My son, Christoff, became a Gideon at the end of 2018. Just before Christmas another Gideon, doctor Chris Thirion, took Christoff with him on a prison Bible placement. While Christoff was praying for the Bible placement, God showed him the image of a prisoner with a large scar beneath his left eye. For seven years the Gideons were not allowed to place Bibles at Harrismith prison. Only since 2019, the Gideons were allowed to visit the jail and hand Bibles to inmates. They could never hand out more that 50 Bibles at a time. Christoff and Chris walked from section to section, but could not see any prisoner with a scar underneath his left eye. At the last section the person with a scare suddenly appeared before them. “I don’t want a Bible from you!” he said. Christoff turned to the man and said: “But I have a message from the Lord for you – will you please forgive your mother?” Suddenly this hardened criminal fell to his knees and grabbed Christoff by the legs. He started to cry. He could forgive his mother! Suddenly the other inmates rushed forward to receive a Bible. That morning in December, just before Christmas, 476 Testaments were placed. What a wonderful gift for them who were dejected, without hope and vision, confined to the prison cells. Since then Chris and Christoff visit the prisoners every second Saturday and then bring a message of hope and encouragement for the men. As Psalms 107: 10 & 13 says: “Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in iron… Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
