Over the past few months our own lives have been turned upside down and certain things we took for granted were taken away. While our own “normal” has looked different from our brothers and sisters overseas, we all shared in the common experience of having our routines radically changed over a short period of time. Some of our missionaries experienced a much stricter lockdown than we did; some weren’t even allowed to go out for a family walk around the block! There are always challenges that come with the joy of living in another culture to share the Good News, but the Coronavirus heaped on even more challenges for our missionaries.
During this challenging time, we’d like to send our missionaries a little love in the form of a care package – a way to remind them that they are not forgotten; we see the struggle they’ve faced, we love them, and we stand behind them 100%.
We have a list to sign up to donate items for the care packages (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4FAFAC2EABFD0-overseas). Please have all items ready to pack by July 10th. You may drop items and notes off at the church or arrange for contact-free pick-up by contacting Sarah Hyun (sarahmhyun@gmail.com or 262-374-0572). Blank paper and cards will also be available at the church.
Here are a few tips:
- Make it personal
Hands down, the most encouraging and appreciated items we could send are letters from us. You could write a note or card. Children (and adults!) could make artwork. You could include a picture of your family. You could include homemade items. Write a family update – our missionaries really want to know what’s going on in our lives and how they can be praying for us.
- Be discreet
There is a good chance that the care packages will be searched. Please do not include anything that identifies the recipients as missionaries. Books and other materials should not be related to missions. Please note that due to the delicate position our missionaries are in, the missions team will be reviewing all notes and items prior to packing. Please also do not include medicine, vitamins, liquids, or other items that may be mistaken as illicit.
- Come together
This is a great opportunity for whole families and small groups to write letters and contribute to care packages. Maybe as a group or family you want to take on a care package for one missionary. Maybe you want to have a letter-writing party or craft items together.
- Pray
Make prayer a part of your letter-writing and item-gathering. While these items and letters will certainly provide some encouragement and comfort, let’s lift up our missionaries to the source of true and lasting comfort, strength, and joy – our Lord. Perhaps now would be a great time to start regularly praying for the missionaries – maybe weekly or even daily at a particular time.
To learn more about our missionaries, stop by the missions table at church for the annual missions report.