Well, Jesse has received his Kindle there in Togo.  He wrote about it here, and also sent me some proof that he really got it.

So here’s Jesse, with his prize…

Did you enjoy the contest?  Maybe we’ll do another one in the new year.  It’s a fun way to help out our missionaries – and that’s one big reason why this site is here!

All winners were chosen using random.org out of the valid entries here.

So, without further ado, here are the winners!

• 1st Prize:  Congratulations to Jesse Shanks, winner of the Kindle 3G and the new book Discovering the Songs of Christmas!  The Shanks are in Togo.  Mark N. from the USA entered for them, and he will be receiving the all new Operation World along with the CD ROM, and 2 copies of Discovering the Songs of Christmas.  Mark’s favourite post, and the one that resulted in all these prizes, was Sunday afternoon neighbor time.
• 2nd Prize:  The second prize winners are in Senegal – Norm and Debra Copeland!  They won 2 copies of Discovering the Songs of Christmas.  Kathleen Bowcock from the USA put in the vote for their post The kids are starting school!  Kathleen will also win two copies of Discovering the Songs of Christmas.
• 3rd Prize:  For the third prize, Rita Vernoy is the winner of a copy of Discovering the Songs of Christmas!  Sherry in the USA voted for her favourite entry, The Kitchen.  So Sherry also wins a copy!  (Incidentally, this was the most voted for post!  How about that?)

The prizes will be on their way to the winners right away!

Just to demonstrate the international reach of this site, the people who entered this contest came from 8 different countries on 5 continents!  And the missionary bloggers were from 4 continents and 8 countries!

Thanks, everyone, for entering.  But now, there’s more you can do!

All three of these prizes would make great gifts for missionaries!  They could be in a care package that your family puts together, or your church or small group could get together and send something to a missionary (like a Kindle!).

Why do these things make great, encouraging and useful gifts?  Click the links below to find out!

• Kindle 3G
• Operation World along with the CD ROM (also a great addition to your church or family library)
• Discovering the Songs of Christmas (also a great gift for a pastor or neighbour!)

• tanzanian kids say the darndest things – what are the most common greetings this person gets from kids in Tanzania?  I never would have guessed…
• And by the way, from the same blog, these pictures give a great view of life in one corner of Tanzania:  mwanza to mwakiwasha
• And now that you’ve travelled through Tanzania, why not visit Japan?  Here’s First thoughts on Japan
• Here’s a ministry to seniors in Ukraine – check it out Monthly evening for senior citizens
• Joys and challenges when it comes to this outreach in Moldova:  We are up and running!!
• So you’re thinking about going to Brazil, or praying for Brazil, and you want to know What’s it like…??  This blogger recommends some books.
• A great post about school and ministry in South Africa:  Back to School
• Finally, a story of life in Togo.  Got the time?  Read Long version: Ambulance, taxi, moving truck.  In a hurry?  Check out Short version: Ambulance, taxi, moving truck

It’s always good to read about what a missionary is doing – and it’s always completely different!  Here’s the latest from Peru in Back to Work!

Looking to solve a problem in Togo – I enjoyed this post entitled simply April update.

And we have to end with some more chalk – here’s a great post from Ecuador entitled The Faces – Tuesday Class.

But today we’re going to use that tag cloud to focus on the countries that aren’t there – the countries that are mentioned less here at Missionary Blog Watch.  Here’s the first sample…

Power plant in Sofia, Bulgaria

• Togo:  "First of all, imagine that you take every single thing you own and you put it in a container.  Then that container goes on a ship that might sink…" read May Update
• Tanzania:  "We’re out of water. We’ve been out of water for days…"  read Perfect Laid Plans
• South Africa:  "Highland communions typically lasted over a period of five or more days. Informal fellowships and prayer meetings run by the elders might stretch this out to a week…."  How does this Scottish tradition relate to South Africa?  Read Easter Communion
• Cambodia:  "I thought you would like to read my email conversation with my dad where he asks some good questions about the new place we are living…"
• Costa Rica:  "I had really hoped that I would not feel right at one of the places, but that didn’t happen. Now I’m torn…"  read My Heart is Torn
• Bulgaria:  "Since returning in March, I have been asked about training for teenager/youth over here.  Besides the Love Bulgaria event there seems to be a big hunger for information on the training and equipping of students for service to Christ…"  read Teenage Work – Once a Youth Pastor …
• Columbia:  "It’s been a bad time for the students. A week ago it was announced they would loose their free mid-morning coffee…"  read No more Colombian coffee

After ordering their appliances, they got an unexpected surprise which they just called Training for Togo. Then, God gave them a little reminder that He still had things under control – read about it in Providing, again.

The Shanks would appreciate your prayers as they plan to board the plane for Togo on February 3rd. Those appliances still need to arrive! You can read more of their latest prayer requests right here.

Two Students in Togo

Photo courtesy of Paul-W