“A Gideon Bible was given to me once when I was in prison. That New Testament & Psalms little Bible I still have to this day, because the Chaplain of the prison gave it to me over 15 years ago.

That little Bible gave me hope and it helped me see I needed Jesus back in my life, and through the giving of your little Pocket Testament, I turned back to Jesus and I am still with Him today.

Be blessed and thank you for helping me to find my God and King Jesus, through that little Testament that I still have.

In Jesus’ Love

John”

Over recent months, our members around the country have had the privilege of visiting Girls’ Brigade Companies to present them with their own personal copy of the New Testament & Psalms embossed with the Girls’ Brigade logo.

Many members have spoken of the encouraging time they have spent with the young people in these Companies and their leaders and it is great to be able to share now an encouragement from one of the Companies themselves.

Thank you to Girls’ Brigade Ministries for passing on this great encouragement:

“Hi there,

I am not sure which of your members went to visit our 1st Forest Hill Girls’ Brigade company in South London last night, but I did just want to share the email below from the Team Leader who wanted to pass on her thanks.

I have had such positive feedback from other GB companies, especially about how well your Gideon members talked and interacted with the girls, that it would be great if you could pass on thanks from us to all of them.

Every blessing in your amazing ministry

Rosie”

Morning!

I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the connection between GB and the Gideons and for providing Bibles for our girls.

Our local Gideon reps came last night to GB, spent time talking to the girls and explaining about the Bibles, teaching them how to find certain passages and reminding them how the Bible can be of comfort to them etc.

It was so lovely to have them with us and the girls really appreciated their Bibles – they all ran out to tell their parents at the end of the evening – it was very special. There were lots of comments like “…and it’s just the right size for my pocket”, “I can’t wait to take it to Church” and “now I won’t have to take my big Bible out with me” etc. which was so lovely to hear. And the leaders all loved the design and the connection to GB. It was a great evening and much appreciated by all.

Thanks again

Rachel, 1st Forest Hills Girls’ Brigade

Included in the Testaments is a prayer written by GB member Leilani Mildren of Potter Street Baptist GB Team – 1st Harlow.

Her prayer is…

“Lord, I thank you for Girls’ Brigade. It’s a home from home, my place of peace, a sanctuary of safety. If I’m down it lifts me up. If I’m upset it calms me down. Lord, I thank you for the leaders, they do your work and channel your words to us, guide us and show us your way. Lord, I ask you to bless every member, current, past or yet to join. Help us to find your family and become a member. Help us to seek, serve and follow Christ. In Your name, Amen.”

Pictured is Leilani receiving her very own Testament from Susan Swindale of Stort Valley Branch.

We are extremely grateful for our relationship with the Girls’ Brigade and we thank them for the opportunity to visit their Companies and offer the young people a copy of God’s Word.

“For we believe that Jesus died and rose again” I Thessalonians 4:14

The Son of God, who had never sinned – and who was least deserving of death – died so we could have life.

What an amazing story we have to share with people, of the sacrifice that Jesus gave for us, of the price He paid for our salvation and of the greatest love that anyone will ever see.

We can rejoice, knowing that Jesus rose again and He is alive.

Sharing the Gospel with the Gideon Bible App

The Gideons International provides a Bible App specifically designed for evangelism which allows people to access the Word of God in many different languages, both in audio and written format. For more information about the app click here.

The Gideon Bible App provides an incredible opportunity to break language barriers and share the Word of God with others even if you don’t share a common language, as this Gideon in Australia found out. This is what they shared:

How good it is to share the Word of God.

Yesterday a businessman got into a taxi in Victoria, Australia. He got chatting to the driver, as you do sometimes.

“G’day mate, howya going?”

It turns out that the driver was from Ethiopia and he was studying here.

“You know, would you like to hear something really cool? What is your native language?”

“Amharic”  was the drivers response.

From his smart phone, in just a few seconds the businessman found the Gideon Bible App and went to the audio for John 3.

“Could you listen to this and see what you think?”

To his amazement the driver then heard the Bible in his own language. Wow! What a smile on his face after hearing the Gospel this way.

It was so good the driver immediately wanted this new talking Bible. So the Gideon Bible App was shared in a second through text link as they travelled along the freeway. The driver said he had an orthodox background but said he was not confident of his salvation. The Good News was shared and the driver shared his yearning to read and learn more from the Bible and a prayer was offered at the drop off point.

Later that day the Gideon was in Perth on his business trip and he received a text from his new driving buddy:

“I would like to thank GOD for sending you in my life. I receiving today in my life powerful word. Know GOD spoke to me. Thanks. It was encouraging and touched me. Thank you”

God is at work in this world. Share the Good News this Easter.

