In September, Gideons in New York City welcomed Gideons and Auxiliary from 17 other states as they came together to participate in the 2015 New York City Scripture Blitz.

During this one week of concentrated effort, Gideons and Auxiliary placed Scriptures in the hands of firefighters, medical staff, college students, high school students, prisoners, homeless shelter guests, and many others.

There are over 130 language groups in New York City, so it was important to have Scriptures available in a variety of languages. Gideons and Auxiliary distributed copies of God’s Word in a number of languages including English, French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Creole, Portuguese, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian, and Russian.

Tor Torkelsen, a Gideon in New York City, served as the blitz team leader, as he has faithfully done for many years now. He was very enthusiastic about what he saw happening during the week, praising God for the outcome.
“People were much more receptive to receiving Scriptures this year. There was a greater spiritual hunger,” he says.

Torkelsen was also greatly encouraged to see 248 Gideons and Auxiliary participate in the blitz, many making great personal sacrifices to travel there. “I’m amazed at what God does in the hearts of people who come for the blitz. We had a tremendous team.”

Bruce Fairris, a Gideon from Franklin, TN was one of the team members distributing Scriptures at fire stations and police precincts in Manhattan. “At each location, we were very well received,” he said. He recalled one precinct in which the commanding officer welcomed the Gideons, telling them, “The Word of God is always welcome in this place.”

While Fairris and others were distributing Scriptures at a hospital, a chaplain approached Fairris and said, “Praise the Lord. I received a New Testament in college from the Gideons and placed my faith in the Lord after reading it.” There were many stories of running into people impacted by God Word’s through the simple act of distributing Scripture.

The Gideons were able to visit many colleges in the New York City area including City College and Columbia University in Manhattan, Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, St. John’s University in Queens, and Fordham University in the Bronx.

The Auxiliary Share Christ
The Auxiliary, or wives of the Gideons, were placing Bibles at a nursing and rehab center in the Bronx, when one of the female residents asked, “Do you believe in God?”

“Yes Ma’am, I sure do!” said one of the Auxiliary. The resident, an elderly lady, said she didn’t know God, and didn’t even know how to pray. The Auxiliary responded by sharing Scripture and walking her through the plan of salvation.

Margie Nichol from upstate New York also served in the blitz. She saw a young lady working in the security booth at one of the distribution locations. “I was drawn to give her a Scripture,” says Margie. However, the elevator was loaded with Scriptures and everyone was waiting for Margie, so she left.

When Margie returned to the first floor, the young lady wasn’t there. A male security attendant was now sitting in the booth. He gladly received a Scripture from Margie.

Then, Margie saw the young lady walking to the door. She hurried over to her. “I’ve been waiting to give you this New Testament,” Margie said. The young lady’s name was Diamond. “Diamond never owned or read the Bible, however a co-worker had been reading some scriptures to her and she was hoping to have her own copy.”

Margie then shared with Diamond how she could continue her spiritual journey by reading the Gospel of John. “Then I asked her if she wanted to pray to receive Jesus as her Savior. And she said, ‘Yes!’”

“It is exciting to see how the Lord is blessing this ministry and to see the joy in our members’ faces as they report on the open doors and hearts they encounter in these distributions,” says Torkelsen.

Not A Coincidence
Reza Rasti, a Gideon from Nashville, TN was distributing Scriptures to staff and patients at a major hospital in Brooklyn. “We randomly brought a case of Polish Bibles,” says Rasti.

During the distribution, a woman who was a relations specialist for the Polish community saw the Gideons carrying Bibles and approached them.

“Do you happen to have any Bibles in the Polish language?” she asked.

When Rasti showed her the box of Scriptures in the Polish language, the lady literally jumped for joy, exclaiming, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to have these!”

“There are no coincidences, as we serve the Lord,” says Reza.

God Blesses Personal Witnessing

In a city like New York, there are endless opportunities to lead the lost to Christ.

“It’s a life changing event the first time you lead someone to the Lord, because it changes you.” says Torkelsen. “There’s nothing more life-changing than knowing the God of the universe has used you to change someone for eternity.”

Torkelsen himself would have opportunities to witness during this blitz. Over the years, he and other Gideons have developed friendships with the staff at the hotel which hosts Gideons and Auxiliary from out of town. One of those hotel staff members is Gerard.

“I’ve known Gerard for 14 years,” says Torkelsen. “He is approaching retirement in a few months, and this would be the last time I might see him.” So Tor asked Gerard if he had given much thought to what he would do after he retired. And he then asked, “Gerard, do you know for sure you’re going to heaven when you die?”

Gerard thought a moment and answered, “No.”

Tor then retrieved a Scripture and led Gerard through the plan of salvation printed in the back. Then he led Gerard through a prayer to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

“It was a very special moment,” says Tor, who has prayed for Gerard for years. “My friend is now also my brother in Christ. He already knew from our witnessing to him over the years that we love him.”

