2 Easter

Three years ago I received a phone call from the local Gideon chapter. These are the guys (and they are all guys; no women allowed) who, among other things, place those KJV bibles in hotel rooms.*

They wanted to know if we would allow them to come speak at one of our services. I looked at my calendar and saw Holy Week, Easter Day, two days off, and realized that the Second Sunday of Easter would be the perfect time for them to send someone to come talk.

And they did.

And he did.
And did.
And did.

We heard about the soldier in Desert Storm who found a bible laying on the ground, picked it up, read it and became a Christian. We heard about the little black boy who wanted to know if that white Jesus would let him into heaven. We heard about their budget. And how many countries the Gideon's are in. And how many bibles they've given away to date. And how many bibles they plan on giving away in the future. And how they stand across the street from schools because they aren't allowed on school property anymore. And I tried not to snore or nod off.

Two years ago, I got a call from them wanting to know if they could come back. I gave them the same Sunday, 2 Easter, and hoped that he would be better. This time, though, I gave him a specific time limit.

And within that time frame, we heard about the soldier in Desert Storm who found a bible laying on the ground, picked it up, read it and became a Christian. We heard about the little black boy who wanted to know if that white Jesus would let him into heaven. We heard about their budget. And how many countries the Gideon's are in. And how many bibles they've given away to date. And how many bibles they plan on giving away in the future. And how they stand across the street from schools because they aren't allowed on school property anymore. And I decided that he wasn't coming back next year.

Last year, I did not have a Gideon Dude come to the service.

This year, I got a call from them and, yes . . . I agreed to let him come on 2 Easter**. All the while I'm thinking, "If I hear that story about the soldier in Iraq, or about that poor little black boy . . . he's finished."

Well, I'm happy to say that this year the stories were all new. He stayed away from all but the most vital statistics. And he spoke for no more than five minutes.

Maybe the trick is to limit the visits to every other year.

* Turns out that, even though the Gideons were started in Wisconsin, their first missionary act of hotel bible placement actually happened in Montana.

** The Kid was off in Billings Thursday, Friday and Saturday and had some late nights. She asked if she could sleep in today and go to the later service in VC. While we were in the car, I mentioned that the Gideon Dude was here today to give his talk. She was thrilled that she missed the early service . . . until I said that he was speaking at both services. "What?!?! Oh no . . . He's soooo boring; I can hardly stay awake." After service, she did agree that he was better than in previous years, but that he was still boring.