We thank you all for your support and wish you a very blessed Easter.

Thank you very much to all who have been praying into this situation and to those who have helped share the call for prayer around the world.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…” 2 Chronicles 7:14

We want to share with you the response received from Hilton following an email sent to them on Friday requesting clarification as to their policy regarding Gideon Bibles. Hilton’s response was received on Friday evening so it has been encouraging to see how promptly Hilton have dealt with this matter.

We won’t quote the entire email received from Hilton but here are some very important and significant extracts:

I have taken extra time to review your letter and my reply on this subject.

Besides that I stated that we are driving to the reduction of printed material in our guestrooms, we (Hilton Brand or Hilton Worldwide) have not issued a specific instruction to remove any Gideon bibles from our guest rooms. At the same time, we are supporting the management of our environmental footprint better, in line with our environmental policy.

Reference on: “the decision of what is placed in the rooms are solely up to the brand management team of that location”…besides that we are mindful of our management on the environmental footprint – each hotel and its management can decide how to execute on this approach. This also includes placement of printed materials like the Gideon bible in a guest room which is at the individual property’s discretion.

Our team members in the hotel do work very hard to serve a range of requests from our guests – either pre-arrival and/or during their stay – if there is a request for a bible, I have not heard that this request was not served. If so – we can work on this.

As stated in previous Blogs, we must continue to promote the ‘Help keep a Gideon Bible in hotel rooms’ campaign:

“With God we shall gain the victory.” Psalm 60:12

Just as we took time to pray let us also take time to give thanks to the Lord for HIS unfailing love and faithfulness. As you read this please pause and give thanks to the Lord…and keep praying that all hotels will be open to receiving Gideon Bibles.

One of the National Office Team had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Gerwyn Roberts (pictured above) recently in his home near Conwy. This was their report of the time they spent together:

“We spent two and a half hours together and had a really Spirit filled time. I couldn’t understand until I met this delightful guy why I just couldn’t get another appointment for later that morning!

God knew why…because I was going to be heartily blessed by this pastor for an extended time.”

During that time Gerwyn shared the following testimony of how the Lord’s amazing power was evident to him and his family during a tough experience:

“It was a very difficult year so we as a family decided to go on a well earned break. This was back in August 2004 but things transpired a bit differently to what we expected on a family holiday in Florida.

To begin with things were going great with visits to Disney World, Sea World and so on. But life has a way of stopping you in your tracks, what I call ‘life’s speed bumps’. And what a speed bump! Hurricane Charley was on its way straight through our resort in Orlando. Things were very tense all day; it was a very uneasy feeling seeing shops and houses being boarded up in preparation for the storms impact.

My wife Lynne, our 8 year old daughter Naomi and I were boarded up in our hotel room waiting for it to strike and then it came. The noise was deafening hearing windows smashing and people shouting, “God help us!” We were powerless, so in desperation I turned and opened the drawer in the bedside unit and found a Gideon Bible so I opened the Bible and it opened at a page that had a verse marked. The verse read “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on our own understanding” Proverbs 3:5.  We felt the real presence and protection of the Lord as we held onto that Bible.

In the morning we opened the door to our room and what we saw was like a scene from a disaster movie. By God’s grace we came through, and thanks to whoever placed that Bible, it was a life saver indeed.

We were given the Bible to take home with us, which has pride of place in the study. We as a family will never forget that frightening night on August 15th, and yes, God’s Word has the power to still the storm!”

Further to the ‘Urgent Call For Prayer‘ Blog on Friday 11 March, we want to update you on the situation that is developing with Hilton. Again, please share as widely as possible.

Firstly, thank you very much for the tremendous support we have received and for all those who are praying into this situation; the response on our social media sites has been very encouraging:

• Over 26,500 people have read the original Blog in 53 countries, literally all over the world.
• 12 March was our highest viewed day since the Blog began with 2,793 views, which was then replaced with 13 March (2,822) and 14 March (4,082)… then yesterday (15 March) with 4,723 views.
• The Facebook post has presently reached over 6,500 people.

We have heard that Hilton has been ‘bombarded’ with emails. The following response was received by one Pastor who contacted Hilton:

Dear Mr…

Thank you for contacting Hilton Guest Assistance regarding the concerns of the Gideon Bibles in our locations. We greatly apologize for any frustration with this matter.

As each location is operated separately, the decision of what is placed in the rooms is solely up to the brand management team of that location. While it is unclear if this concern is for a specific location or all locations, I have noted your concern for our brand team to ensure that they understand the importance of these items to our guest.

