Monday, November 7, 2011

GIFT IDEAS FOR MISSIONARIES!                                    
  

Below are a few practical and useful gifts for the missionaries you love and support!


1.   Financial Support

It may sound boring, but the reality is that missionaries are able to stay overseas because of the support of caring people like you.  So a great gift to give at Christmas (or any other time) is to begin support or send extra support. 
 


Here are a couple ways you could do that:
     a.  If you haven't sent support before, let them know
          that as a Christmas gift you're going to start this
          year!  Either a one-time gift, or something small
          each month goes a loooong way!

     b.  If you already support, consider increasing your support
          by $5, 10 or 20 dollars a month

    

 

2. Mail them something - It's always a wonderful thing to
receive mail from "home," so why not bless them with a
parcel filled with thoughtful little things?  Some ideas:

  • Magazines (they're small and easy to mail)
  • A book or CD
  • Hot chocolate packets
  • Food mixes (salad dressing, gravy, icing, etc).
  • Something small for the kids
 








* It's usually best to email or call them first to see what they
   need.  Some countries have restrictions on what can be
   sent in.

* Usually it's best NOT to send electronics (unless they ask
   for it)...as often they will have to pay up to 60% import duty
   on it!

* Be careful what you send if they live in a Restricted Access
  
NationThey could get in big trouble if you include something
   overtly Christian!  Ask before sending anything of that nature.




 3. Amazon Gift Certificate - If the missionary you support lives overseas, it may be difficult or costly to mail them something.  Why not try sending them a gift certificate instead?  Nowadays most missionaries have access to the internet and can easily buy/download gifts online.  So go ahead, get them a $25 or $50 gift certificate and rest assured that they'll be able to get themselves something useful...and without waiting months for the mail to arrive!
 
Amazon gift certificate - with an Amazon certificate they can download digital CD's and books instantly! 
    
 


4. Audio Book certificate or subscription -
At Audible.com they can download their favorite Christian audio book or sermon series.  Especially for those that don't have access to a Christian bookstore, this makes a great gift idea!  There's no mailing, no waiting - they can instantly download and enjoy their favorite author!
Some of their available titles:
A few other titles include:
  1 FREE Audiobook RISK-FREE from Audible

God's Smuggler 
Brother Andrew:
God's Smuggler
 Jesus Among Other Gods
Ravi Zacharias:
Jesus Among Other God's
 Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secrets of Joyful Giving
Randy Alcorn:
The Treasure Principle



5. Kindle or other E-Book Reader.   Missionaries travel a LOT and its always hard to lug boxes of books around.  If you know they'll be home sometime soon, why don't you surprise them with an E-Book reader?  It'll cut down their moving expenses and will allow them to download great books instantly - even when they're overseas!




"Where I live there are no Christian Bookstores.  But now with E-Books I can download and read
a new book instantly!  No waiting or shipping!"

        - missionary from Eastern Europe -



   
                     



6. Magazine Subscription - You can bless them with a year long subscription to a magazine they'll love!  Browse some of the most popular at Amazon's Christian Magazines page.  A few magazines will even mail overseas.

Some of the most relevant are:


  

If you have questions or issues about magazine subscriptions, check out their Magazine Help Page.

 



7. Music and MP3's - It's really easy these days to send music...you can buy them a digital album for their special occasion!  Check out Amazon's Christian Music section for some great ideas...

Or you could send them an ITUNES gift card so they can download


   


8. Mail a Book - If you know they love reading, why not order them a book from www.thebookdepository.com - they mail to almost anywhere in the world for free! For a full list of where they ship to, click here.


 


9. Language Learning Software - If you know what language they are learning, a very practical gift would be to give them some language learning software!  Two of the most popular ones out there are:
 

 


10. Used Tea Bags - just kidding!! Though back in the day (early 80's) people used to send us used tea bags when we lived in Africa...no joke!  










But if you really are into tea bags (or coffee) why not send them a Starbucks gift card instead?









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