Gideon Update

As I have mentioned before, we are privileged to distribute scriptures in 175 countries throughout the world, which unfortunately excludes China and the main Muslim countries; but where is the most difficult area of the world to place scriptures? Russia has now been "open" for 13 years and during that time 64 million Bibles and New Testaments have been distributed. In Great Britain we have distributed 30 million scriptures over the last 53 years, but in France, which has a similar population, the French Gideons have had difficulty distributing less than 6 million scriptures. There is a very strong resistance to the Gospel in mainland Europe which is reflected, not only in the Gideon ministry, but also in the small number of non-Catholic churches and in the challenge experienced by missionary organisations within the southern European countries. Please pray for the Christians in these countries, particularly for the distribution of scriptures that will carry the message of the true Gospel to people who may never have any other chance to hear.

On a more encouraging note, I would like to thank the Ladies Fellowship for their support over the past year. During that time their gifts have enabled us to purchase over a hundred School New Testaments, sufficient for half the annual distribution to Humphrey Perkins.