Each year the organization hosts a massive Christmas party for around 500 children. This event not only blesses kids with a few toys and a warm meal, but gives them an opportunity to hear about and celebrate Christ.

Feeding Bodies and Hearts

The children show up in their best clothes for a warm meal of rice and beans, chicken, cookies and candy. They sing Christmas songs and learn about the Christmas story. Then each child receives a gift of a backpack.

(Photo courtesy of Andreas Böhm from Pixabay_

Roseline DeHart from For Haiti with Love says, “People have given us toys throughout the year to take down to Haiti. We have cars, Barbie dolls, hygiene stuff. The backpacks get filled with all kind of goodies. Then we give each kid a backpack and they go home. And then they tell the neighbors, they tell the families that didn’t come. They tell everybody what they have experienced. They tell them about the story they’ve heard – the Bible story. That’s the way that we spread the Gospel, through the children.”

Continuing to Speak about God

Typically the party moves around northern Haiti to reach different people each year. Haitians all over their community look forward to celebrating. However, this year due to the increased security concerns, they plan to have the event at their headquarters. For Haiti with Love is hiring additional security for the event to keep workers and the children safe as they celebrate.

DeHart says, “Satan is always trying to silence the people that want to talk about God. So we do it anyway, because that’s what we’re there for – to tell people about God. We have had people that come up trying to stop the party several times throughout the 30 years we’ve been doing it, but we never stop.”

As the event approaches, DeHart asks for prayer that the party will go off without any issues. Please pray that God will work mightily through the event and the discussions afterward to bring more people to know Him as Lord.

If you would like to support For Haiti with Love financially, please click here.

Representative Photo courtesy of Jörg Haller from Pixabay.

They’re searching for presents to give to those with plenty. Meanwhile, parents search daily for food and clothing in Haiti.

“They live day by day… the kids never get a toy to play with because that’s luxury for them,” For Haiti With Love’s Roseline DeHart says.

Christmas present distribution in 2015.
(Photo courtesy of For Haiti with Love)

For Haiti With Love’s annual Christmas party is the highlight of the year in northern Haiti.

“We have the Christmas party on December 25 for about 250 kids. We tell them about the birth of Jesus because some of them have never heard it before,” DeHart says.

“[Afterward,] we feed them; we also give them a backpack full of toys – something they want instead of something they need.”

The food and presents are good, but the Gospel – told through the story of Christ’s birth – is even better.

“We explain it to them (the kids), and then they go home, they tell their parents, so it keeps continuing,” DeHart says.

Help from the Body of Christ makes this work possible. Everything’s in place for this year’s Christmas outreach, “But we can start [working] on next Christmas,” DeHart says.

“They can help us spread the Gospel of Jesus, of the birth of Jesus, to kids that never heard it before.”

Pray hearts and lives will change as Haitians learn about Jesus for the first time. Pray for wisdom as For Haiti staff begin planning next year’s outreach.

“Each year we go to a different part of Cap Haitiёn so the Gospel can be spread out.”

In the header image, Christmas lights set the mood in tropical Haiti. (Photo courtesy of For Haiti With Love)

“We think we’ll [help] churches reach more than 75,000 kids this year!” says Mock.

Through the Immanuel’s Child program, SGA and partnering churches bring the hope of Christ to kids in Russia and the surrounding countries at Christmastime (also known as the former Soviet Union).

(Photo courtesy of SGA)

Mock says, “We talk about gifts; we talk about everything else. But if we’re not proclaiming the Gospel, it is not Christmas.”

For just $25, each kid getting an Immanuel’s Child gift will receive:

• A Star of Bethlehem ornament
• Christian children’s literature
• A special gift from local church workers

The program’s reach also extends beyond the Christmas season. “There are many Christian organizations wanting to do outreach during Christmas, that’s fantastic. But the work of the Church never stops at Christmas. Immanuel’s Child is equipping the Church for year-round discipleship.”

Through Immanuel’s Child, church partners receive the resources they need for year-round children’s ministry.

“We’re providing them with a Bible as well as Sunday school materials. They (SGA-partnering churches) take about $1 out of every one of the gifts [to] purchase chocolates during Easter, and they try to reach them (kids) during Easter.”

Help SGA reach entire families for Jesus this Christmas! Give here to Immanuel’s Child.

Children receive Bibles like this one in each Christmas gift. (Photo courtesy of SGA)

“About 20 percent of the parents come to faith in Christ during this outreach or get involved with the church and come to faith later. The structure of the program is amazing; I really invite your listeners to be a part of this.”

Header photo courtesy of SGA.

Every year, For Haiti With Love hosts a Christmas party for Haitian children and their families. They enjoy a big meal, give the kids presents, and most importantly, present the Gospel.

