The Day The Gideons Came to My Class
FEBRUARY 13, 2013 | Posted By: LEO MCCARRON

Though I am older, now I recall when the Gideons came to my grade 5 class. I didn't know who or what a Gideon was, as I was baptized and raised Roman Catholic. My Father refused to let me or anyone else read the Bible as he said "only the Priests and the Pope could understand it. That fellow Martin Luther read it, got his thinking all screwed up and started the Protestant Church so stay away from it!" Anytime I ever tried to read the family Bible at home I was slapped by my father and told to stay away from "that book."

I recall how happy I was to tear off the white paper covering a red New Testament and Psalms. While other classmates expressed a ho hum attitude and put the book away, I found myself reading God's Word in total freedom. Walking home that day in the rain while others ran, I kept thanking God for allowing me to read His Word. The Word of God was like a cold drink of water to my thirsty soul--but it was short lived.

When I got home and told my Mother the neat gift some men gave me in my Grade 5 class she said, "What men and what did they give you?"

When I showed her, she took it from me and said I wasn't allowed to keep it as it was a Protestant Bible and if my father heard of this he would be very angry. Even tho I cried about it she gave it to a a family near us who were Protestants. I used to wonder as a child why would God have His Word out in Protestant places but no one else should read it? What it did, though, was create in me a greater desire to know God intimately, which I later did by accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord in June 1974.

To this day I own a brown New testament from The Gideons and read it everyday. Thank you for being faithful to coming to my class long ago.

Finding God in the Lost and Found
AUGUST 18, 2011 | Posted By: GUY LACELLE

About 15 years ago, the Lord sought me out with an old, used Gideon New Testament that I picked up off our lost and found shelf where I worked in downtown Ottawa, Canada. Like all articles on that shelf, we had to open it to see if there was an address or name in it. Of course, no name or number was found, but this was written on the first page: "To whom is searching". And there were numerous Bible verses written in pen that said, "Some things you might like to read."

So I figured that I was searching for life's meaning so I sat down in the quiet of the nightshift and read those verses -- and I knew that God was speaking to me, opening my eyes and replacing my unregenerate heart. I was so anxious to arrive home that next morning to tell my wife of the treasure I found.

This started a life of sanctification, great Bible-based churches, seminary courses and continued Bible studies. Now my life is based on one particular verse found in Philippians 3:10 " that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death".

Thank you, Gideons. God bless you all.

Love in Christ,
Guy Lacelle

Thank you for Spreading His Word
JUNE 15, 2011 | Posted By: JASON HOLMES

Our school had been visited by Gideons back in the early 1980s and had presented us with a New Testament if we had so wanted. I was excited equally to have my own copy, and to see other kids in my class gain interest in receiving the Scriptures.

As time moves on, things change. Growing up was difficult as we had moved again and by the time I became a teenager, it was no longer expected of me to attend church; the community of faith and positivity that had supported me all through my younger years had been replaced with fast friends, drugs and alcohol. I turned my self away from His Words, but they lead to darker times.

Through it all though, I knew that I had His love with me no matter how cold it became, or how lonely I became, but also because of the gift of The Gideons, I had your love with me at all times as well. No matter where I had strayed, what I threw away, that little, but very large, red book ended up with me. I had not let go of it, I had not thrown it away like I did to some many things and people; I always kept it.

I am older now and a proud husband and father of two and with that comes a whole new world of obligations and responsibilities, excitement and challenges. I had been laid off in early 2011 and things became very dark for me as I had to suffer the embarrassment of having my power turned off while trying to raise my family with any food requiring cold storage that we had received from the food bank due to having no work. It seemed that life was just not going to ever turn around for me and my family.

A couple of weeks ago my sister had asked me to attend my niece's First Communion to which I agreed at the insistence of my parents. I brought my daughter and listened for the first time in a long time to what was being said. I was very moved by the words and wanted to hear more. When I had returned home after the day's events I went into a chest I have always kept and found that little but very large red book in there from 1983 and found the suggested passage corresponding with the calendar date (Luke).

Now I look forward every day for the next passage. I am eternally grateful for your gift that I have never let go of and bless all of the Gideons' beautiful acts.

PS. I had also found a great job and I feel so much more alive than I have over the last twenty five years.

Thank you
NOVEMBER 10, 2010 | Posted By: HELEN D

Hello, I just wanted to send a message of thanks. Back in 1994 when I was in elementary school I recieved my first New Testament from one of your members. I still have that copy and take it with me everywhere I go. Thank You so much for giving me something so wonderful, I appreciate it so much. Best Wishes to all,

How the Gideons Impacted my Life
NOVEMBER 02, 2010 | Posted By: INEZ M

I want to share the impact that your work has had on my life. I came to Canada with my family from Germany in 1955 when I was nine. I received the New Testament at the public school I attended in Hamilton. I worked very hard to read and understand what the Bible was saying. King James English was difficult to understand. I persisted in reading the little Testament every night at bedtime, despite the opposition from my parents. I was an extremely obedient daughter and never willfully went against them but in this case felt that it was important to read the book. One night it happened—it was as clear as though written in my own language. Jesus was speaking to me personally. That feeling of wonder and awe has never left me. From that point on, I started looking for a church to go to and find more answers and to be with people who shared my joy in Jesus. We moved frequently due to my father’s change in employment. I walked around each new neighbourhood to find a church. I dressed my younger brother and sister and took them to Sunday School. My parents did not actively oppose attending church but would never drive or assist in getting the younger children ready. When we moved out of town I could not walk to a church. I then checked with school friends to find out who attended and requested a ride with them. Only during my high school years was I unable to attend church for lack of a ride. When I was in grade 6, we lived in Grimsby where I attended a Presbyterian church. On Christmas Eve, I sang a solo—Silent Night—in German. While I was singing, my father walked into the service. The church was full and there was no place to sit. He stood at the back of the church for the duration of the service. It was the first time he had been to church in Canada. I was beside myself with joy that he had finally come. As an adult, I have been active in church ministry as a minister’s wife, CEO of a number of Christian organizations, and had ongoing involvement in many mission projects. Thank you for starting me on my walk in faith with the gift of the New Testament. When God talks to a young child, nothing can impede the growth of faith. Ines M.