When your heart aches for the persecuted Church, for orphaned children, for lost souls, and the severely impoverished you can become overwhelmed with a sense that there is not enough money in the entire world to "fix" these things, but there is something you can do starting right now that can make a difference, a big difference.

     Start by thinking about money as a currency that you want to get the most out of.  When you purchase something you want to also be giving a donation at the same time.  It is really easy.  Many organizations now have stores on their web sites.  When you purchase an item you are actually getting an item and making a donation at the same time.  You can even triple the impact of that purchase if the item you have purchased will encourage the receiver of the item in their faith in the Lord.  The idea is to be creative and to think outside the box.

     I am going to talk about several of these ministries and what they offer and how you can utilize their offerings.

     Homebound Missions is an organization with a WORK Haiti program.  This program allows individuals in Haiti to work and earn money.  They mostly make jewelry, but the store offers other items sold by venders in Haiti and items that have been donated to raise money.  Items are very inexpensive  and very appealing to teens.

     Christian Freedom International is an organization that works with the persecuted Church all over Asia.  They have a self help work program and their items are all handcrafted.  CFI has gorgeous items that you will want for personal use and for those special occasion gifts, like weddings, showers, anniversaries, birthdays and such.  They have clothing, purses, basketry, toys and so much more.  Think ahead so you can order items ahead of when they are needed.

     Gospel For Asia offers a wealth of material that will inspire anyone in their Christian walk to care about the least of these and the unsaved.  These books are great friendship gifts to give to someone who is serving the Lord and would be encouraged by hearing about others in the faith.

     Mercy Ships is a fleet of hospitals that sail to different ports around the world offering medical care to thousands.  They have a 2008 Gift Catalogue on their site and it has a very unique selection of gift ideas for the person who has everything.  For $45.00 you can provide agricultural training to 1 person in a village community, $25.00 will pay for a man, woman, or child to receive an eye exam, $25.00 will provide 5 Bibles for recovering patients, and there is so much more.  To give this gift you simply make a donation and then create a lovely card that says, For your Birthday a donation was made in your name to Mercy Ships to provide...  I love getting these types of gifts because I truly want for nothing and I hate when people waste their hard earned money on something I don't need just beacuse they wanted to bless me.  Donate money to something I care about and bless me. 

Voice of the Martyrs has a bookstore complete with videos and DVDs.  They have a great selection of movies for children that will inspire them to care about the persecuted Church and to learn more about it.  They also have a great selection of books for adults who want to understand more about persecution, Islam, and the underground Church.

Now add these sites to your favorites list with a title like: Shopping with a Mission, so that you can quickly go to the sites whenever you have the occasion.

I could go on forever because there are so many ministries that offer this type of opportunity.  Please do not hesitate to share about other Christian organizations that do this as well.  E-mail them to me if you would like me to post them in the blog, or simply use the comments feature to share them.