Salvation Testimonies Pour In After 114th International Convention

The 114th International Convention of The Gideons International was held in late July in Orlando, Florida. The event drew more than 3,500 Gideons, Auxiliary, and their family members. With attendees from over 90 countries, many clothed in their traditional dress, the global presence of the ministry was clearly evident.

For many members, the convention was their first opportunity to meet their Christian sisters and brothers who also serve in The Gideons International in different parts of the world. Buddhi Bajracharaya, a member from Nepal, was inspired by the unity of such a global gathering, saying, “At the convention we are all one in the Lord. This is the real united nations.”

Testimonies From The Convention

On Monday, Gideons met a man named Richard who was very excited to learn that Gideons from around the world were in Orlando. Years earlier, he had been in a bad auto accident and completely lost his memory. As his family visited him at the hospital, he had no recollection of who they were. And he had no other connection to his past.

He said that one day he reached over his bed rail in his hospital room and picked up a Gideon Bible. When he read it, he began to recall all the Scriptures he once knew. He still didn’t recognize his own family members, but he remembered the stories of the Bible. Eventually his memory came back and he made a full recovery.

Today he is a minister of music at a church in Orlando. He thanked the Gideons for being there. God’s Word reconnects people back to reality in many ways.

Leon Koontz, a Gideon in attendance from Lexington, North Carolina, was preparing for a breakfast on Wednesday morning with other Gideons when he struck up a conversation with one of the convention center’s wait staff. The waiter, David, had been serving Gideons all week. Leon then took the opportunity to present the Gospel to him using a New Testament. And right there in the dining area, Leon was able to lead David through the Sinner’s Prayer. After the prayer, the first words from the new believer were, “I must tell my wife and children about Jesus.”

Cecil, a Gideon from Orlando, had just attended one of the convention’s workshops dedicated to personal witnessing. While boarding one of the hotel shuttles, he began talking with the driver whose name was Jackson. “You look like a man of prayer,” Jackson told Cecil. “I need you to pray for my family.” Cecil put what he had just learned at the workshop into action, and shortly after, he led Jackson to receive Christ.

Gideons and Auxiliary attending the convention distributed 13,800 Scriptures in the Orlando area during the week. More than 80 convention-related salvation testimonies have already been received at International Headquarters.