Hope Spot 41 – Rabbit poo for Christmas?

Welcome to the brand new ALWS Gifts of Grace to put the HOP(E) into Christmas this year!

Whether your catalogue comes in your letterbox, or In-Box, or on the front table at church …

… you will find lots to make you smile!

Including the idea of giving rabbit poo for Christmas???

The front cover hero of Gifts of Grace
is Nathan and his Burundi bunnies.

Bunnies, you say. Aren’t they a pest, like here in Australia?

In Burundi, rabbits (along with goats) are cheap and easy to raise, and produce lots of poo … which is free fertiliser for families who can’t afford to buy it … which means crop yield improves … so families have enough to eat … and even have surplus to pay school and medical fees …

… which is why the poo from $23 Gifts of Grace bunnies is a great Christmas gift!

Nathan’s bunnies are just one of 30 unique, meaningful, life-transforming gifts you can give this Christmas – starting from just $3, with 7 gifts under $10!

This is the 15^th year of ALWS Gifts of Grace.

In that time, around 100,000 gifts have been given by generous people like you, providing $10 million worth of development aid in the world’s poorest countries.

Yet, I believe 2024 is the most important Gifts of Grace ever.

As you know, the world’s attention has been consumed by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Sadly, this has left the places you work through ALWS – places like Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia – forgotten, and left behind.

To be frank, it’s been harder than ever before
to raise money for the lifesaving aid families need.

Rather than give up, ALWS has decided to put in a huge extra effort to reach the broader community to join you in helping people through ALWS.

And that’s where Nathan and his bunnies are helping.

This year, with the support of ALWS Platinum Partner LLL, we have produced a Children’s Book – Nathan and the Fluffy Fertiliser Factory as part of Gifts of Grace.

In 20 colourful pages, Nathan shares in his own words what his life is like. Powerful photos that bring you up close as he:

• carries the family’s water in a heavy jerry-can
• does family chores, like feeding goats and rabbits
• studies hard at school, aiming to be a doctor
• plays soccer with a ball of stuffed-together rags

Why your FREE children’s book is important …

Our aim is to use Nathan and the Fluffy Fertiliser Factory to reach three NEW audiences for ALWS:

1. every family in Lutheran schools across Australia – 20,000 families
2. ‘Baby Boomers’ – via Senior newspaper, going to 400,000+ people
3. families of your grandchildren, great grandchildren, nephews and nieces, neighbours

While you may already give Gifts of Grace as Christmas gifts …

… this year I encourage you to give Fluffy Fertiliser Factory books as well.

Thanks to LLL, and with the endorsement of Lutheran Education Australia, you can order as many children’s books as you can use. FREE. Simply reply to this email or call 1300 763 407.

Once children have read the book, they might ask to give or receive the Gifts of Grace gifts they see in Nathan’s book.

This is a great opportunity for you
to share your values, and why you
help people through ALWS.

To help you do this, ALWS has introduced Grace Sheets for each Gifts of Grace gift …

… these are a double-sided A4 sheet that explains a lot more about how the gift will help, including a Case Study.

So, there’s plenty you can talk about!

And when you start with POO,
you know you’ll get children’s attention!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GRACE!

It’s a step of faith to make this extra investment to reach more people through Gifts of Grace.

(I feel a bit like a farmer buying a new piece of machinery, planning on the investment producing a greater harvest.)

While I watch every single dollar we invest in fundraising to make sure it works as hard as you do …

… I also know we have to do more, and find more people as kind as you, to make sure people in places like Ethiopia aren’t forgotten by the world.

(I received a report from Ethiopia last week that brought me to tears.)

That’s why I want to thank you for your generosity and grace, and for being a blessing ALWayS!

If you have any questions about your Gifts of Grace, feel free to simply reply to this email or call 1300 763 407!

Otherwise, I hope lots of people HOP(E) to it and give and receive rabbit poo as their Christmas gift this year!

PS: This Thursday, 24 October, Australia’s international aid agencies are coming together in a campaign to ask all of Australia’s political parties to increase our nation’s overseas aid to 1% of the total budget. My HOPE Spot #42 on Thursday, called Safer World for All, will show how you can help with an email to your local MP. I’ve done it – it’s easy – an extra, no-cost gift this Christmas. Thank you!