the tablets into his mouth and as he put the glass of water to his lips he heard a voice saying, “I am with you” at which time he spat the tablets out of his mouth and turned to the Gideon Bible and grasped it and said, “Is that you Lord?” As a result of this experience he started reading the Bible and realised he needed the Lord and asked the Lord to forgive him and invited Him into his life.

Every blessing

Gordon Ainger, Member of The Gideons Isle of Wight Branch