This year, the party is smaller. But they are still intent on making sweet Christmas memories.

Eva DeHart with For Haiti With Love says, “The gifts are brand new toys, brand new clothes, things that they may not otherwise have access to. It’s mainly giving them something to remember [that is] positive and giving them the Gospel for a lifetime.”

(Photo courtesy of For Haiti with Love)

Haitians are especially struggling this year since international support has dropped.

DeHart says, “Most of their help comes from the United States, and the United States has had many, many challenges. The churches being closed here has had a major impact because those churches are struggling to maintain their own overheads. That always means mission giving is forgotten. So [Haitians] reap the outfall of our problems by their support not going in. It makes it even more important to double down and make our presence known and show them that we are not abandoning them.”

Most of the families who come to For Haiti With Love’s annual Christmas party don’t have a relationship with Jesus. This may be the only time they hear about their Heavenly Father who loves them.

“We make sure that the focus is on the Christ part of Christmas. We want them to feel love. We want them to feel special in God’s eyes.”

(Photo courtesy of For Haiti With Love)

Please ask God to provide for Haitian families’ physical and spiritual needs going into the New Year. Pray for them to ultimately know the joy and hope found in Jesus.

Year-round, For Haiti With Love also runs a burn clinic and food program in Haiti — all in Christ’s name. You can support this vital ministry here!

Header photo courtesy of Alice Harold via Flickr.

Every year, Wycliffe Bible Translators publishes a catalog of Bible translation projects so that people can help give the gift of God’s Word to those who have never heard it before. Gifts can be made directly or in honor of someone else.

Many Facets of Translation Work

Melissa Stillman, director of development at Wycliffe USA, says that it takes about six months to narrow down about 200 projects to the 25 or 30 projects that they feature. These projects represent different areas of translation work.

Stillman says, “So the categories might be something like translation projects, training projects, projects that benefit children, audio visual projects with partners like the Jesus Film Project, and things where Scriptures are being introduced to a community for the very first time.”

(Photo courtesy of Wycliffe USA)

In 2019, for example, Wycliffe USA featured a project filming someone signing Mark and 1 Corinthians for their Colombian Sign Language Bible team. Another gift supported the translation of the New Testament for two people groups in Burkina Faso.

Offering Tangible Hope

Stillman says that this year, prep has taken on extra meaning. With much of the world facing uncertainty because of COVID-19, people are searching for hope and answers.

“The Wycliffe USA gift catalog offers concrete ways that believers can be the hands and feet of Jesus for people facing difficult circumstances without the hope that we have in God’s Word,” Stillman says. “We’re just so excited to be able to present opportunities for fellow believers to give the hope found in God’s Word during this time.”

Work Covered in Prayer

Narrowing down projects, writing, and producing the catalog takes a lot of work and wisdom. Stillman says that every week, their four-person team picks a new verse to pray over the catalog. They want just the right projects to land in the catalog for 2020.

(Photo courtesy of Wycliffe USA)

Stillman emphasizes that prayer guides their work. “We really rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us in featuring projects that give the Church in the United States the greatest opportunity to join God in the work of Bible translation in its many forms.”

Not only does their team pray for this work, but Stillman also asks believers to join them. Pray that God’s words would fill the pages and motivate people who receive the catalog to join translation work.

Pray, Preorder, Give

“God willing, the gift catalog will be available in early October and if people were wanting to go ahead and preorder a copy, they could email us at catalog@wycliffe.org,” Stillman says. “We’ll keep lists running so that we can make sure to have that out to them as soon as it is available. We’re just as excited. We can’t wait for it to be available.”

Pray for the continued work of Stillman and the rest of the team as they pull together the 2020 catalog. Preorder the catalog as a reminder of the translation work that still needs to be done as the holidays approach. Lastly, join Wycliffe USA this year by giving translation gifts as part of your Christmas shopping.

Header photo courtesy of Wycliffe Bible Translators USA

(Photo courtesy AMG International)

“Christmas is a special time of year for all of us, and it’s a special time for all the children and [leprosy] sufferers and national workers and everybody that we support around the world,” AMG’s President and CEO Tasos Iaonnidis says.

He explains that the Christmas project they do, called Bundles of Love, is actually a great way to reach out to entire communities. Each child they serve receives a valuable gift of items that they can use throughout the year.

“It’s a very special Christmas present that reminds them in a very tangible way that there are people who care for them and love them.

“It’s also a very special opportunity because … these events take place during special celebrations that are organized in the different projects around the world. And families and community members are invited. So, it’s a great opportunity to present the message of the Gospel not only to the children, but to family members, for some of them, to community members. And in this very clear presentation of the Gospel, we have seen seeds that have brought much fruit.”

