Happy New Year

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth,

do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19

Review: Revolution in World Missions

This is by the founder of Gospel For Asia, Y.P. Yohannan. It is a combination of a personal autobiography, the story of Gospel For Asia and the missionaries connected with it, and a wakeup call for those in the West who are living primarily for temporal purposes.

I really enjoyed this book – I found that it had a thoroughly biblical view of the importance of reaching people with the gospel and of combatting poverty, something that a lot of organisations have only one or the other of. It’s wonderful to see that an organisation believes that the gospel is the most important, but that addressing poverty is both a biblical command and that it helps people to be able to listen effectively to the gospel.

It also touches on the effectiveness of missions. Many missionaries are not very effective, especially in areas that are only slightly reached, in part because the unreached can see Christianity as a religion for white people. Native missionaries, something foundational to GFA, are able to more effectively reach others in these areas. They also have the language down (or nearly so, if from a nearby region), and are less likely to make cultural faux pas. Yohannan asks why we are not willing to put more money into things that are effective rather than just continuing with things that are not working as well.

Definitely a worthwhile read – and you can usually get it for free at the GFA website!

Merry Christmas

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Shpping for Christmas - TEAR

With the lead up to Christmas, most people are looking to buy things for their friends and family.  Many of these wan their money to be going to benefit groups and people that they care about, from orphans to missionaries to the poor.


So, this month I'm going to let you know of some organisations that you can get presents from that allow you to give gifts AND help bring people to Christ or make a difference in their lives.

TEAR was the first organisation to start the give a gift that keeps on giving idea.  They work actively for God's justice around the world buy providing animals and tools that assist people to work their way out of poverty.

One of the things that is fairly unique about TEAR is that it is an Australian based group gone international, rather than an international group with an Australian branch.  They have a lot of programs that you can go to that explain their work and issues of poverty, and they have programs that work with Aboriginal Australians (who need a lot of support in a variety of areas for a great many reasons).

This is a great organisation to be supporting this Christmas.

Shopping for Christmas - Compassion

With the lead up to Christmas, most people are looking to buy things for their friends and family.  Many of these wan their money to be going to benefit groups and people that they care about, from orphans to missionaries to the poor.


So, this month I'm going to let you know of some organisations that you can get presents from that allow you to give gifts AND help bring people to Christ or make a difference in their lives.

Today the organisation that I am letting you know about is Compassion.  Compassion works in needy areas and countries, aiming to lift children out of poverty and to educate them and to bring them to Christ.  It works very much the same way that some of the more famous organisations like World Vision does, but it is a lot more explictly Christian.

For Christmas, you can give a variety of Gifts of Compassion.  These gifts are items that are vital for health, especially in 3rd world countries, but often cannot be afforded by those who need them the most.  Items vary from toothbrushes to mosquito nets (malaria is TERRIBLE, and is one of the biggest killers in the world) to chickens to sewing machines to really big ticket items such as playgrounds and wells.

As the site states, "Most of us here in Australia have more than enough “stuff” in our lives, yet each birthday and Christmas we find ourselves cramming more well-intentioned gifts into our cupboards. But what if you could give—and receive—gifts that meant something special to your family and friends, but also to children who have far less stuff than they need?"

Give a worthwhile gift - in Christ's name - this Christmas, and make an eternal difference.

Shopping For Christmas - Voice of the Martyrs

With the lead up to Christmas, most people are looking to buy things for their friends and family.  Many of these wan their money to be going to benefit groups and people that they care about, from orphans to missionaries to the poor.


So, this month I'm going to let you know of some organisations that you can get presents from that allow you to give gifts AND help bring people to Christ or make a difference in their lives.

Today's organisation is Voice of the Martyrs.  VOM works around the world with people who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus, including providing support for the widows and orphans of those who have been martyred, support for families whose breadwinner is imprisioned for their faith, legal representation, medical assistance, education and ministry training and more.

