Each year, Gideons place over a million copies of God’s Word in hotels throughout the world. Bibles are delivered to hotels by Gideons, who also assist in placing the Scriptures in the guest rooms. There is no charge to the hotels, as the Scriptures are funded through donations to The Gideons International. Some hotel guests find such comfort from the Bible, they pack it up with them as they leave. If having that copy of God’s Word helps someone continue on their journey with Christ, then Gideons rejoice.

A single copy of God’s Word in a hotel room has the potential to touch up to 2,300 lives during its six-year life span. Over the years, we have received many testimonies from individuals who have encountered these Bibles and whose lives have been forever changed as a result.

The Door of My Heart

I was 24 when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He had been referred to Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas. My dad was the one person in my life who believed in me. He was my encourager. As I watched this illness steal his joy for life, I began to suffer from anxiety attacks.

When I returned to the motel room one night, I was emotionally drained and full of fear and anxiety. Then, I remembered that a group of people leave Bibles in motel rooms, and I wondered if they did so all the way out in Temple, Texas. I looked in the desk drawer, and sure enough, there it was – The Holy Bible, donated by The Gideons.

I read the 23rd Psalm from the Bible. Before the night was over, I had accepted Christ as my Savior, and I began to feel a strength that I knew was not from me. For the very first time in my life, I understood what it was like to have the “peace that passes all understanding.” I was like a beggar who had found bread.

For the very first time in my life, I understood what it was like to have the “peace that passes all understanding.” I was like a beggar who had found bread.

I remembered someone saying you could hide the Word of God in your heart and use it anytime, so I memorized the 23rd Psalm that night and called on God through that verse in the days that followed.

Over the next several years, I lost my dad and survived a divorce. Today, I am married to a wonderful Christian man, I work at Scott & White Memorial Hospital, and I serve as a pastor.

It’s amazing how a God so holy could reach so low and touch my world, but He had a plan for my life. Many people played an important part in showing me that plan – friends, family, my dad – and a group called The Gideons, who left a Bible in a motel room in Temple, Texas.

Submitted by Phyllis Davis, Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Evant, Texas

The Difference Between Life and Death

Some stories are from those who checked into a room when they felt all hope was lost, only to discover the peace and joy that comes from reading the Good News.

At the age of 45, I lost my job and began drinking heavily. Eventually, my drinking problem and my overall demeanor became so terrible that my wife of 27 years left me, and my children stopped speaking to me. I lost our home, both our cars, and essentially all our possessions. I was a homeless man left to wander the streets. I ate out of garbage cans. I drank anything with alcohol in it. I was truly a lost soul.

I stayed that way for three long years until I finally decided to check into a Samaritan Shelter. While there, I learned where I could buy drugs. One night, when I decided I had suffered all I could stand, I bought a large amount of heroin. My intention was to inject the entire amount at once in an effort to kill myself. With the money I had left, I checked into a hotel. As I sat on the bed with the drugs next to me, I opened the nightstand drawer in hopes of finding a notepad on which to scribble a few last words. Instead, I found a Bible.

As I sat on the bed with the drugs next to me, I opened the nightstand drawer in hopes of finding a notepad on which to scribble a few last words. Instead, I found a Bible.

I turned to John 3, a Scripture reference I remembered from many years ago when I attended church. When I came across John 3:16, I set the Bible down and prayed, “God, if you came to save the world, please save me.” At once, I felt as if a light was shining on me, and I knew that I was not only loved, but my life meant something to God. I flushed the drugs down the toilet, and I gave my life to God.

Today, I am employed at a convenience store as a clerk. I live in a small apartment, and I have reconnected with my wife and family. Together we attend of small country church outside of town.

Thank you, Gideons, for providing that Bible. For me, it was the difference between life and death.

Anonymous email received 2/1/2016

A Blessed Effort

Others have told us they were overjoyed to find a Bible waiting for them in the hotel nightstand while far away from home.

Dear Sir:

It is 9 a.m., and I have been up for over 24 hours. I just walked into my hotel room after completing five beverage services and two meal services on my way from Miami to London, and my first thought when I walked into my room was, “Is there a Gideon Bible in my bedside drawer?”

I have been a flight attendant for almost 40 years. In each city where I spend the night, I have always counted on having the Gideon Bible in my hotel room and have not been disappointed.

I do not know if you have ever thought about the thousands of flight attendants you have ministered to in all these hotel rooms for all these years since aviation began. Having God’s Word in each room is an amazing miracle and I, for one, cannot say, “thank you” enough.

I know of no other organization in the world that fulfills Matthew 28:19-20 better than The Gideons. God has blessed your efforts, and they have been such an inspiration to me. You have blessed countless flight attendants who have many “homes” away from home and can always count on His Word to be there.

Submitted by Melony, from Miami, Florida

We thank God, as well as our members and donors, for making it possible to reach the hearts of so many through the placement of His Word. On behalf of the many hotel guests whose lives have been touched by these Scriptures, we offer a special thank you to hotel owners and managers for allowing Gideons to place God’s Word in their hotels.