(Photo and header photo courtesy of AMG International)

The Bundles of Love is a great example of how AMG is following Jesus’ example of providing for the physical and spiritual needs of people. By meeting people where they are at, the Gospel message can be readily shared.

And because AMG is an international ministry, the types of gifts the children receive around the world vary.

“Each Bundle of Love is customized for the area in which we serve and for the children’s needs in that particular project,” Ionnidis says. One child might need a winter coat where another child will need a summer school uniform. Other gifts could be school supplies, toys, and if they don’t already have a copy, the Bible.

Plus, the gifts are purchased local to each ministry location. That means the local economy and local businesses are benefited through this Christmas project, as well.

If you’d like to give a Christmas Bundle of Love, it’s not too late. Click here for more information, and see the donation button the left panel.

And if you’d like to partner with AMG year-round, consider sponsoring a child. You can learn more about that, here.

And no matter what, this is an opportunity to pray: “Pray, of course that as the children [receive these gifts] and as the messages are presented in the special celebrations that we will be able to present the Gospel very clearly to others that are there and that people will respond to the message of the Gospel, that they will see this as an example of Christ’s love and they will focus on the ultimate gift that God gave us which was the person of Jesus, and that the message that is planted will bear fruit this Christmas.”

(Photo courtesy of Sophia Valkova via Unsplash)

In the past few years, Christmas Blessing packages were sent to Christian families in Syria and Jordan. This year, VOM Canada’s Levi MacGregor says they’ll send the Christmas Blessing packages to Egypt.

“The reason we are picking Egypt this year is due to the fact that there has been a lot of attacks in Egypt this year in particular — a lot of churches have been attacked, a lot of bombings, a lot of fires set, a lot of damage to churches. So the Christian community there really needs some encouragement.”

Minority Coptic Christians and Muslim-background believers in Egypt face increasing hostility from their Muslim neighbors. This year, twin bombings in two Egyptian churches on Palm Sunday killed 45 people. It was the worst terror attack on Christians in Egypt’s modern history and a reflection of the growing hatred against this religious minority.

(Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

MacGregor adds, “Something else we found out was that there is actually a lot of Christian refugees coming from Iraq and Syria and actually taking refuge in Egypt, and they could use some encouragement as well.”

Christmas Blessing gifts mainly have items for children such as school supplies and a children’s picture Bible. But they also provide the family with food items like bags of rice. Their goal this year is to encourage 3,000 Christian families in nine Egyptian villages with Christmas Blessing packages.

“Really the focus is on letting them know they are not forgotten, they are loved, cared for, and prayed for.”

VOM Canada has also found in years past those families who receive Christmas Blessing gifts will often multiply them.

“We’ve heard of a number of families in Syria and also in Jordan a few years before where the families that are blessed by this project take the extra rice and extra food we give them in this project and they host a Christmas dinner and invite their Muslim neighbors over. This has an overflow effect into allowing our persecuted brothers and sisters to actually have an impact and to evangelize those Muslims around them that are often one of the causes of the persecution that they face.”

Christmas Blessing is one of VOM Canada’s largest projects in the year and provides significant encouragement at Christmastime to Christian families who may be struggling or suffering persecution.

If you would like to support Christmas Blessing with VOM Canada, click here to give at their website. You can also make it a family effort!

“There are some families that we have even heard of who, instead of doing Christmas presents for themselves, they will choose to make a donation to a non-profit organization,” MacGregor shares. “I’ve experienced that myself. There was one time where my own family decided we were going to make a donation to a non-profit organization and help encourage someone else at the end of the year rather than use that for ourselves, and I just remember the blessing of that.”

Your gift could help feed a family for life, or educate children. (Photos courtesy of Partners)

Burma (MNN) — How often do you give Christmas gifts that change lives?

Generally, a pretty packaged present under the tree has a short-lived impact. Usually it’s a gift that will get used until it breaks, or something that will quickly be forgotten once it loses its newness (and sometimes it’s just an unwanted pair of socks).

Partners Relief and Development has put a unique twist on the idea of giving Christmas gifts to those less fortunate than we. Their campaign, Love In Any Language, is an attempt to make life-long changes for refugees in Burma who are stuck in the rut of poverty and violence.

Steve Gumaer of Partners: “A gift is love in any language. The whole idea behind this campaign is to give people the opportunity to give alternative gifts that are meaningful and that make an impact both in the physical and material lives of refugees that we work with–and in their lives for the Kingdom of God.”

Among the gifts for purchase are ones that will address health, hunger, and education deficits. You could help pay for a health caregiver, or for teaching a family how to grow rice. You could even start a school that will help change the future of many children.

