I think this such a cool idea. My Bible study did this 2 years ago as a Christmas gift...World Vision's Gift Catalog
The way that they advertise the gifts you can give is brilliant. You can buy a goat for a family. You can give clothing to a child. You can give seeds and tools for farming to those who need them in Africa. You can give a bicycle to a girl in India so she can go to school.
Read about their mission statement here.
Back in youth group, we did the 30 hour famine a couple times. Another great idea to get people involved in caring for the starving around the world.
You can also sponsor a child.
I personally sponsor a child through Compassion. I love this organization and how dedicated they are to caring for children. Compassion lets you pick the child you want to sponsor and even keep in touch with them by writing letter and emails. Then you get letters and photos back from your sponsored child. It's amazing to watch them grow and learn and actually hear from them. I've been sponsoring my little Teresia from Indonesia for about 4 years now. It's so cool to hear how SHE prays for me, even as I pray for her.
If you can't afford to sponsor a child, you can give in other ways.
Love Compassion! Love them!
Living Hope International is an organization that I started giving towards this past year. A friend of mine (and her husband and 2 boys) is moving to China in 2009 to work in a Living Hope orphanage. I'm supporting them.
It's a really neat ministry. These little Chinese orphans that are forgotten and "unadoptable" are given hope and love. And all you readers know how China orphans tug at my heart. I'm so excited to have a direct link to donate towards my friend as she and her family love and care for these precious little ones. You can learn about how to give to LHI here. They also have an orphan sponsorship program.
And finally, an organization that is near and dear to my heart....Shaohannah's Hope. I have been sponsoring SH through the Stevey Joy Club for a couple years now. I get these post cards with stories and pictures of little ones that have been adopted and are now in God-honoring families. Shaohannah's Hope gives grants to Christian families who want to adopt but need help with the funds. You can read some of the amazing stories here. I love it cause it lets me help with the whole adoption process even though I can't personally adopt at this point in my life.
Shaohannah's Hope is also building Maria's Big House of Hope, which is for special needs orphans in China. I'm really, really excited about this for a couple reasons that I'll tell you more about later. You can donate towards Maria's Big House here.
Oh, and did I mention it was started by Steven and Marie Beth Chapman? You all know how I feel about them if you have read my blog in the last few months.
Check out this video to see what SH is all about.
Again, these are just suggestions. I know there are 1,000's of others that do amazing things. Don't forget to check with your church, too. Give to those who are in need this Christmas!
"The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself."
Proverbs 11:25
And he who waters will also be watered himself."
Proverbs 11:25
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