Friday, June 08, 2007

Care Packages Revised Namibian Version

Care Packages

I had many people asking about care packages while I was back in Canada. Yes there is a chance that it will get lost in the mail, but those that have made it have encouraged and excited everyone in the family (especially the kids). It doesn’t have to be big, even cards and letters are exciting to receive (I guess it just lets everyone know that they are being thought of, prayed for and cared about). It is not always easy living in a foreign country; there are always things that you miss.

Here is a list:

Iced Tea crystals
M&M (peanuts, almonds, and regular)
Stickers
Canada stuff (I brought lots… from the dollar store… back for kids and staff at the Ark and our friends… they LOVED it)
Gum (sugar-free)
Chocolate Chips
Beads and beading supplies
Patterns (Easy)
Yummy lip stuff
Spices (chilli, taco, salsa… there are some awesome Epicure spices that I miss, just send an email)
KD (cheese packs, you don’t have to send the noodles)
Spitz (different flavours)
Energizer rechargeable batteries (AA & AAA)
DVD’s (just send a quick email and see if we have what you are thinking of sending [we don’t have any Disney movies/animation… DVD’s are burned in a different region here, so we can only play the Canada/US region on our players, we use our DVD’s at the Ark too for ‘fun’ night, and they are a hit with everyone our kids bring over… we are also enjoying some ‘new’ series we had never heard of before i.e. House m.d.)
Computer Programs (Movie Maker, learning programs for kids [they will need to be able to run on windows 95/98], card making programs, newsletter design, photo design, etc)
Good Pens
Books (Piper books and CD’s, and DVD’s www.desiringgod.org , kids books, O’Malley series [Meagan currently owns books 1 and 3].
Vinyl CafĂ© CD’s (you can find them on the CBC store website)
Seeds (varieties including flowers, dill, veggies and fruit)
Sour Candy
Craisins
Music CD’s (Christian music)
Maple Syrup
Leatherman
Good knife sharpeners (the Ark needs one or two and so do we)
DVD/CD cleaner (you can find those at Walmart… made by Magnavox, didn’t have room to bring one back)
Ziploc bags (all sizes)

When sending a care package you don’t need to keep the stuff in their original packaging, you can take it out and place it in a Ziploc bag… CD’s and DVD’s can be taken out of their cases and put into those CD cases from the dollar store (the zip up ones that fit 10+)… You should check with the post office on size and weight limits (once you hit a certain weight and size you cross over into a new ‘bigger’ price range)… there are many suggestions for packing things light and yet safely… when you put the declaration form on the front there are some suggestions, you can write an extensive list of the less valuable things and end with gifts (reason being that sometimes people read the list and then decide if it is a good package to take home with them… so be careful what you write on the list).

Last year one of the volunteers here received a package and ‘half’ of the cookies were eaten from the container that they were in… it is a fact of life in this country, there is no respect for ‘others’ things, their attitude is if they see something they want they should just be able to take it (I am not sure why they hide it on the way out, if they truly feel it is a right). I do know why but basically you get what I mean!

Send packages to:

Knightly Family
C/O Christ’s Hope
P.O. Box 9979,
Eros Windhoek,
Namibia

If you send us an email knightvision6@gmail.com we can keep an eye out for it, but if you don’t, please don’t be surprised if we do not respond for a month or two… or if it doesn’t ever arrive then you will understand! We appreciate your kindness and love to our family!

God Bless,
Charlene

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You write very well.