VOM has a variety of things you can do for Christmas.  Their main focus at the moment is their Christmas Care Nigeria packs, which provide materials for Christian children in Nigeria.  Materials include a children's Bible, rice, school supplies and a soccor ball among other things.

They also have other funds, including the providing literature fund, help for families, and equipping the persecuted funds.  All of these are worthwhile.

You can also purchase items from VOM.  Items include devotional materials, books, CDs and DVDs on the reality of life in a hostile country and materials for children.

Definitely worth thinking about for gifts!

Shopping for Christmas - Gospel for Asia

With the lead up to Christmas, most people are looking to buy things for their friends and family.  Many of these wan their money to be going to benefit groups and people that they care about, from orphans to missionaries to the poor.


So, this month I'm going to let you know of some organisations that you can get presents from that allow you to give gifts AND help bring people to Christ or make a difference in their lives.

Today's organisation is Gospel for Asia.  Gospel for Asia is a great organisation, founded by K.P. Yohannan.  It works primarily in India and the surrounding countries, and has a big focus on native missionaries and work done by local people.  This makes massive sense, as native missionaries are able to contextualise to the local population without compromising the gospel messege.

Anyway, they have a Christmas catalogue, which you can order online, of gifts that you can give to further the advance of the gospel.  Categories include animals (from chickens or rabbits to water buffalos!) to gifts for the poor (things like sewing machines or rickshaws, and even wells) to outreach materials like Bibles and New Testaments, to tools that help missionaries go further (like bicyles).

Having ordered in the past from their paper catalogue, you get a card with a photo of the gift selected to give to your friend.

All money goes toward that item - GFA don't take out money to cover admin costs.  That is raised seperately, though you can certainly donate towards that.

You can also sponsor a child or a native missionary through GFA.

If you want to give a more tangible gift, then you can buy books, DVDs, and Indian Shoulder Bags.  I really like the Indian shoulder bags, and have given them in the past several times, including to non-Christians, as they are not Christian materials.  A few of them noticed the label, and asked about it, and it was a good way of explaining the work the GFA does (both evangelical and in terms of helping the poor) and gave me opportunities to present the gospel on some of these occasions.  The books are wonderful, and one (Revolution in World Missions) is going to be reviewed in the near future (and I only review books I love!)

Okay, just reading this is making me go out and do some Christmas shopping (for myself - new books!) so there is HEAPS there for anyone to give this Christmas!

Shopping for Christmas - Orphan Wares

With the lead up to Christmas, most people are looking to buy things for their friends and family.  Many of these wan their money to be going to benefit groups and people that they care about, from orphans to missionaries to the poor.


So, this month I'm going to let you know of some organisations that you can get presents from that allow you to give gifts AND help bring people to Christ or make a difference in their lives.

The organisation that I'm letting you know about today is Orphan Wares, an off-shoot of International Voice of the Orphan, which sells handmade items, with all of the profits going towards their feeding program.

There is some seriously cute stuff, especially for any babies that you are buying for (hint, given the sudden influx of babies in the last few months!)  But they sell Homewares, stationary, accessories, toys, and lots of clothing for children.

All of the money from the item goes to the feeding program in Uganda, the only money taken is the postage costs (all items are donated).

Shopping For Christmas - Bushikori

With the lead up to Christmas, most people are looking to buy things for their friends and family. Many of these wan their money to be going to benefit groups and people that they care about, from orphans to missionaries to the poor. So, this month I'm goign to let you know of some organisations that you can get presents from that allow you to give gifts AND help bring people to Christ or make a difference in their lives.

The first organisation is Bushikori Christian Centre, and its support committee in Australia. Bushikori is the centre that I (Sam) went to for my second trip to Uganda. There are three categories of gifts that you can get from Bushikori:

1. Christmas Cards

There are 5 different cards to choose from, and they are 5 for $10.


2. Gift Cards

Cards a & b are $10 and the money goes to the Gift & Welfare Pool Card c is $20 and supports the Health Centre Card d is $20 goes towards the Tertiary Fund Tax deductible receipts are available for these cards.