We thank you for sharing your comments. Should you have any additional questions relative to this matter, please reply to this email or call our office at 1-888-240-61532.

Best regards,

Specialist

Hilton Guest Assistance

Hilton Worldwide

This response from Hilton is encouraging; however, as well as PRAYING we must continue to promote the ‘Help Keep a Gideon Bible in hotel rooms’ campaign:

We want Hilton to “…..understand the importance of these items to our guest.” If we don’t tell them, who will?

As a reminder, please set time aside to pray between 12 noon and 1.00pm on Friday 18 March; those who are able and feel so led are asked to consider fasting their lunch on that day.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…” 2 Chronicles 7:14

If you haven’t read the ‘Urgent Call For Prayer’ Blog you can do so here

Your prayers are urgently needed

Help Keep a Gideon Bible in Hotel Rooms

It has been brought to our attention over recent weeks/months that Hilton Worldwide have begun to remove Gideon placed Bibles from all of their hotel bedrooms. The CEO of Hilton Worldwide was written to last month and has responded to confirm that Hilton Worldwide have removed all Gideon Bibles.

As we well know from many testimonies received, the Lord has used Gideon placed Bibles in hotel bedrooms to prevent suicides, save marriages and provide hope, comfort and salvation to many desperate and needy souls over the years.

The verse in the Gideon National Daily Prayer Diary yesterday (Day 10) tells us “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…” 2 Chronicles 7:14. Therefore, National President, Fred Kershaw, is calling for as many who are able to set time aside to pray between 12 noon and 1.00pm on Friday 18 March. Those who are able and feel so led are asked to consider fasting their lunch on that day. This is an urgent situation and we must pray. The verse from the Daily Prayer Diary today (Day 11) reminds us “Apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5.

As one Branch reported after visiting one hotel…“One of our Branch brothers visited the hotel and gave 170 Bibles to the manager. She was delighted to accept the Bibles because one of their guests had committed suicide in his hotel room last weekend!”

Let us do all we can to stir God’s people to urgent prayer, specifically on Friday 18 March between 12 noon and 1.00pm. The souls of the lost are at stake and we must be urgent. 

Please share this Blog with as many people as possible and ask others to do the same. On your Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages, in your churches and church newsletters, among your family and friends and urge people to pray for this situation. Let us pray for wisdom in how to respond to Hilton, pray that there will be a change of heart at Hilton and, above all, that God will receive all the glory in this matter.

Finally, let us be encouraged as we read the verse in the Daily Prayer Diary for tomorrow (Day 12) “With God we shall gain the victory.” Psalm 60:12.

The Lord can do amazing things with just one Bible in a hotel room. Read the story of how one Gideon placed Bible sparked revival in Spain here.

Pictured is Rev. Geoffrey Rumble who was pleased to share his testimony with members of the Bromley Branch of The Gideons and the National Office Team who met with him recently.

Geoff, when he was 40 years old was working long hours as an Industrial Engineer, he visited companies throughout the UK and Germany. These companies used tool steels and his specialty was the heat treatment of the steel and involved some Atomic research.

One day he was in his car on his way to Cornwall from South Wales and felt extremely ill, so had to pull over and was approached by a Police Car. This incident was the start of his sickness, which was cancer. He knew he was ill because he couldn’t eat his Christmas dinner! His doctor sent him to Cardiff Hospital where he subsequently spent 15 months being treated for suspected lung cancer. The prognosis was really bad and his family and friends were preparing for his death.

In the bedside locker, Geoff found a blue New Testament & Psalms placed by The Gideons. He doesn’t know why but he decided to read a Psalm every day.

He was very depressed, but at about Psalm 29 he starting thinking, “when I get out of here” His family and friends were still of the view that he would die, but Geoff’s thinking had changed during the reading of the Psalms. Geoff said the Lord spoke to him and said, “you are going to get out of here.” 

By the time Geoff got to Psalm 78, 79 and 80 he was up out of bed walking around the hospital. He started talking to the young men who were in A&E who had got drunk and found his attitude to life had completely changed. He needed treatment for his lost voice and thyroid cancer but recovered through what Geoff was convinced was the Lord’s intervention. He said, “God is good and did a work in my life.” Geoff fully surrendered his life to Christ.

At his home, in Merthyr Tydfil, a minster heard about Geoff’s story in hospital and met up with him and invited him to give his testimony. Soon after, Geoff was asked to lead a failing church down the road with about 10 members, he agreed and it grew to 60 members. The Lord has used Geoff to strengthen a number of small churches ever since and he now serves as the minister at Olivet Baptist Church, Deptford.

