All posts tagged gift

Winner(s)

by noel.piper on December 14, 2011 in Asia with No comments

Congratulations to Bethany Bowen, the winner of the Chinese Christmas scene.

But hold on! There will be another couple of winners from amongst you when Joann returns to Minneapolis in a few days. She reminded me that she has a couple of gifts for you.

I’ll let you know soon.

A Christmas Gift

by noel.piper on December 10, 2011 in Asia with 65 Comments

I’m thankful for all of you who follow me around the world. Since my next distant adventure is to China, Lord willing, I have a Chinese Christmas gift for one of you.

This one-piece creche was hand-carved by a Chinese Christian artist. The dimensions are approximately 5 inches high x 6 1/2 inches wide. The base is 1 inch deep. The main figure is about 1/2 inch thick.

I have a similar one–one of my reminders that Jesus was born to be the Saviour of brothers and sisters from every tribe and tongue.

To be eligible for the drawing:

  • Subscribe to Tell Me When to Pack. Use the links to the right or click here.
  • Comment to this post to tell me you’ve subscribed. (If you’re already subscribed, comment to tell me that.)
  • Respond by  Tuesday, December 13, 11:59 pm CST

Winners of mystery gifts from Brazil

by noel.piper on October 13, 2011 in South America with 4 Comments

Congratulations to the winners of the mystery gifts from Brazil.

  • Lonely Planet Brazil guide book (2011)(better for someone else to enjoy it than for me to store it on a shelf till it’s outdated.
  • Ground coffee, 1/2 kilo (Brazilian product)
  • 2 packs of cashews, 50 grams each (Brazilian product–see below for a cashew story)
  • Wooden Christ the Redeemer–a reminder to pray for Brazil– 4-5 inches tall
  • Magnet of Brazilian flag — a reminder to pray for Brazil
  • Vase from porcelain works in Monte  Siâo (Mount Zion) — You can see my photos visiting the porcelain factory.

If your name is the same as one of the winners, you’ll know whether I mean you if you get an email from me. The winner’s commenter names are:

  • Fanny
  • Kat
  • Pamela Nees
  • Susan Lytle
  • Connie
  • Mel

Cashew story . . .

Soon after our daughter-in-law first arrived in the US from Brazil, she was playing the fruit game with a bunch of people. It’s a fast-moving game and C was the letter on her turn. She named the first thing that came to mind–cashew. All the North Americans laughed because they all knew cashew is nut, not a fruit.

But guess who was right? She was. The cashew nuts that we know, are the inside of a lower appendage on the cashew fruit. Cashew juice, made from the fruit is one of the many, many fresh fruit drinks to try in Brazil.

Mystery gifts and winners

by noel.piper on September 14, 2011 in Oceania, Recommended with 6 Comments

Thank you so much for your  great suggestions of what to do and see in Australia. I like this way of planning my travel days. I’ll try to post a list of your ideas for the benefit of whoever might be on the way to Australia in the future.

But right now it’s time to tell you there isn’t a mystery gift from Australia. No, not one. There are eight. So that means eight of you are winners of one of these gifts. And thank you to Colin Buchanan who sent his CDs as gifts for you.

  • 1. Sons of Korah: Live  – DVD. Psalms set to music. One Amazon reviewer says it’s for “when your soul is thirsty for His comforting word.”
  • 2. God Rock — CD of Christian music by Colin Buchanan
  • 3. Bourke to Beaconsfield – CD of Australian country music by award winning Colin Buchanan
  • 4-6. Real Hope — CD of Christian music by Colin Buchanan
  • 7. Set of 4 Australia felt-backed coasters– mother-of-pearl-look in a black setting, with gold-colored highlights.
  • 8. Aussie Bush Hat – brim can be snapped up on either or both sides. If you thought you saw me wearing it in some photos, I admit I borrowed it a couple of days. Just road-testing it, you know. Works great.

The winners are (by user name):

  • Mel
  • Cynthia B
  • Debi
  • Amanda
  • Jody Gates
  • Roberta
  • Silvana
  • Albert Chun

In case there  are duplicate user names, you will know if I mean you because of the email you receive later today asking you for your mailing address and asking for your prize preference.

I’m sorry there’s not something for all of you, but stay with me. More good things are coming with my next trip, which is very soon. Where? Think beaches, hammocks, churrasco, feijouada, capoeira . . .

Mystery gift from Down Under

by noel.piper on August 21, 2011 in Oceania with 168 Comments

Welcome to Tell Me When to Pack.

When to pack? Right now! Get the laundry out of the dryer and the roller bag out of the attic. I’ve waited a long time to visit Australia and the time has come.

To celebrate your presence on the first journey via this blog, I’m promising a mystery gift to one of you. It’s a mystery because I myself don’t know yet what it is. It’ll come back with me from Australia.

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post. That’s all. But I’d love your thoughts related to this trip, in the spirit of fellow-travelers. Some conversation topic ideas:

  • What would you want to do if you were in Sydney or Brisbane?
  • What gift would you like me to bring back from Australia?
  • Is there anything in particular you hope I’ll post about while I’m there?
  • Do you live in Australia?
But like I say, all you must do is leave a comment. Then I get back home, one of you will be chosen at random to receive the mystery gift from Down Under.

Remember, if you subscribe, you won’t have to wonder when the next post is up. Links are on the right side of this page.

And last, but it should have been first: Huge thanks to Matt Heerema, Web Team Leader at Desiring God, without whom I’d still be staring blankly at blog layout options. I still don’t have to know what to do next because Matt did it.