Your support can help the spread of the Gospel as well. “Everything that we do is our way of presenting the Gospel. What I mean by that is when we’re in these populations and we’re with suffering people, it’s very clear that we’re Christians,” Gumaer explains. “When we talk to people, our whole strategy is to prompt the question: ‘What is different about you guys?’ And when that question is asked, we come right out and explain to them that the difference is Jesus.”

Christmas is the time of year when most people go to be with their families. The holiday rush doesn’t stop at the family level, however. “December is a critical time for our team.” Often, charities use this time of year to raise provisions for much of the rest of the year. However, the Christmas season has its benefits for spiritual work as well. “It’s a time of the year where we have a tremendous opportunity to be the Word incarnate and to represent Jesus in a very special way in these ethnic states.”

So this year, consider giving up that one unnecessary thing you were going to buy for the family, and use the money for something with a greater eternal impact. Or, you can buy handmade gifts for your family. The proceeds go to the projects of Partners. To see a list of the possible gifts, click here.

Please be in prayer for Partners and other ministries as they use this time to raise funds that will help them continue their work year round. Pray that many families would be blessed this season in the name of Jesus.

Generally, a pretty packaged present under the tree has a
short-lived impact. Usually it's a gift that will get used until it breaks, or
something that will quickly be forgotten once it loses its newness (and
sometimes it's just an unwanted pair of socks).

Partners Relief and Development has put a unique twist on
the idea of giving Christmas gifts to those less fortunate than we. Their
campaign, Love In Any Language, is an attempt to make life-long changes for refugees
in Burma who are stuck in the rut of poverty and violence.

Steve Gumaer of Partners: "A gift is love in any language. The
whole idea behind this campaign is to give people the opportunity to give
alternative gifts that are meaningful and that make an impact both in the physical
and material lives of refugees that we work with–and in their lives for the
Kingdom of God."

Among the gifts for purchase are ones that will address
health, hunger, and education deficits. You could help pay for a health caregiver, or for teaching a family how
to grow rice. You could even start a school that will help change the future of
many children.

Your support can help the spread of the Gospel as well. "Everything
that we do is our way of presenting the Gospel. What I mean by that is when
we're in these populations and we're with suffering people, it's very clear
that we're Christians," Gumaer explains, "When we talk to people, our whole
strategy is to prompt the question: ‘What is different about you guys?' And when
that question is asked, we come right out and explain to them that the
difference is Jesus."

Christmas is the time of year when most people spend time with
their families. The holiday rush doesn't stop at the family level, however. "December
is a critical time for our team." Often, charities use this time of year to
raise provisions for much of the rest of the year. However, the Christmas
season has its benefits for spiritual work as well. "It's a time of the year
where we have a tremendous opportunity to be the Word incarnate and to represent
Jesus in a very special way in these ethnic states."

So this year, consider giving up that one unnecessary thing
you were going to buy for the family, and use the money for something with a
greater eternal impact.

Or, you can buy handmade gifts for your family. The
proceeds go to the projects of Partners. To see a list of the possible gifts,
click here.

Please be in prayer for Partners and other ministries as
they use this time to raise funds that will help them continue their work year
round. Pray that many families would be blessed this season in the name of
Jesus.

A simple stocking can bring great joy to a child–particularly in orphanages in Russia. Why? Because these kids rarely receive personalized gifts. One ministry is making a difference in the lives of orphaned children with their "Stuff a Stocking" campaign.

SOAR International Ministries based in Alaska is asking you to help provide a gift at Christmas for a child who receives little, if any, love during this special time of the year.

SOAR Director Dick Page says SOAR's focus is to "assist the church in Russia in completing or accomplishing the Great Commission. That ends up being mostly working with orphans and street kids and the doors for the church to have that kind of ministry."

SOAR does that by providing tools requested by the local church. "Stuff a Stocking" is just one tool. "We provide the churches with stockings stuffed with gifts that include hygiene items and school items. We also pack a Russian Children's Bible with that. Those are all personalized with a letter from people who sponsor them."

You can sponsor a stocking and send a Bible for $40. "It's amazing to watch the kids faces when they get a letter from a complete stranger who cares about them. And, we have translators who read the letters to the kids."

As you get involved, you're ensuring these young people hear the Gospel. "They will actually get a presentation of the Gospel, both from our team and the local church. The Gospel message is printed in Russian Scripture on the back of your letter that you give the child, and then they also receive the Russian Children's Bible."

The goal this year is 5,000 stockings. According to Page, this empowers the local church. "By going in with our projects, we're able to take the local church in as a partner, and then they're welcome to come back after they've been in with one of our projects."

SOAR is actively recruiting team members to distribute gifts at Christmas, Easter, and for camping ministry over the summer months. If you'd like information on any of these programs, click here.