The Gideons International has approved the implementation of the National Disaster Distribution Program in the Philippines. Gideons there plan to distribute 20,000 New Testaments in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, two areas hard hit by the typhoon that struck that region on December 16. The resulting floods took the life of a Gideon there. He was reportedly trapped in his home after saving all of his family members. Many other Gideons there and in the neighboring city of Iligan suffered devastating damage to their homes as well.
The Philippines government declared the area under a state of calamity. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council for the Philippines, as of January 3rd, 1,257 people have been reported dead, 4,658 injured and 724,729 people have been directly impacted by the tropical storm.
Just last January, The Gideons International conducted an International Scripture Blitz in The Philippines on the island of Luzon, which included the metro area of Manilla. A record number of 1.6 million Scriptures were placed there in just two weeks.
Please pray that God’s grace, mercy and comfort will be upon our brothers and sisters in these areas whose lives were affected so much by this disaster. Please continue to pray also for those victims who are now staying in emergency shelters. And please pray for Gideons as they share God’s Word there and that many people will come to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The first Gideon camp in the Philippines was established in 1953 and currently there are 195 Gideon camps there with approximately over 2,500 Gideons and 1,500 Auxiliary. Today, the Philippines’ population is over 101 million , and to date, over 57 million copies of God’s Word have been placed there through The Gideons International.
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