IDEAS THAT WORK

To a missionary, mail is one of life’s treasures. If you were ever in the military and remember standing in the rain for mail call, you know what a letter from home can mean. It’s the same with missionaries. Mail can minister-if it’s thoughtfully sent. In the seven years our family has been in Kenya, some things have passed through our mailbox that meant much to us.

Reading Material: What magazines do you read? Would a missionary enjoy those magazines also? From time to time a fellow in the States air-mails me the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. Because air-mail postage is so expensive, he can’t do it often, but it’s a nice gesture when he does. It makes us feel like someone cares.

How about comic books for the kids, Good Housekeeping for the wife? Do you enjoy a subscription to LEADERSHIP? Do you think a missionary would? Would a missionary’s wife enjoy a subscription to Today’s Christian Woman or Partnership? Would the kids enjoy receiving Campus Life? What are their hobbies? Maybe they would like Mechanix Illustrated, Computer Digest, or Creative Crafts.

Recently a pastor sent me a book. He wrote, “I enjoyed this book; it was a blessing to my life. I thought I’d share it with you.” What thoughtfulness!

Cassettes: I had been in a mud hut for a week teaching national pastors. One morning, discouraged and a little lonely, I turned on a music tape I had just received from a pastor friend. The first song was “Someone Is Praying for You,” by Praise. I can’t begin to describe what that meant to me that morning.

What type of music do you enjoy? Do you think a missionary might enjoy the same? Perhaps they like classics, show music, country and western, or pop. Recently a church surprised my daughter with her own cassette recorder and some tapes.

Several pastors send a copy of their church services on tape. I have also received teaching tapes on leadership principles, finances, and motivational material. These are helpful to keep a missionary from going dry.

One year someone sent me the World Series on cassette, commercials included. As I drove my truck in the desert, I listened to Vin Scully’s play-by-play. It made a four-hour journey in 100-degree heat almost enjoyable.

Video: Sitting in his home in Odessa, Texas, watching a movie on video, Rev. Jerry Thorpe turned to me and asked, “Lewis, if our church bought you a video machine, could you use it?”

“We sure could!” I answered.

Video players are difficult to get into some countries, but I don’t know of a better morale booster. My family enjoys worshiping the Lord in English. After being in African churches, preaching in Swahili, it’s nice to watch a video-taped American worship service. Even Bible teaching courses are available on video.

Practicality aside, my wife is a movie buff, my kids are cartoon buffs, and old dad is a news and sports buff.

I realize some people feel old movies and cartoons don’t have anything to do with the Lord’s work, but if isolation is harmful to missionaries’ morale, perhaps a little Americana might be of some practical use. We won’t know till we get to heaven, but perhaps Paul would have enjoyed the Olympics, and Livingstone would have enjoyed a little cricket if they had been able to watch it via video.

Packages: The Women’s Missionary Society of Central Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, are pros when it comes to sending packages to missionaries.

At their meetings they bring empty milk cartons and pack them with little items not available in many parts of the world. We have received such precious American products as KoolAid, cake mixes, chocolate chips, coconut, balloons, artificial sweetener, and pocket calendars. That may not sound very exciting to you, but when you’re 10,000 miles from the land of plenty, those are neat items to receive.

They aren’t expensive; the value of the contents never exceeds five dollars. They send the packages surface mail, so postage is less than two dollars.

Recently we received a box from another church. They had no idea what was available here or what we could really use, so their box was a hodgepodge of-well, junk! Soap, toothpaste, used pencils, combs, and used yarn. As much as we appreciated the thought, it looked as though they had cleaned out the closet.

The key is knowing what missionaries like to receive. Write and ask what suggestions they have.

Clothes: In a Third World country like ours, many people still wear very little clothing. We work among two backward tribes. Several churches in America regularly send us used clothing for our Christians, which is well received by the Africans. If you pack well and use surface mail, you can provide clothes for thirty naked kids for about twenty-two dollars. Our men especially like to receive trousers; the women enjoy dresses and skirts.

These are just some things we have received. I would encourage churches getting involved in this ministry to correspond with their missionary first. In some countries, customs regulations are very strict. Needs are also different. Some missionaries might not want chocolate chips but have need for soap and used pencils.

Not everyone can go to a mission field. But if you believe in world evangelism and want to do something more personal than a mission offering, the mailbag ministry is a way to “go into all the world.”

Richard Lewis is a missionary in Kitale, Kenya.