God’s Love in a Shipping Container

Jenny Hagger AM and the story of Mission World Aid.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me……
What you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me
Matthew 25:35-36,40

Jenny Hagger AM, founder of Mission World Aid

What do you do when the Lord puts something on your heart that, to all intents and purposes, seems completely impossible to achieve?

This was the challenge facing Jenny Hagger in 1992 when a friend working in an African orphanage asked her to send a container of relief aid into the war-torn nation of Mozambique. Jenny described herself at that time as “a simple housewife living in the Adelaide Hills”. While having no experience in collecting or shipping humanitarian aid to the other side of the world, she had a deep compassion for the poor and needy and a belief that Christ would honour a step of faith towards helping those in need.

The idea of sending a container seemed even more impossible when all the “experts” she approached for help told her that no one would ship a container into Mozambique – “Don’t you know that the country is in the midst of a bloody civil war?” they would repeatedly say. Jenny understood the facts but she also knew that Jesus was asking her to help the people of Mozambique.

Despite opposition, and in obedience to the Lord’s promptings, Jenny and a small group of Christian friends purchased a shipping container, started to collect relief aid and began the mammoth task of packing. It took several months to fill the 20ft container and, once finished, the timing was perfect. On 4th October 1992 a peace treaty was signed in Rome – the war in Mozambique was over. Amazingly the container was ready for immediate dispatch and left Adelaide on 26th October, becoming the first shipment of humanitarian aid to reach the war-torn nation from the southern hemisphere. Even the “experts” were surprised!

The container arrived at Maforga Christian Mission on Christmas Eve. As the doors were opened and the precious contents unpacked, those present sensed the love of Jesus. The following day, Christmas Day, Jenny received a fax from the mission - it simply said “You must be a very blessed people because it is more blessed to give than receive. Thank you”. There was incredible joy at the Maforga orphanage – that one container held desperately needed food supplies, blankets, medicines, household equipment, toys for the children and enough clothing for 4,000 people.

some of the people who have benefited from humanitarian aid.
(You can view more photos at the end of this article).

Soon a second container followed, and a third, and a fourth….. Photos were sent back to Australia showing some of the thousands of refugees receiving clothing; starving, drought affected people being given food and the sick being helped in the mission’s medical clinic….. The words of Matthew 25 were being lived out. The letters of thanks kept saying, “We feel the love of Christ”.

Jenny and her husband Brian were able to visit Maforga in 1993. They returned to Adelaide deeply moved and with a growing burden to send more containers. By 1998, 16 containers had arrived at Maforga and other needy destinations had also been identified.

Almost 2 decades after the first container was dispatched, more than 100 containers have been sent to some of the world’s neediest nations.

The cost of sending a container is significant – typically it is in the order of $10,000 but shipping costs to some destinations can be much higher. Each shipment testifies to the Lord’s miraculous provision with donations often coming from unexpected sources or just in time to meet specific needs.

While small compared to many aid organisations, Mission World Aid makes a fruitful contribution towards the relief of poverty and the support of those in need. Two distinct categories of support are provided - emergency aid, targeted to meet immediate needs arising from war, famine, drought and other natural disasters; and developmental aid, used to help establish schools, clinics and employment opportunities through cottage industries and the development of micro economies.

Items sent out by Mission World Aid have included quality clothing and blankets, hospital equipment, furniture, building materials, birthing kits and school equipment. The organisation aims to alleviate suffering at the grass root level, respecting the poor and helping them in their struggle against poverty and famine, disaster and injustice, and the tyranny and corruption that is sadly so common in many parts of the world. Mission World Aid is a member of ACFID (Australian Council for International Development) and abides by ACFID’s strict code of conduct requiring members to demonstrate the highest level of accountability in relation to all financial and aid related matters.

Packing each container is a complicated and time consuming process that starts with hard physical work and ends with a mountain of paperwork. The official paperwork includes the completion of extensive shipping, customs, insurance and transport forms. The paperwork process includes the preparation of detailed lists covering every box, every bale of clothing, every item of furniture, every piece of equipment and every other item! Everything must be listed and valued (and for some destinations even the weight must be assessed.)

“In addition to sending aid overseas”, Jenny reports, “it has been wonderful to have had opportunities to support a number of Australian Aboriginal communities and various local refugee and migrant communities.” In early 2009 a huge volume of blankets and toys was also donated to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

In 2002 a small opportunity shop opened in the Adelaide Hills at the Aldgate Shopping Centre. Funds generated from ‘The Mission Shop’ go towards containers as well as the work of other mission groups in India, Singapore, the former Soviet Union, Cambodia, Israel, Sudan, India and Mozambique.

Soon after the initial containers were sent to Mozambique, a formal organisational structure was established to manage the ongoing growth of the aid work and to ensure proper accountability – as a result Mission World Aid was born. It is now recognized as the mercy ministry of Australian House of Prayer for All Nations, a highly respected part of the Australian prayer movement also founded by Jenny Hagger. Jenny says “It is wonderful to see the intercessory work of the prayer movement linked so closely with the provision of very practical humanitarian aid.”

One of Jenny’s favourite quotes comes from Teresa of Avila: Christ has no body on earth but yours; Yours are the only hands with which He can do His work; Yours are the only feet with which He can go about the world; Yours are the only eyes through which His compassion can shine forth upon a troubled world.

“The prayer of all those involved with Mission World Aid is that we can touch a hurting world with the love of Jesus by practically offering support where it is needed.” Jenny invites you to help in any one of a number of ways:

Time: to help collect, sort and package relief aid items. Finances: contributions towards shipping costs, operational costs and the purchase of relief aid items. Prayer: for volunteer workers, overseas partners, shipping arrangements and the Lord’s continuing guidance. Donations: good quality items for use as relief aid are always appreciated. (Specific lists of needs arising from various countries can be made available upon request.)

If you would like to learn more, or would like to contribute to the work of Mission World Aid, you can visit their website at www.missionworldaid.org

See here for some comments from grateful recipients of aid around the world.

See here for a list of humanitarian aid items dispatched from Stirling, South Australia between 1992 and 2009.

Photos of Mission World Aid in action: