World War II ended, and Manila was rising from the complete devastation of its structures due to the bitter fighting between the allied forces and the Japanese. Meanwhile, “What shall we do now?" was the question that was uppermost in the minds of the Christian GI’s after they learned that their time at the Quiogue Mortuary (where they held Bible study fellowships) would be terminated soon. A certain Chaplain, Russell Honeywell, noticed that he still had several boxes of Service Testaments. These were leftovers from the Testaments he was giving out to the American soldiers. He thought of gathering Christians he got acquainted with to help him hand those Testaments to the Filipinos, one of these men whom he asked to help was Paul Sycip. These men eventually became the nucleus of the first Gideon Camp, Manila No. 1 Camp. And in 1953, the Philippines became the 15th Gideon country since the ministry began in 1899. Furthermore, The Gideons Philippines was also blessed to have been recognized as a National Association on September 23, 1977, during its first National Convention held in Manila.
Bro. Paul Sycip and the rest of the members of the Manila No. 1 Camp, like our forefathers in the ministry, were moved by faith. From this small beginning, God made it into one big ministry that only He is capable of doing. The Gideons International in the Philippines has now grown into more than 100 camps since it was established in 1953.