WORLD-CHANGER Christmas Gifts

worldchangergifts.com links to this page. You can also download a PDF document version here.

Have you bought all your Christmas presents? Don't know what to get some people?

Here's what I suggest you do:
(1) get a pen and paper and write a list of the people you need to give Christmas presents to.
(2) for the people who you can't think what to get and who you think would like a Christmas World-Changer, choose one of these.
(3) Finally, tell your gift recipient in a card how what you 'got' them will change the world. Feel free to mention the link to this page: worldchangergifts.com.

$5. A mosquito bednet for a child in Congo.
Malaria kills 3,000 people a day, many of them children. The thing is, people shouldn't die from malaria because it's preventable and treatable. The problem is that the people who die from it are too poor for either the prevention or the cure. So how about buying a mosquito net for a child in Africa so that he or she can sleep in peace, and live. Go to www.bednetsforkids.org to buy a $5 bednet now.

$20. 10 New Testaments for the Arab World.
We read about the Arab world in the news all the time, and perhaps we take the time to pray, but do we help practically? What are we doing to reach the world's 1.3 billion Muslims? Through George Verwer's Special Projects, you can release 10 New Testaments into the Arab World for $20. Imagine what God could do. Give your gift through your local OM office, denoting "George Verwer Special Projects - NTs for Arab World" (OM Canada, OM USA, OM UK, Other Countries).

$36. Six months of education for a poor child in Pakistan.
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, "Pakistan offers worse conditions for children than any other country in South Asia. ... About 23 million children in Pakistan have never been to school." I recommend this World-Changer because I know the people who run this charity, Starfish Asia. It's just a simple operation run by trusted national workers in Pakistan - hence the much-lower-than-average price. Buy this World-Changer by writing a cheque to "Starfish Asia Fund," putting "$36 World-Changer Education" on the memo line, and sending it to: The Starfish Asia Fund; 32 Beck Lane; Beckenham, Kent BR3 4RE; UK.

The following three World-Changers are courtesy the Ahola family in Vino Nuevo, Uruguay. They are missionaries who work among the poor. Make cheques payable to Westgate Chapel, with "Vino Nuevo" and the World-Changer you're buying on the memo line. Send to: Attn Carolyn Jones; Westgate Chapel; 22901 Edmonds Way; Edmonds, WA 98020; USA.

$5. A food package for underprivileged pensioners in Uruguay.
The golden years aren't so golden for these government-housing pensioners in Uruguay. But the Ahola family will brighten up the lives of some of them with a package of edible staples and goodies. Buy enough for two couples for $10.

$40. 100 meals for people on the streets in South America.
The global economy is doing better than ever, and we still have millions of people living in slums. What's our problem? $40 buys you 100 meals for extremely poor people in Vino Nuevo, Uruguay.

$40. One month of life skills training for boys coming off drugs.
When we talk about street kids in Toronto and most Western cities, we usually mean young adults. But in most Third World nations, street kids are street kids. Four years old, six years old, 10, 12... Many of them orphans, they don't know how to cope. Some of the ones that survive turn to drugs, crippling their lives even further. The Ahola family help some of these boys by taking them off the street and teaching them what they need to survive in a healthier way. Help one boy get back on his feet with a month's worth of life skills training for $40.

The following are available courtesy the Barhams (my parents :)) in Zambia, or the Jalals in an undisclosed Muslim Nation (for security reasons). Here's how to give towards these World-Changers. Canadians: MSC (send a cheque payable to MSC Canada, with "Barhams in Zambia" or "Jalals in Special Areas" and the World-Changer you're buying on the memo line: MSC Canada; 509 - 3950 14th Avenue; Markham, Ontario; Canada L3R 0A9); Americans: CMML; Brits: Echoes. (100% of funds will go to these World-Changers, not to the full-time workers' living expenses.)

$100. A bike for an evangelist in Zambia.
One of my parents' ministries in Zambia is helping people to study the Bible through Emmaus Bible correspondence courses. These make their way into the remotest villages of the Luapula province not through the mail system, but through people - evangelists who do what it takes to get the courses there and back. Most of these evangelists work part-time in their own gardens and fields to support themselves and have very little money. So to help them with all their traveling, evangelists who distribute a certain number of Bible courses qualify to receive a free bicycle. Would you like to buy this World-Changer for $100?

$10. 10 bike tires for seed-sowers in Zambia.
This follows from the previous World-Changer. Guess what happens when you ride a bike through the bush for hours and hours and hours? Well, the tires eventually wear out. Buy 10 replacement World-Changer tires for $10.

$20. 1,000 AIDS Tracts.
40 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS, and 20 million have died from it. Thankfully, AIDS is starting to get some of the exposure and funding it deserves. But how are we fighting it? While some scoff at the idea of fighting AIDS through the encouragement of marital faithfulness and abstinence, others employ this strategy because they believe it is the right way and because they have seen it work (eg, the nation of Uganda). For $20, print this message 1,000 times in the form of a tract that will reach young people in the thick of the epidemic.

$15. 50 cold drinks for 50 streetgirls.
Why cold drinks? Because this is what is served to these 50 girls who make their living on the streets when they come to Mansa Mission every week. They come because they know they are loved unconditionally here, and because they hope they can escape this life. They receive ministry from the Word of God, and learn new skills--like sewing and crocheting--that could help them begin anew.

$50. A sewing machine for local Zambian women to sew clothes for widows and orphans.
There is a group of women in Mansa, Zambia called the "Dorcas group." There are just a handful of them, but they have decided to take James 1:27 literally by giving their time to sewing clothes for local widows and orphans. This group is in need of more sewing machines, so if you would like to buy one, give someone this $50 World-Changer as a gift this Christmas.

$25. 20 litres of fuel for a Christan bookvan in the Muslim World.
In a country that is 99% Muslim, these young men risk their lives every time they step into their bookvan loaded with Bibles and Christian literature and drive into their city of 15 million people. And although they've been threatened countless times, they keep doing it; and people keep taking their tracts and buying the books and Bibles they display from their "bookstore on wheels." Be part of the action through $25-worth of fuel for this bookvan for God.

$25. 5 Bibles for the Muslim World.
"How many Bibles do you have? Two, three, four, five, six...?", asks Brother Andrew of Open Doors ministries. "Why should I have two Bibles when some people don't even have one?" A challenging question, especially when you consider that millions of people haven't even heard the Gospel. In fact, many have not heard the name Jesus. So here is one of my favourite World-Changers: 5 Bibles for the Muslim world. $25 that will change someone's world.

(Feel free to tell others about this. The PDF document is here and worldchangergifts.com links to this page.)