A Special Day In The History Of The Gideons International

It all began at a hotel in Montana.

A Gideon named Archie Bailey approached the operator of the Superior Hotel to ask a favor. Would he allow Mr. Bailey to place Bibles in the guest rooms? Permission was granted, and on November 9, 1908, Bailey placed the first order for hotel Bibles with The Gideons International. That was more than 1.9 billion Scriptures ago.

Today, members of The Gideons International place and distribute Scriptures in a number of other distribution points including schools, college campuses, prisons, hospitals and military installations.

Here are a few testimonies we’ve received this year of people impacted through hotel Bible placements by The Gideons International:

From A Hotel In Hawaii

After a series of failed marriages to abusive men, Ramona began down the path of destruction filled with drugs and alcohol. Then one night while drinking with some friends in a hotel in Hawaii, she saw a Bible in one of the hotel room drawers. She took it home. It would be another two years before she read it.

She described it in her own words: “It was like the words on the pages came to life and my eyes were opened. God began to cleanse me of the anger and unforgiveness. He set me free from the things that bound me. Reading the Bible, I cried out to God, forgave those who had hurt me, and discovered God’s love gave me new life. He loved me in spite of knowing every horrible thing about me. He changed me from the inside out.”

We thank Ramona for sharing her testimony and we praise God for the changes in her life as a result of receiving Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

Six Days And Nights

Mike grew up in a broken home and became addicted to alcohol at a very young age. He married at the age of 17. He continued to abuse alcohol, drinking from the time he got off work until bedtime. He was verbally abusive to his wife and three daughters. “I did a lot of damage over the 23 years of my marriage,” says Mike.

In October 2012, Mike’s wife kicked him out of the house. “She was hurt and stunned, as were my kids, by the terrible things I had done. I had ripped my family apart,” he says.

Alone in a motel room, Mike opened the drawer to the nightstand and saw a Bible placed by a Gideon. He opened it and started reading. “I stayed in that room for six days, just God and me, all day and all night.”

God’s Word and the Holy Spirit touched Mike’s soul. “I asked God to forgive me, come into my heart, save me from my alcohol addiction, and take it completely out of my mind. I cried and begged, Lord Jesus, please don’t let me lose my family. If You do this for me I will serve You for the rest of my life.“

Mike’s faith and the Lord’s faithfulness helped him give up alcohol. He returned to his home in White House, Tennessee and told his family the news that he had placed his faith in the Lord. “With forgiveness from my family, I told them I was a changed man, and was going to live my life for Jesus. We started attending church. Now, all three of my daughters have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. All three are baptized and living by the Word of God. Praise Jesus!”

Gideons Share God’s Word With A Motel Employee

When Gideons visit hotels to place Bibles in guest rooms, they also take the opportunity to share God’s Word directly with the staff.

This year Gideons met Kim, a motel desk clerk in Ogden, Utah. When they showed up to place Scriptures there during a blitz in April, Kim told them she had been wanting to know more about Jesus. She said her grandfather told her about the Lord years ago, but she never chose to make Jesus her personal Savior.

The Gideons gave her a New Testament. “This contains the greatest love story ever told,” they said. Kim’s eyes brightened when the Gideons told her she could be with her grandfather someday in heaven.

Kim received Jesus Christ that day and signed the decision page in her New Testament.

We praise God for making it possible to reach so many people throughout the world with His Word. And we thank our members, pastors, donors, and other supporters. You are helping make a difference in the lives of people throughout the world.