“When I was just 15 we had a visit from The Gideons to my grammar school. They came into our class and presented us all with small red coloured New Testaments with the Psalms included. The next day our teacher made us all sit down and write to The Gideons to thank them for their kind. We all had to sound really grateful whether we were or not!!

Mine lay in a drawer at home unused until I was 17 and in my final year at school. Through a series of circumstances, I started to think about spiritual things for the first time in my life and my mind went to the New Testament in my drawer. I looked up the daily readings and for several months I was drawn back, time after time, to read the portion for each day. Even when in the middle of a TV programme, I would have to stop and get the book out and start to read. I was searching for answers to life’s most pressing questions and I was talking to lots of people and seemingly getting more and more confused. But the New Testament spoke with clarity and certainty to my young, seeking mind.

On Sundays, I used to go for long walks and to do a lot of thinking away from distractions and would often stand across the road from a local church and watch the people going in and out and wonder what it was that drew them there. I was especially fascinated by the numbers of young people about the same age as myself. What was it they saw in Christianity?

Eventually, I sought out my cousin whom I heard through the family grapevine had recently become ‘good living’ as it was described, and he invited me to that church with him.

There I heard the message of the gospel clearly for the first time and I attended several weeks in a row, getting a greater understanding of this life-changing message. Then, in my daily readings I came to John 14 v 6 and the words seemed to stand up on the page and hit me between the eyes, “Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.’” I knew I had been looking for those three things – a Way to live, Truth in a confused world, and especially Life – real life. And here in front of me were the claims of Jesus Christ that He was all three!

Shortly afterwards, after an evening service in church, I bowed my head in the back seat of a little mini car at the side of the road and repented of my sin and came to Christ.

The Lord eventually gave me Sheela as a wonderful wife, took us to Bible College and into Christian ministry. We had three children of our own and adopted another son in 2003. In late 2007 after a struggle with cancer, the Lord saw fit to take Sheela to Glory where she beholds with her own eyes the Lamb in Immanuel’s Land.

I thank God for the faithful witness of The Gideons. Never despise the power of the little!”

The Gideon-placed Hotel Bible that inspired a father to write a special love letter to his son.

On the outside, it looked like one of millions of other Hotel Bibles placed by The Gideons. However, when Rodney Jones, a Gideon in Nashville opened it, he discovered this copy of God’s Word contained an extra message – one that would bring him and many others to tears.

It was a Saturday evening and Rodney was in his guest room at a hotel in Tennessee. He was preparing for a message he would be delivering as a guest speaker at a church service the next morning. He needed a Scripture and opened the nightstand drawer to retrieve the Gideon-placed Hotel Bible.

When he opened the Scripture, he discovered someone had written a note on the inside back cover. It read:

Dedicated to the memory of My Precious Son, Christopher, Age 4, who departed this life to be born in Heaven, April 20, 1992.

Dear Christopher, it’s hard to believe it’s been almost seven years since you died. It seems almost like a lifetime ago. I miss you still and know I always will. I will miss all the fun we would have had together and perhaps Cameron, your nephew, will fulfill some of those lost memories. You would like Cameron, He’s terrific, and you would be very proud of your sister Kim and Kevin. They have turned out so well. I know you know all about what’s going on, but it’s not the same as having you here. I will see you again one day and maybe then we can catch up on lost time. I still love you with all my heart and will never forget you.

Love, Dad 4/10/99.

As Rodney read the letter, tears began rolling down his cheeks. He kept the Bible, and immediately put in a request for a replacement copy for the room.

He began carrying that copy of God’s Word to churches where he visited to speak on behalf of The Gideons International. As he shared testimonies with congregations of lives changed after encountering a Scripture placed by The Gideons, he included the story of how he believed this copy of God’s Word provided comfort and peace to a father who lost a son.

One day, he was talking with a pastor of a church where he was planning to speak. He began telling the story of this Bible. After he read the letter penned by the dad, Rodney looked up to see an expression of amazement on the pastor’s face.

“I know who wrote that,” the pastor said. “He and his wife attend this church!”

That Sunday, Rodney stood up in the front of the church, knowing that the father who wrote the letter was sitting in the congregation.

As Rodney shared the story and read the father’s note, many in the congregation began to recognise the names and the events in the story. Afterwards, the pastor announced that this note was, in fact, written by the father in the congregation. By that time, most of the congregation were in tears.

At the conclusion of the church service, the father and his wife talked with Rodney, thanking him for sharing the story, and encouraging him to continue sharing the story in hope that others may find comfort from it as well.