There were many encounters like this. Early one morning Lloyd Crum and another Gideon were inside a donut shop picking up their order. Just as they were about to exit, they asked the manager if he had received his free gift. “No,” he told them. So after retrieving a New Testament from their car, the Gideons walked the manager through the plan of salvation. In response, the manager prayed to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. “What a blessing,” says Crum. “God has a plan.”

Prison Time
The Gideons have been conducting blitzes in New York City since 1977. One of the key locations has been Rikers Island jail complex, which manages an average daily population of 14,000 inmates.

Gideons were allowed to speak at a chapel service for inmates and shared the plan of salvation. As they led a prayer for those who wished to receive Christ, 11 inmates responded to the invitation to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. One of the attending officials for the jail took the opportunity to pray to receive Christ, as well.

As the Gideons returned to the main gates at Rikers Island to await their ride, they shared Scriptures with others there, including a 17-year old girl named Yula. Although the Gideons were in a hurry, they took the time to share their hope with Yula and she prayed to receive Christ.

Blitz Results
By the end of the one-week blitz, Gideons and Auxiliary had placed over 243,000 Scriptures in New York City.

“I am truly amazed at how the Lord brings it all together,” says Torkelsen. “Truly, He wants us to know it is all Him and not us.”

Tor also expressed thanks for the many people who donated above and beyond to help provide for the blitz, including providing for Scriptures and transportation.

Please continue to pray for all who received Scriptures during this blitz. Pray they will read and obey the message of the Gospel, and share its message of hope and salvation with others.

An email received this week confirms that Gideon placed Scriptures are being used to touch lives, Praise the Lord!

“I would just like to say a thank you for the work you do. I am a Christian though my family don’t yet know the Lord, my father recently spent some difficult weeks in hospital fighting cancer and I was delighted to see one of your Bibles in the bedside drawer (hopefully he had a quick look!!). Today my 11 year old son, who has struggled to adjust to secondary school life, came home with a New Testament given to him at school, we have been praying for a way to get Christ in!  Thank you!!!

Will be praying for your work and when I can, I will make a contribution to your work. God bless and bear fruit in the work you do. Amanda”

Professional cyclist Alessandro De Marchi posted this photo on social media of himself reading a Gideon placed Hotel Bible as he was preparing for the next stage of cycling’s famous Tour de France race.

Described as one of the most gruelling endurance events on earth, riders spend up to six hours a day on their bike with just two rest days over the three week race period in which they cover over 3,000km.

Nothing can prepare or fuel a person better than the Word of God.

The caption read “Maybe it’s the right reading for the stage of tomorrow” but unfortunately for some people in hotel rooms, there will be no tomorrow.

The following note was found written inside the front cover of a Gideon Hotel Bible: “A woman entered the third floor room of a Brighton hotel intending to throw herself to death onto the pavement below. However she saw this Bible and read about the love of our Heavenly Father and later told the Proprietor how He (God) had prevented her from committing suicide.”

If it wasn’t for that Bible being available, there would have been no tomorrow for that woman. We know that having a Bible in bedside tables saves lives. Suicides have been prevented, marriages saved and lives transformed.

Like

In late August, Gideons in Argentina welcomed an international team of Gideons from South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the USA. For the next week, these brothers in Christ would share copies of God’s Word in the northern city of Cordoba.

The international team leader was David Beaty, a Gideon from the USA. “The local Gideons did an excellent job of planning for this event,” says Beaty. Transportation and distribution schedules were thoughtfully organized, helping Gideons carry out the distributions in a timely and efficient manner at schools, hospitals, and jails.

Because many distributions take place outdoors, cooperation of the weather is always an extra blessing. The Lord blessed this blitz week with beautiful weather and no rain.

By the end of the week, Gideons placed and distributed more than 182,000 copies of God’s Word.

Answers To Prayers
During any International Scripture Blitz, prayers are lifted up for the blitz by Gideons, Auxiliary, and friends from around the world. It’s always inspiring to see how the Lord responds to those prayers.

One prayer item was for the safety of the blitz team members. On the last day of distributions, a team of four Gideons parked their car under a big, 200-year-old tree at a military base. For about 45 minutes, some Gideons waited in the parking space while the others consulted with military officials about distributing Scriptures at the base. The Gideons agreed to leave and come back a little later. When they returned less than an hour later, they discovered the tree had split and fallen within minutes after they first left, destroying a car parked in the exact spot where they had been waiting earlier.

“When you see what that car looked like after that tree fell… we would have all been dead,” says Tom Odom of Louisiana. “The Lord protected us and saved us from that catastrophe. In fact, we could feel the Lord’s protective hand over us the whole time we were down there.”

Placing God’s Word In People’s Hands
Beaty observed the openness of school and college students to receiving Scriptures is often influenced by peer pressure. “If one student accepted a Scripture, those behind would follow. However, if a student refused the Scripture, those behind generally refused the Scriptures, too.”

