The 2016 Philippines International Scripture Blitz

In January, Gideons and Auxiliary from the Philippines conducted the 2016 Philippines International Scripture Blitz. They were joined by an international team of Gideons from Australia, the British Isles, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Republic of China, South Africa and the USA.

With a Scripture goal of 1.5 million copies of God’s Word, there was much excitement among the team members in anticipation of how the Lord would show up during the two-week event. However, the number of Scriptures they could distribute wasn’t what was fueling their activities.

“From the beginning, we agreed this blitz wasn’t about how many copies of God’s Word we could distribute, but rather how many souls could we touch,” says assistant team leader, Jeff Audrain, a Gideon from Nashville, TN.

When God Speaks

After distributing Scriptures in 40 classrooms at the Lolomboy National High School, Gideons entered one more classroom. It was filled with 18 hearing-impaired students. Jon Wold, a Gideon from South Dakota, stood in front of the students and presented the plan of salvation, while the teacher interpreted the message in sign language. The Holy Spirit was at work as well. After the message, Jon asked the students to pray along with him if they wished to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. At the conclusion of the prayer, he asked how many prayed along. All eighteen students raised their hands, many of them smiling and communicating with their lips or hands, “Thank you, Sir.”

A Lunch Time Gospel Revival

Gideons were eating lunch at a local restaurant in Mabalacat City when they noticed a group of students reading the New Testaments presented to them during a Gideon distribution that morning. One of the Gideons walked up to the students and asked if they understood what they were reading.

A boy named Darryl, confessed he had some confusion. Their conversation ultimately led to a discussion with the students about understanding God’s ultimate plan for their lives.

The Gideon told them about man’s broken relationship with God, caused by sin, and the need for reconciliation with God. The students were excited to hear and read for themselves of Jesus’ sacrifice as an acceptable payment for our sin. The Gideon explained, they could each pray to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

They all prayed together to receive God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation. Then they held a short devotional and the Gideon reminded them to share the good news of the Gospel with others.

All To The Glory Of God

During the two weeks, Gideons and Auxiliary saw students, waiters, waitresses, teachers, a school principal, sales clerks, and people from many other walks of life choose to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. By the end of the blitz, the teams had distributed 1,551,922 copies of God’s Word.

The international team leader, Charles Warren, was especially moved by how the Lord blessed the blitz. “Our theme verse was John 4:35, ‘…lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.’ The fields were truly white, and the Lord blessed the harvest.”

The Gideons International was first organized in the Philippines in 1953. Today, camps operate throughout the country with over 2,300 Gideons and 1,500 Auxiliary. Prior to this 2016 International Scripture Blitz, more than 68.3 million Scriptures had been placed and distributed there through the efforts of The Gideons International.

We thank our members, pastors, churches, donors, and the many others whose faithful prayers and financial support helped make this blitz a success. We also thank our members who sacrificed their time and money to participate in this blitz.

Most of all, we thank God and give Him the glory for all we believe He will accomplish through each Scripture distributed in this blitz. What a mighty God we serve.

Please pray the Lord would continue to move in the hearts of those who received Scriptures during this blitz.