Now Carroll had five year of volunteer seniority, and he knew many of the nurses and administrative staff . So he quietly kept pushing the idea until finally one day the word came down (no pun intended), that Bibles could be placed in the patient rooms. So Carroll quickly got in touch with the local Gideons camp. Yes, we’d be happy to put Bibles at the rooms in Franklin Square, they said – but a Gideon must do it. Fine said Carroll, until he also found out that a member of Franklin Square must place the Bibles in the room. So the rest is history – That’s when Carroll and his wife Joan became Gideons.

But the story does not end there. Carroll still makes sure that replacement Bible are put in the rooms, because as Carroll said – “some folks like to take them home – and that’s fine with us!” Carroll has also been known to stand just outside of public school property and hand Bibles out to school kids. One day when doing so, he noticed a young lady quickly coming straight for him, and all he could think is -- Oh no, here comes an ACLU lawsuit! The women asked, “Are you handing out Bibles to these school children?” Carroll replied, yes I am, and with that she grabbed him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, and said -- God, Bless You! To that Carroll replied, He already has!  Carroll mentioned a few other highlights of his work as a Gideon, but I think I’ll let you ask him yourself.

I also learn from Carroll that the work of the Gideons is not supported through our churches missions program, but rather once a year we take-up a free-will loose plate offering to go to the work of the Gideons. Last time they received $210. I for one personally hope we can do better next time. How about you?