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By Shara Lee
THIS Christmas, there are plenty of opportunities to help people in great need – physical, emotional and spiritual.
Here are a number of ways to get creative, and give gifts that will truly make
them understand that someone cares about them.
Share the Good News of Christmas is an inexpensive and easy way to offer the gospel to non-believers.
First, purchase a few gift bags. This can be done by calling 1.877.368.3600.
Next, assemble each bag with a Christmas edition ESV Outreach New Testament, the Good News of Christmas tract by Max Lucado, and a customizable invitation for your church’s Christmas service.
This idea can be modified and personalized for specific recipients. It is a
great way to share something special for the holiday season, and a good
evangelistic resource for churches.
Contact: goodnewsofchristmas.org.
The Christmas 2010 Catalogue with a Purpose is produced by The Leprosy Mission Canada. Many of the beautifully hand-crafted gifts are made by leprosy-affected and
similarly disabled persons from around the world.
The gifts available in this catalogue are not only truly unique, but can change
lives and give dignity. Inside this catalogue, there’s something for everyone: books, Christmas cards, jewellery and more. There is a
selection of Gifts of Care – which go from $29 for eye surgery supplies to $1,500 for building a house.
Contact: leprosy.ca.
Mission Without Borders, based in Abbotsford, is asking you to help “bring hope, God’s love and a future” to needy people in Ukraine. According to the ministry, “years of Communist oppression have left many families destitute.”
Contact: 1.800.494.4454 or mwbca.org.
To purchase gifts for the world’s most vulnerable this Christmas, check out the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada at ccfcanada.ca. Their colorful gift catalog outlines a number of ways you can
offer practical help. For a small price, you can make a big impact on many
lives. Contact: ccfcanada.ca.
The same goes for World Vision Canada, who offer lots of information online about concrete ways to bring real
Christmas joy to those less fortunate. Contact: worldvision.ca
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Canadian Food for the Hungry, based in Abbotsford, works in 11 communities in 10 countries, using a ‘walk with’ rather than a ‘do for’ strategy – which helps the communities become self-sustaining. It has a gift catalogue of
items that can be sent to one of these communities, including: athletic
supplies or coffee seedlings for $15; four rabbits or two chickens for $25; and
crop starter kits for $1,200.
Contact: 604.853.4262 or fhcanada.org.
Dalit Freedom Network Canada, based in Surrey, is dedicated to helping the Dalits of India, who are oppressed by the caste system. By contributing to
education, you can free a Dalit child; by contributing to school construction,
you can free a Dalit community; and by contributing to vocational training, you
can free a Dalit woman.
Contact: dalitfreedom.net or 604.592.2238.
Great Commission Media Ministries (formerly IRR TV), based in White Rock, is dedicated to spreading the gospel in
areas that have thus far been deprived of its proclamation.
The ministry also encourages ‘Miracle of Love’ aid: $75 buys a clothing package of underwear, outer winter clothing, boots and
socks; $30 buys nutritious food for one child for a month; and $10 provides a personal hygiene kit for a child.
Contact: 877.674.5630 gcmediaministries.org.
Eurovangelism/EuroAid, based in Mississauga, Ontario, has worked with churches, organizations and
individuals in Europe and Russia, to make Christ known through their words and
actions. Its gift guide has offerings such as a week of school lunches for $5;
a first Bible for $14; new shoes for $20; and a humanitarian aid truck for
$4,000.
Contact: 866.630.6301 or eurovangelism.ca.
Another worthy effort is Ten Thousand Villages, where your gift purchases go toward supporting the Fair Trade movement. Their
Langley store has many unique items.
They also have special Christmas events, such as their presentation at the Cedar
Valley Mennonite Church in Mission, December 4 – 5.
Contact: tenthousandvillages.ca.
The Gideons International of Canada invite you to “spread the gospel by doing something you were going to do anyway: send Christmas
cards.” For packs of special scripture-based greeting cards, contact them at
gideons.ca.
Finally, you can wish someone A Very Mercy Christmas. According to Mercy Ministries of Canada, many troubled young women “find Christmas to be an intense reminder of the rejection and loneliness they
have experienced in their lives. Memories of abuse have utterly stolen the joy
away from them for the Christmas season.”
Go to the Christmas Gift Registry at mercyministries.ca.
December 2010
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