On November 20, a representative team of The Gideons International presented 1100 copies of the Bible in Shilipu Church, Baoji, according to the latest statistics.
Founded in 1899, the evangelical Christian association has more than 180 membership countries with around 240,000 members. Comprising of Christian business and professional men and their wives, it distributes Scriptures to the poor nations and places in need. It is said that the association sends 1 million free copies in a week to spread the Gospel, widely known by its Scriptures placed in hotels and motels.
Led by Dr. Zhao Zhiyong, the interpreter, the team including Martin David from Florida and Trevor Johns from Tennessee visited Shaanxi CCC & TSPM on Nov 17. The both sides expressed hope for the future cooperation and communication.
On Nov 19, they arrived in Baoji the first time and presented the copies as gifts to three local churches in the subordinate counties.
The next day they attended the Sunday service held in Shilipu Church , accompanied by Wei Lemin, associate president and general secretary of Shanxi CCC & TSPM. The church showed its warm welcome to the arrival of the guests, even the aisle crowded with people in the morning.
After the sermon preached by Wei, Martin gave a testimony that a man named Bob who wanted to commit suicide unintentionally read the Bible placed in a hotel. Having emptied the family savings for drug addiction, he felt the courage to live when God's word worked in his heart. Instead of suicide, he read the Bible and prayed all the night. Now Bob and his wife serve as members of the choir in the church where Martin belongs.
Then Trevor witnessed that a police often beat people and bungled the job after being drunk. One day a stranger gave him a copy of the Bible and he received it out of courtesy. On the bus home, he sat round and took the Bible to read it. Several days later, he had formed a new habit of reading the Bible. Some day he heard a melody from a church choir on the way home and came to the church following the singing voice. The next day he accepted the Lord. Influenced by him, his wife, children and parents believed in Jesus. The conversion of his family resulted from the Bible sent by someone. Since then, he has been away from wine and beatings.
Translated By: Karen Luo
