International (MNN) — At Christmas, believers know they should focus on the Lord and His coming, but culture often calls for gifts, too.
For those who do gift exchanges, gift giving can be fun and meaningful. But it can be difficult and stressful to find just the right items to give–especially without losing the meaning behind the gift giving, which is the gift of Christ.
This holiday season, Medical Teams International (MTI) has a way for you not only to bless those around you, but to bless those with very little as well–all while sharing the Good News of Christ.
"We've got an idea about some really great gifts that I think might, in fact, not only be appreciated by those whom we love, but will be appreciated by people around the world," says MTI president Bas Vanderzalm. "That's a gift catalog for people who will not get many gifts this Christmas."
The gift catalog includes a myriad of significant gifts. Options range from sending kits to prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading to families in Ethiopia, to providing stoves to promote health and nutrition for children in Guatemala, to supplying the hygiene items necessary to bring about a healthy childbirth in Afghanistan.
Gifts range in price, but more are around $25 to $30.
And the gifts don't end in Ethiopia, or Nicaragua, or Mozambique. Gifts can be given in honor of other people–someone close to your heart–and used as Christmas gifts to them. MTI will send notes to people for you to make them aware that gifts have been given in their names, or you can print cards out and give them away yourself.
The longevity of a $25-gift doesn't stop there. Right now, MTI has a $75,000 matching grant in progress. So for every health kit you buy, another will be sent. It's like multiplying your gift by three: every time you purchase one gift through the catalog, it gets matched to two, and you can do it in a friend's honor, making gift number three.
The matching grant won't be around forever. Click here to pick gifts out today.
So how does this all tie in with the Gospel? The whole point is to connect gifts and Christ, isn't it?
Sharing the Good News is MTI's most important mission. "We don't want to just provide for these physical gifts of healing, which are really important. But we also want to be sure that what we do points people to the redemptive love of Christ."
The Gospel is shared as gifts are handed out through local churches. One small medical gift to a child in Uganda could not only mean two gifts with the matching grant, but two lives changed by Jesus Christ. Consider making these a part of your gift exchange this year. View the catalog here.
