We want Christmas to be about more than stress, debt, and busy schedules.  This year at Missio Dei Community, we want to let the season be a time for us to be globally minded and give a significant gift that can make a difference for our ministry partners in Africa, Cherish Uganda.
Cherish Uganda is a faith-based response to orphaned and vulnerable children living with HIV.  Care is provided in a village where all the children live on-site as a last resort for children who need to be rescued and is transforming communities where HIV and poverty coexist.  Many of the homes where the children live are in need of stoves, a luxury that most of us daily take for granted.

This Christmas, please consider helping us to “love all” by giving a gift to help us purchase stoves for Cherish Uganda.  We are trying to raise $3,600-4,000 to provide stoves for the homes in Akaloosa Village.  One stove costs around $600 and the need is for 6 stoves.  Perhaps you can but 1 stove, half a stove, or a burner.  For those of us who are regulars at Missio Dei, we are challenged to consider at least matching our most expensive gift we are giving as our Christmas gift back to God this year.  We are celebrating the birthday of Christ, so we want to make our first Christmas gift His.
If you would like to help us make a serious dent in our goal this Christmas, you can give by clicking the donate button below.  If you prefer to give via check rather than electronically, you can mail a check to: PO Box 7410, Santa Cruz, CA, 95061.
ALSO…any money given between now and Christmas will be matched by generosity funds from Missio Dei Community!
Thanks for joining us in our Advent Conspiracy efforts.  Learn more about the Advent Conspiracy movement below.

Advent Conspiracy  is a movement designed to help us all slow down and experience a Christmas worth remembering. But doing this means doing things a little differently. A little creatively.

It means turning Christmas upside down.

[WORSHIP FULLY]
Christmas marks the moment where God’s promise was fulfilled and love took form, tiny fingers and all. It is a moment that deserves our full attention and praise. We put Worship Fully as AC’s first tenet because we believe the level of our involvement at Christmas is based entirely on how much we are celebrating Christ’s birth. He deserves celebration; one that is creative, loud and directs every heart His way.

[SPEND LESS]
Quick question for you: What was the one gift you remember getting for Christmas last year? Next question: What about the fourth gift? Do you remember that one? Truth is many of us don’t because it wasn’t something we necessarily wanted or needed. Spending Less isn’t a call to stop giving gifts; it’s a call to stop spending money on gifts we won’t remember in less than a year. America spends around $450 billion dollars during the Christmas season, and much of that goes right onto a credit card. By spending wisely on gifts we free ourselves from the anxiety associated with debt so we can take in the season with a full heart.

[GIVE MORE]
We know what you’re thinking. “Wait, didn’t they just say I should spend less, and yet here they are telling me to give more? What gives?” The most powerful, memorable gift you can give to someone else is yourself. And nobody modeled this more than Jesus. So what does this look like for you? Tickets to a ball game or the theater? A movie night? The main point is simple: When it comes to spending time with those you love, it’s all about quality, not quantity.

[LOVE ALL]
It all boils down to love. Love from a savior. Love to a neighbor in need. By spending just a little less on gifts we free up our resources to love as Jesus loves by giving to those who really need help. This is the conspiracy three churches began a few years ago, and has since grown to an international movement where thousands of churches have raised millions of dollars to love others in life-changing ways.