3. A CD or DVD Bushikori's new DVD/CDs have just been delivered. The video has footage of the Joshua Primary School Choir and Bushikori church choirs and the CD is a recording of the Joshua Primary School Choir. A great gift for only $15.00 I (Sam) have a copy of the first CD (Bushiglory) that you can listen to if you want an idea of what it is like.

You can order either through Esther from the Bushikori committee (estherc@pipeline.com.au), or in person (or email or text) to Sam, who will pass your order on. This is a great cause that really helps orphans and other needy children in Uganda.

Shopping for Christmas - John Carins

With the lead up to Christmas, most people are looking to buy things for their friends and family.  Many of these wan their money to be going to benefit groups and people that they care about, from orphans to missionaries to the poor.


So, this month I'm going to let you know of some organisations that you can get presents from that allow you to give gifts AND help bring people to Christ or make a difference in their lives.

Okay, this guy shouldn't need much introducing, given that he visits our church a few times every year.  But for those of you who don't know, John Cairns is an itinerant preacher with an international ministry.  He is also involved with missions work, mostly in Kenya, but also in surrounding African countries.

They sell Gifts for Change, gifts that change the lives of people in need in Kenya, and that provide funding for their children's home, and that help fund training for pastors and others doing the work of spreading the gospel.

Gifts like this can really soften people's heart to the gospel.  Most people in Africa know that we don't "have" to give of our own money to provide things that they need - and they can often see from political and business leaders of their own nation that such things are frequently neglected.  Gifts mean that the receiver will often ask "why are you doing this", which is an excellent opportunity to share the gospel.  They also allow those who are doing the work of pastoring and evangalising to focus on their spiritual work and not need to spend as much time working for their "daily bread".

John Cairns also sells a variety of Christian resources - primarily CDs of sermons.  They are well worth it - and a few are on missions, but all are on how to live a life that is more and more reflective of Jesus.

Day Seven: Tuesday 19.06.2012

Breakfast was funny! David joined us, and Anne made him take a lot of supplements to help him get over his infection. (Originally it was thought it was malaria, but it turned out to be something else – a general infection.) She made him take 8 different supplements, with him complaining the whole time, especially as he is a clinical doctor (not a full doctor, but still medically trained) and he knows that omega 3s will not actually reduce his fever. We went to the Bushikori Centre, where we met the chairman of the board. Then I went to speak to Juliana about where they wanted me to help or teach. I am teaching P4 comprehension. My class was not until after lunch, so I sat in the back of the P4 social studies class. Classes here are quite different than in Australia: no group work, lots of reciting by the whole class at once, and memorising of definitions. It need to be like that, especially in bigger classes. Imagine 200 children doing group work? Chaos! My class went quite well, though the children are all trying to imitate my accent and sound like a combination of Fran Dresher and a robot. I bribed them all with a promise of a song if they behaved for the class.

After my class was library time. P4 had the story of David vs Goal-leth for their shared book. They are mostly reading early readers for their own reading. I went even before school finished, as my ride was going. They dropped me and Esther at the Internet Café, and I sent a few emails. The internet is still slow, especially for emails, and I have some urgent ones to send, which I just keep delaying. I will go back tomorrow as well to get more done. At dinner we discussed Constantine and his effect on the church, which was really interesting. I really enjoy history! Oh, I forgot to say about our discussions with Linus at lunchtime! We told him about the weather around the world, and how in Antarctica it is dark for half the year and sunny for the other half. He was so amazed at that. Because Uganda is on the equator the days and nights are always about even. Esther told him about how in Sweden they all take a holiday for a month because it is so light until 2AM, so they all just have parties and visit each other. Linus thought that was amazing, and how that would take a lot of planning. So Esther told him about squirrels and bears and how they prepare for winter. I told him about the penguins in Antarctica, and how the boy penguins carry the eggs on their feet while the female penguins fish. Again, he thought they were the funniest things he had ever heard.