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    Nation!  They 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: John Maxwell - Leadership Gold Elizabeth Elliot -  Through Gates of Splendor Bill Hybels - Courageous Leadership Robert Coleman -  Master Plan of Evangelism A few other titles include:
	Brother Andrew: God's Smuggler		Ravi Zacharias: Jesus Among Other God's		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: Christianity Today Leadership Guideposts World Children's Ministry Magazine (Christian Education)    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: Rosetta Stone V4 TOTALe: Spanish (Latin America) Level 1 Instant Immersion Spanish Levels 1,2 & 3
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? .

RESOURCES FOR MISSIONARIES pt1 - Donor Management

Sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of your supporters and donations given, as well as where you're at in meeting your monthly budget.  Thankfully a good program (like "Donor Tracker" below) can really help in this area.

Not only is keeping accurate records good stewardship, it also helps you as you communicate with others - for example, when people ask what percentage of support you’re at (not good to be stuck with a blank look on your face at that point!). Good records will aid you in sending thank-you’s and help you pray more specifically.
The program we recommend to do this (for simplicity and functionality) is "Donor Tracker" - it's a free, Excel based program, which is simple to learn and easy to use. You don't need to install any other applications or have a week-long training session to use it!


Download it here:
Donor Tracker 2 (2MB zip file, for Vista, Windows 7, Mac, etc)
Donor Tracker 1 (7MB for Windows XP)

For more detailed info on how to get started with it, click here.

WHAT IT CAN DO:

All you need to do to start is input (a) your estimated Budget, (b) the names (and relevant info) of your donors.
Then each month write in who has given and the amount they gave (or copy/paste if your organization gives you a list).
That's it! Donor Tracker will then show you MONTHLY stats (see pic below)...
  (a) Total donations received, month-to-date
  (b) Percentage of monthly support received, month-to-date
  (c) Percentage of yearly support
  (d) Amount left to raise that month.

On the TOTALS page, you can see your YEARLY totals at once glance:

You will also be able to view:
(a) Complete yearly totals for each donor (both Church and Individual)
(b) Your "Top Ten" donors (see below)...
(c) CHARTS - showing donor giving comparisons, and individual donor patterns (see below)...

There is also a handy "PRAYER CALENDAR" that automatically puts your donor's names in a monthly calendar format which you can print out and use to pray for them each month!

 
Finally, there is a "Resource Page" that gives handy links and info to other relevant resources!

Download it and give it a try!


(Yearly support by donor)

(Donation comparison chart)

GETTING TO KNOW THE GREAT ONE
... .

                                                                       
Wayne Gretzky ("The Great One") retired years ago, but he's still a legend when it comes to hockey. 

He holds or shares over 60 NHL records including most goals, most points and most assists.  One of my favorite stats of his is “most goals for one season” – he comes in first at 92 goals (’81-’82) as well as second with 87 goals in ’83-’84 (and eighth, and tenth...)

During the 80’s you could turn on the TV and watch him play, hear commentators tell how amazing he was, you could follow his stats, collect his memorabilia and chat with your friends how great he was.  In other words, you could know a lot about him…and you could celebrate a lot about him.

But…does that mean you really knew him?

It’s one thing to know about someone and entirely different to really know them, to be counted as their friend.  If I happened to be walking down the street and Gretzky passed me by, he probably wouldn’t stop and say, “Hey man, great to see you again!” 

The unfortunate thing is that many of us treat Jesus like we do Wayne Gretzky (or insert your favorite sports hero here).  We talk a lot about him, we go to large gatherings to celebrate him, we hear commentators talk of his greatness, we collect his memorabilia.  But do we really know him?  Personally?  It’s one thing to know about Jesus…it’s another thing altogether to have a deep relationship with him, to be an intimate friend. 

It’s not enough to know his stats, it’s not enough to read of his records or to celebrate his deeds.  What he wants…what he longs for…is for us to know him deeply, intimately.  His deep desire is that we meet with him on a regular basis so we get to the point of knowing his voice and understanding his heart. 

We’ll spend tons of money and lots of time to stand in line and see sports stars or the famous.  But we bemoan the fact we have no time to spend with God. 

Yet in God’s presence is fullness of joy (Ps 16:11), strength (Is 40:31) and peace (Mt 11:28).  As we wait on him he’ll direct us, empower us, provide and guide us.  As Robert McCheyne once said, “a calm hour with God is worth a whole lifetime with man!”

Jesus is the Greatest Ever…let’s make time to spend with him this week!

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Related Posts:

• The Million Dollar Challenge
• Spiritual Narcolepsy

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