Gideons in Glenfield

In mid-November three teams of Gideons went into Glenfield Hospital to check the New Testaments in the patients’ lockers. This, for me, was a memorable experience. We were escorted around the wards by the Chaplain and hospital volunteers who were familiar with the system and prevented us from making too many gaffs.

As many of you may have discovered, the New Testaments are held in small plastic holders on the inside of the patients’ lockers. With time many New Testaments go missing or get damaged so we need to replace them, and new lockers are sometimes provided which means fitting a plastic holder and New Testament. It can take quite a while to check them all out, and three teams spent all of one Saturday morning going round the wards in Glenfield.

As we went round we obviously met the nursing staff and were able to offer them personal copies of the New Testament and Psalms. It was very encouraging to see so many staff accepting this gift of God’s Word, some even passing them on to friends and then coming to ask for another! One nurse who I offered a New Testament to thought long and hard and then politely declined the offer; only to reappeared ten minutes later and ask one of the team if she could have ‘one of those little books, please’!!

Altogether an encouraging and memorable experience.

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