Cyber Monday: Give scarfs, greeting cards, coffee or chickens for Christmas (Updated)

Update: Have you ever purchased a Christmas present that supported a church-related mission or ministry? Take our new online poll. (Scroll down to “Your Opinion Counts.”)
Happy Cyber Monday.
If you are scouring the Internet for great holiday values, you might want to stop by a few of these websites for Christmas.gif?Action=thumbnail&Width=460&algorithm=proportionalts that benefit missions:

T-shirt design from Bread for a Hungry World (photo via www.givebread.org)

Chickens and goats: Bread for a Hungry World is an international relief and development ministry supported by church members. The ministry takes donations for child sponsorships and a number of programs to help folks in Latin America and other regions with sustainable development projects. This year you can buy T-shirts that help send chickens to Honduras and goats to the Philippines. A donation of $20 gets you a T-shirt.
Totes, hats, scarfs and more: When I came to The Christian Chronicle nine years ago, a little Texas-based ministry called Eternal Threads was selling simple tote bags made from fishing net material. Women in southern India made the bags, church member Linda Egle sold them in the U.S., and the proceeds helped the Indian women send their children to school. In the years since, Eternal Threads has expanded into all sorts of clothing, jewelry, handmade paper and toys — all made by people in developing nations. (I bought my daughter a pink and purple giraffe made in Madagascar.) Through the ministry, Linda also is helping to fight child trafficking in India and Nepal. Go to the ministry’s website and find the “shop” menu to peruse the selection. Read more about the ministry in this feature from 2006.

HopeArt Christmas card (photo via www.hopeart.org)

Greeting cards from orphans: Need Christmas cards? Orphans Lifeline of Hope International, a church-supported ministry that provides support for children’s homes around the globe, sells HopeArt Greetings and.gif?Action=thumbnail&Width=460&algorithm=proportionalts. You’ll find an assortment of greeting card styles, with original art produced by children the ministry serves. Visit the website and build your assortment. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to the ministry.
Magic baskets: Metro Manila Ministries, a church-supported organization, offers wooden, collapsible “magic baskets” made in the Philippines through its eBay store. Proceeds help the ministry provide feeding a tutoring programs for children. (Scroll down to “Philippines” in this story to find out more about a ministry of the Friendship Road Church of Christ supported by Metro Manila Ministries.)
Coffee with a purpose (and mosquito nets, too): Purposeful Brew offers a variety of coffees (regular, decaf and flavored) for sale through its website. A percentage of each purchase goes to the church-supported ministry Christian Relief Fund. The Amarillo, Texas-based ministry also has an online.gif?Action=thumbnail&Width=460&algorithm=proportionalt catalog. Buy a Bible or a mosquito net for a child this Christmas.
I know there are many more ministries selling coffee through their websites. If you have any other examples, please post a reply or contact me.

• Feedback
  I have to admit, this was the first time we’ve ever bought chickens for Christmas. But what a better way to celebrate this Christmas than sending chickens to hungry people in Honduras and giving our friends the t-shirt that says, “I got chickens for Christmas, but Santa delivered them to Honduras.”
  That is a much better Christmas gift than the other things we were thinking about giving.
  Blessings

  Trey Morgan

  November, 29 2010

  Mission Lazarus has some outstanding gift options.
  From handmade leather boots, belts and bags.
  To coffee.
  Check it out
  http://store.missionlazarus.org/products

  Lantz Howard

  November, 29 2010

  There is also Give A Goat.
  http://www.giveagoatnow.com/

  Shelly Kellis

  December, 6 2010