2015: A Year Of Seeing People Place Faith In Jesus

During 2015, we’ve shared stories of Gideons and Auxiliary as they distributed over 2.1 million Scriptures in 15 International Scripture Blitzes and over a half million Scriptures in ten USA Metro Scripture Blitzes. In the past year, over 84.8 million Scriptures have been placed through The Gideons International in over 200 countries, territories, and possessions.

As our members returned from Scripture distributions, we heard many testimonies of people they encountered placing faith in Jesus as Gideons and Auxiliary engaged them in one-on-one personal witnessing.

Here are just some of the heart-warming testimonies of how God worked through the Scriptures placed through The Gideons International in 2015.

A Young Lady In Louisiana

Richard Marque, a Gideon from New Iberia, Louisiana, had prayed all week for God to place someone in his path with whom he could share the Gospel during the 2015 Lafayette Metropolitan Scripture Blitz. After a distribution at a police station, Marque looked across the road and noticed a young lady walking out of the library. He knew this was the opportunity he had prayed for.

He approached the woman to offer her a New Testament. From that simple conversation, Richard was then able to share the Helps section in the front of the Testament.

“I simply asked if she was interested in hearing God’s plan for her life,” says Richard. “She eagerly nodded yes. I shared the Gospel with her right there at the library.”

After hearing the plan of salvation, the young lady named Tanika made no hesitation in accepting Jesus Christ as her Savior.

A Teacher In Ecuador

During The Ecuador Scripture Blitz in April, Gideons made a distribution at Alfonso Castillo School. They presented New Testaments to three teachers in the staff room. One of the Gideons asked if them if they were Christians. Two of the teachers said they were. However, one of the teachers, Managua, said she was not.

One of the Gideons asked if he could explain to her how she could become a Christian. She said yes. He asked her to open her New Testament to the back and explained the plan of salvation. When he was finished, he asked her if she understood she was a sinner and needed Jesus in her heart. She again said yes and prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Savior.

The other two teachers cried tears of joy as they watched their friend sign the back of her Scripture. They also agreed to provide spiritual guidance and support for their new sister in Christ.

An Assistant Principal In Nicaragua

During the Nicaragua International Scripture Blitz in late June, a team of Gideons arrived at a remote school for a Scripture distribution. They were greeted by a young lady named Griselda, the school’s assistant principal. She gladly escorted them from classroom to classroom as they shared God’s Word with the students.

As the Gideons concluded the distribution, one of them began to talk with Griselda.

“Can I ask you a question? It’s a question I ask people all the time,” said the Gideon. “If you were to die tonight, would you be sure you would go to heaven?” Griselda shook her head no.

The Gideons then read passages in the back of the New Testament detailing God’s plan of salvation. One then asked Griselda, “Would you like to ask Jesus into your heart?” And there in the schoolyard with students looking on, Griselda prayed to receive Jesus.

When she finished her prayer, she looked up with a big smile on her face and hugged the Gideon saying, “Thank you so much.”

As Hebrews 7:25 reminds us, “Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him.”

A Young Lady In San Jose

As Gideons walked in front of the county courthouse in San Jose, one of them noticed a woman wearing a soccer team jersey. He began talking to her about the soccer team. He learned her name was Shirley and she was from Peru.

Shirley shared some of the challenges she was going through and her concerns about finding help to overcome those.

One of the Gideons showed her a copy of God’s Word and took her to the “Helps” section, pointing to the topic of “Fear” and this accompanying verse:

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

Next they reviewed God’s plan of salvation with Shirley. She read those verses and understood what they meant. She then prayed to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

The Gideons encouraged her to begin her Bible reading with the book of John, and to find a Bible-believing church. Then they prayed over her, asking the Lord to give her the peace of Christ and the Holy Spirit in the midst of her struggles.

A High School Student In Argentina

During the Argentina International Scripture Blitz, a student named Nicolas approached the Gideons and began talking with them while they distributed Scriptures at his high school. The boy wanted to know what the Gideons were doing there.

“I told him we had come to share the Truth with him, because these Testaments contain the Truth,” says Tom Odom, one of the Gideons from the blitz. “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.”

A High School Student In Los Angeles

At a high school in Lynwood, a student waited for her bus. She was one of the students who received a New Testament from Gideons during the Los Angeles Scripture Blitz and she was busy reading it.

Several Gideons walking by saw her reading and struck up a conversation with the young woman. They showed her where she could find help for life issues in the front of the New Testament and shared the most important page in the back. She turned to the back of the book and began to read each section out loud. The Gideons talked about how sin related to the world today and then told her about the remedy for it all.

They prayed together and Dashawna signed her name at the back of the book right there waiting on the bus. The Lord is faithful to provide the heart change if we simply make ourselves available to His purposes.

Twelve Young Men In Bolivia

During the International Scripture Blitz in Bolivia, Gideons visited one school where students filled the courtyard for a break from their studies. One young man, Marcos, approached a Gideon and asked where he was from. As the two continued in conversation, the young man’s friends began to gather and listen in.

The Gideon took the opportunity of the gathering crowd to share about Jesus. At the end of his message, twelve students went through the plan of salvation in the back of their New Testaments. Then, each young man signed his own name as having accepted Christ.

In this turbulent world, God’s Word is still “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

A School Principal In Mexico

Near the end of one school distribution, Gideons met Victor, a school principal. Victor explained he did not believe he could be a Christian. When asked why he thought so, the principal said he had visited many churches but no one welcomed him or invited him back.

One of the Gideons pulled out a New Testament and showed Victor the plan of salvation printed on the back page. As Victor followed along with the Scriptures, the Gideon explained that everyone is a sinner, but God still loves all people. Then they talked about Jesus being God’s remedy for sin and explained how Victor could be saved. After more conversation, Victor’s heart opened to the Gospel, and he prayed to receive Christ. Before parting ways, the Gideons from Mexico made sure to find Victor a local church home where he would be welcomed and encouraged to grow his new faith.

Please Pray To See More Souls Saved In 2016

To our members, pastors, donors, and other supporters, thank you for your faithful prayers and donations. You are making a difference.

We give God the glory for all these testimonies and the many others from this past year.

Please join us in praying for even more Scriptures to be placed in 2016 so that more people can come to know the one and only true hope of Jesus Christ.

May you all have a blessed New Year.