As Gideons were distributing New Testaments at one college campus, a man approached them and told them he was a Christian. He then revealed he was having some very difficult problems in his marriage. He confessed he was actually thinking of taking his life that very day. One of the Gideons took him aside and reminded him life isn’t always easy, even for followers of Christ, but taking one’s own life is not the solution. He asked the man to pray and trust in the Lord’s divine wisdom to work things out. With tears rolling down the man’s cheeks, he thanked the Gideons and walked away, appearing grateful for the compassion and brotherly advice.

At one high school, a student named Nicolas approached the Gideons and began talking with them.

“I told him we had come to share the Truth with him, because these Testaments contain the Truth,” says Tom Odom. “I also let him know the world is full of lies about how one can go to heaven.”

“Do you want to go to heaven?” Tom asked the boy.

“Yes,” said Nicolas.

Next, Tom showed the young man the plan of salvation printed in the back of the New Testament. “I could sense Nicolas wanted peace in his heart.”

Tom then led Nicolas in a prayer to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Afterward, Nicolas said he had a habit of cursing and asked if God could help him overcome that.

“So we had some further discussion about what it means to have the Holy Spirit inside one’s heart and how much it would help him in many ways. And we discussed the importance of reading his New Testament,” says Tom. “Then Nicolas left with a smile on his face. I know the angels were rejoicing in heaven.”

Giving Thanks For What God Is Doing In Argentina
Gideons first organized a camp in Argentina in 1959. Today, there are 168 Gideon camps in Argentina, and more than 2,000 Gideons and Auxiliary. To date, over 36 million Scriptures have been placed in Argentina through The Gideons International.

We thank our members in Argentina as well as the international Gideons who travelled to share copies of God’s Word in this blitz.

We also thank the rest of our members and supporters throughout the world whose prayers and financial gifts help make blitzes like this possible.

And most of all, we thank our Lord for each and every Scripture distributed during the Argentina blitz. We give Him all the glory and praise for the forthcoming testimonies of lives changed as a result of people receiving those Scriptures.

Every day trawlers of varying size head off to sea from the fishing ports around the coast of the UK.  For many years the Fishermen’s Mission has provided practical and spiritual support to the men and women who skipper and crew these boats and their families.  The Gideons International in the British Isles is now pleased to be able to support the work of the Fishermen’s Mission by providing them with Testaments with their own emblem on the cover.

The first of these Testaments were handed over to David Dickens the Chief Executive of the Fishermen’s Mission and Supt. Steve Murray, Mission Officer for the port of Peterhead on 12 August.  Following the presentation at the Mission Centre, Supt. Steve Murray, David Andrew Zone 1 Trustee and Tony Lovering, Scripture Manager went aboard the Favonius to present Testaments to the crew.  This trawler fishes out of Peterhead and heads out into the North Sea for around 8 days at a time.  Please pray that as the men and women of the Fishermen’s Mission share these Testaments with those involved in the fishing industry over the coming months that they will be willingly accepted and read.

In late August, The Gideons International conducted a one-week International Scripture Blitz in Argentina.

As a team of Gideons distributed Scriptures at a college campus in Cordoba, a gentleman walked up and introduced himself. He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a worn, blue New Testament. He told them he received it from Gideons back when he was in college. He read it and gave his life to the Lord 32 years ago. Today he is a local attorney and still carries that New Testament.

We praise the Lord for this testimony. God’s Word changes lives. And we pray right now it’s changing the lives of others in Argentina and beyond.

Yesterday we received the following encouragement from a member of the public:

“Just had to say a huge thank you for your continued work. The Bible on the left was presented to me in my first year at Grammar School and today 31 years later our daughter has been presented with hers. Such a special moment and so delighted that the ‘Where to find help’ is still there and updated. This guided me through my teenage years and beyond”

If you have a story or testimony that you would like to share with us we would love to hear from you. You can email us at hq@gideons.org.uk

The Gideons International has one simple and clearly defined aim: to win
men, women and young people for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gideons place and present Bibles and Testaments in many areas of everyday life, and engage in personal witnessing – that others will come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Presently over 300,000 Gideon members are placing and presenting 80 million copies of the precious Word of God in 200 countries around the world.

Through the distribution of Bibles and/or Testaments in many different walks of life – Schools, Hotels, Hospitals, Universities, Colleges, Prisons, to name just a few examples – The Gideons provide a Book which provides an ethical and moral code for society, which gives guidance in life, offers comfort in times of sorrow and loss, inspiration, and deals with many of the issues that people of all ages, nationalities, ethnic and social backgrounds face on a day to day basis.

In placing and presenting Bibles and/or Testaments, the achievement of the object of the Association, as stated in its Constitution, which is to win men and women for the Lord Jesus Christ, is often evidenced as being achieved through the many letters, emails, and telephone calls of testimony received in National Office, by individual Gideon and Auxiliary members and by branches. Many of these testimonies are regularly printed in Gideon News, the official publication of The Gideons International in the British Isles and posted on the Association’s website http://www.gideons.org.uk.