Christmas Begins this Sunday

As you probably know, in December last year I visited Papua New Guinea with a media team from Australia and New Zealand to look at the work of Samaritan’s Purse and in particular, Operation Christmas Child.

This Sunday I’ll be telling the story of that visit as Thornlie Church of Christ, 319 Spencer Road, Thornlie, launches their Operation Christmas Child campaign for 2011. The morning service begins at 9:00 and I’ll be showing a short documentary as well as talking about what I experienced.

Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 7 million. It is also one of the most rural, with only 18% of its people living in urban centres.

The majority of the population lives in traditional societies and practice subsistence-based agriculture. – Wikipedia

While we were in Papua New Guinea to help distribute some of the thousands of shoe boxes collected this year for Operation Christmas Child.

Operation Christmas Child is a unique project of Samaritan’s Purse that brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes.

It provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple but hands-on project that has the power to transform children’s lives.

In 2009, our teams in Australia and New Zealand delivered over 300,000 gift-filled shoe boxes to South East Asia and the South Pacific. Globally, Samaritan’s Purse distributed an estimated 8.5 million shoe boxes to children in 105 countries.

As each shoe box gift is delivered, it is treasured by the child that receives it, and is a lasting reminder that he or she is precious to God.

One of the most exciting aspects of the trip was a visit to an area that received shoe boxes last year. We saw first hand how the simple gifts given last year have opened opportunities that have changed the health and well being of the entire community.

If you live in the Perth area I really hope that you’ll be able to join me.

By the way, you can click on the photo in this post for a closer look.



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Visions of PNG

This is a short report broadcast on Sky News looking at my recent visit to Papua New Guinea. The report was put together by Rhema Broadcasting’s Allan Lee who was part of the media team on the trip.

He prepared the report on the work of Operation Christmas Child in Papua New Guinea for Sky News Australia/New Zealand.



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Changing Communities

Click for larger image.

I think my head is finally sorting itself out. Since returning from Papua New Guinea I’ve been catching up on a little sleep and trying to get over a constant light dizziness. I’m not sure if that’s the result of a heavy schedule or the side effects of the anti-malarial tablets I’m taking.

Over just four days I had the amazing opportunity to join a media team from Australia and New Zealand to look at the work of Samaritan’s Purse and in particular, Operation Christmas Child.

Papua New Guinea is a truly amazing place. The time we spent there was extremely hot and incredibly humid. While the conditions were a little testing, the time we had there was well worth the rushed visit. The people we met welcomed us warmly and it was such an honour to see the work they’re doing amongst the poorer villages near the nation’s capital of Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 7 million. It is also one of the most rural, with only 18% of its people living in urban centres.

The majority of the population lives in traditional societies and practice subsistence-based agriculture. – Wikipedia

While we were in Papua New Guinea to help distribute some of the thousands of shoe boxes collected this year for Operation Christmas Child.

Operation Christmas Child is a unique project of Samaritan’s Purse that brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes.

It provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple but hands-on project that has the power to transform children’s lives.

In 2009, our teams in Australia and New Zealand delivered over 300,000 gift-filled shoe boxes to South East Asia and the South Pacific. Globally, Samaritan’s Purse distributed an estimated 8.5 million shoe boxes to children in 105 countries.

As each shoe box gift is delivered, it is treasured by the child that receives it, and is a lasting reminder that he or she is precious to God.

One of the most exciting aspects of the trip was a visit to an area that received shoe boxes last year. We saw first hand how the simple gifts given last year have opened opportunities that have changed the health and well being of the entire community.

In the coming days I want to share more details of the trip and I hope it will inspire you to get involved in Operation Christmas Child or to support the work of Samaritan’s Purse in some other way.



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Delivering Christmas

When you’re considering donating money or goods to an organisation, one of the first things you probably consider is whether your donation is making it to the people who really need it and whether it’s doing what it needs to do. It’s fairly natural to want to know that when you want to make a difference in the lives of other, you’re actually achieving what you set out to do.

Over the next few days I’ll have the amazing opportunity to look at the work of Samaritan’s Purse and in particular, Operation Christmas Child.

Late tonight I’ll be heading to the airport to begin a journey that will take me to Brisbane and the on to Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 7 million. It is also one of the most rural, with only 18% of its people living in urban centres.

The majority of the population lives in traditional societies and practice subsistence-based agriculture. – Wikipedia

I’m going to Papua New Guinea to help distribute some of the thousands of shoe boxes collected this year for Operation Christmas Child.

Operation Christmas Child is a unique project of Samaritan’s Purse that brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes.

It provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple but hands-on project that has the power to transform children’s lives.

In 2009, our teams in Australia and New Zealand delivered over 300,000 gift-filled shoe boxes to South East Asia and the South Pacific. Globally, Samaritan’s Purse distributed an estimated 8.5 million shoe boxes to children in 105 countries.

As each shoe box gift is delivered, it is treasured by the child that receives it, and is a lasting reminder that he or she is precious to God.

One of the most exciting aspects of the trip will be a visit to an area that has previously received shoe boxes. That means that I won’t only be letting you know about the smiling faces of the children who receive gifts this year but I’ll be able to see first hand the effect that a simple gift can make for those who have less than most of us.

I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to keep you up to date during the journey but I’m sure to let you see the results once I’m back home. I’ll be taking photos and some video which I’ll share with you as soon as I can.

While you’re preparing for Christmas, please spare a thought for the many thousands of children around the world who’ll be receiving a gift for the very first time thanks to the generosity of those who have prepared shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.



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Mila’s Story

I mentioned Operation Christmas Child yesterday and the great difference it can make in the life of a child and a community.

Today I wanted to share a video with you to let you see what it’s really all about.



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