international update - The Gideons International

JANUARY 2014
INTERNATIONAL UPDATE
hotels and hospitals. Pray for God’s Word
to permeate the Buddhist beliefs and
settle into the hearts of these people.
The International Update is
published to provide your camp
timely ministry information.
This issue includes inspirational
testimonies and current stories,
giving your camp members a new
look at where we are making an
impact right now.
Covering New Ground
in Honduras
Utila, Honduras, is not an easy place to
distribute Scriptures. This island can only be
accessed by ferry, and resources are limited
for the nearby camps.
Your camp president should
make time for you to share this
inspirational piece at your monthly
camp meeting. You may also
download a copy from the Resource
Center on theConnection.
Countdown 100
Countdown 100 and the Auxiliary
HEART Program are proven
methods to increase the Faith
Fund offering at state conventions.
Gideons and Auxiliary are asked
to lay aside the cost of one or
more Scriptures daily for 100 days
preceding your state association
convention.
For an investment of about a
dollar and a quarter, members
can provide for the purchase
and placement of a Scripture
throughout the world.
The resource materials for
Countdown 100 and the Auxiliary
HEART program are located
on theConnection under State
Directory, State Administration,
State Resources.
The Gideons International
P.O. Box 140800
Nashville, TN 37214
www.gideons.org
2013 Thailand International
Scripture Blitz
In November 2013, a group of Gideons
traveled to Phuket, Thailand, with a goal
of distributing 40,000 Scriptures over a
one-week period.
Located in the Andaman Sea, Phuket is
Thailand’s largest island. Like most of
Thailand, Buddhism is the prominent
religion in Phuket. All of the schools
begin each day with the students reciting a
Buddhist prayer.
At the end of the first day, three teams
stood at the exits of a school. The
students came out in single file, and every
single one took a New Testament.
Three days into the blitz, over 32,000
copies had been distributed. Every school
in Phuket allowed the men to share. This
encouraged the local Gideons, who did
not think Buddhist schools would allow
God’s Word to be distributed at all.
By the end of the week, over 43,000
Scriptures were shared with individuals in
schools, universities, jails, military/police,
In late August, six members of the
Tegucigalpa Camp (three men and their
wives) traveled to Utila in order to carry out
a distribution. Through answered prayer, the
Gideons were able to place a total of 800
bilingual New Testaments in 32 hotels. The
three Auxiliary members took advantage of
personal witnessing opportunites resulting in
Angie Viera, manager of a hotel restaurant,
and Valdomer Contreras, a maintenance
worker, accepting Christ as their Savior.
During their time in Utila, the Gideons were
also able to distribute 600 copies of Scripture
to schools and military facilties (see photo
below).
The members placed a total of 1,500
Scriptures, and they are planning to make a
distribution next year. To God be the glory
for opening doors for His Word to be shared
around the world.
David
Foong
Regional
Field Officer,
Africa South
Worthy is the Lamb
Following a recent church presentation
in Botswana, Africa, three Chinese
individuals approached David Foong.
He learned they were medical doctors
who came to Botswana to work at the
local hospital. That was the first time
they had ever visted a church.
Intrigued by the songs in the service,
they asked David, “What is the
meaning of the title Worthy is the
Lamb?” David shared the Gospel with
them and presented New Testaments
for them to keep. A week later, they
contacted David to thank him again
for the New Testaments. They have
continued to attend the church on a
regular basis, and a local Gideon has
kept in close contact with them.
Only God could orchestrate a
meeting between a Chinese Gideon
from Australia and three unchurched
Chinese in Botswana, Africa, so His
message of love could be shared. God
is worthy of our praise!
Monthly giving to the Faith Fund
is available online at
www.gideons.org/give.
Members of the Llallagua Camp in Bolivia
Model Camp in Llallagua, Bolivia
Randy Crowe is a regional field officer
for The Gideons International. He
travels to numerous countries working
with camps to facilitate their ministry
efforts. Randy has found the efforts of
the camp in Llallagua, Bolivia, to be a
model for camps around the world.
Llallagua has only ten churches,
and the camp has already held
presentations in seven of them. The
total offering for those seven services
was $14. They also held a pastor’s
event with four pastors attending. The
Llallagua camp has now given $135 to
the Scripture Fund. Considering the
poverty of the area, Randy estimates
that amount is comparable to $10,000
from a USA camp.
The Llallagua camp loves to share
God’s Word. Randy stated, “Two years
ago when I first visited Llallagua, the
brothers asked me if they could go to
other towns in the area to distribute
Scriptures. I said they could—after
they had covered all their distribution
points in Llallagua.
“They immediately informed me
that they had already completed the
distributions in their town. They then
visited the surrounding towns and villages
distributing God’s Word.”
After the Llallagua camp had completed
distributions in these outlying areas,
members still wanted to do more. So
last year, five Gideons and two Auxiliary
loaded a van with Scriptures. They
traveled high into the Andes Mountains—
beyond the towns and villages that they
had visited the year before. They drove
on roads the members did not know were
there and visited towns and villages they
had never heard of…simply to share
God’s Word. There were no other camps
in these areas to make distributions.
Members slept on the ground or in the
van, and the Auxiliary purchased local
food and cooked meals over open wood
fires. The trip took three days, and they
made distributions at eleven schools that
had never received Bibles.
The Llallagua camp is totally dedicated
to the ministry of The Gideons
International and winning people to
Christ. Continue giving to the Faith Fund
to support these brothers and sisters.