You and your holiday

When you go on holiday and find a Bible waiting for you at your bedside, do you wonder how this happens? In Great Britain the whole country is divided into Branch areas and the local branch here is called South-East Hants. March has been a special time for the branch as they carry out an annual check of local Hotels and Guest Houses to see whether they still have bedside Bibles and whether they are in good condition. The same will go on across the country. You could play a part as well in two ways. If you come across a Bible which is below standard or perhaps damaged, please draw this to the attention of the Hotel management. Replacement copies are readily available from the funds and gifts which the Gideons receive. Alternatively, if there is no Bible in your room, please ask the Management to provide one - sometimes they are just tucked away. If they do not have any, this will prompt them to get them in. The Gideons are only too glad to supply them on request. It has been calculated that during its lifetime each Hotel Bible is picked up and read by up to 300 people.

In the local branch area, Bibles are also placed in some caravan sites and these are sometimes picked up and taken home all over the country by caravanners. The other place to watch out for Gideon bibles is in the cabins on Cruise Liners. This is a work carried out by our neighbouring branch in Southampton and it is a huge task when a new ship comes into service. Because of the size of many of them now, it normally needs 2,000 to 3,000 copies for each ship and they have to be physically carried around each ship and placed in individual cabins. Please remember this when you see a Cruise Liner passing down the Solent.

Local Schools

Good news to report is that during the last Academic Year, New Testaments were provided for each pupil in Year 7 of every Secondary School in the branch area from Emsworth to the edge of Southampton. These total 21 which gives some idea of the size of the task which it is a great joy to undertake each year. The Gideons rely upon the good will of Head Teachers and their staff to facilitate and so often there is a very warm greeting awaiting the Gideons who build up strong links over the years. The preferred method of distribution is at School Assemblies but sometimes this is not possible and occasionally Scriptures are handed out in classes or at a Church Service, where this is held. The Gideons are so grateful to the Lord for continuing to open doors to make this widespread distribution possible to young people.

For more information about these items or about the local Gideons, please ring 023 9225 7291.

Cedric Moppett, South-East Hants Branch

Easter Edition 2011

Gideons Update