Yes indeed, this is why!
Early yesterday morning I got an email from a dear friend.
Later yesterday Jenny left a comment asking this:
I also have a silly question. I’m a little unclear what I should write with the package we are sending you! I had hoped to get it out today, but we got snowed in! So hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday. Any suggestions on a starting point of what to say to the child who may get our little outfit? I’m really at a loss here, and feeling silly!
Well Miss Jenny, that is not a silly question – I am sooo very thankful you brought it up.
Now get this….
Yesterday early morning I got an email from a dear friend. Her name is Kathy and she runs an orphanage in Uganda {incidentally, the team will be ministering there}…
Kathy had read the posts about the wedding feast and here’s what she wrote:
Regarding your encouragement to have people write and send pictures, I just have this to add:
The first time I met a young teenage girl named Betty on the streets of Gaba, Kampala, she told me about her American friend, whom she called by name. She said they had been friends since she was a little girl. After that, every time I met her, she talked about her friend. One day I went home with Betty to meet her sweet mama, and Betty brought out an old and worn letter. It turns out her friend, whom she loved so dearly, was a woman who had sent a Shoebox Gift through Samaritan’s Purse and included a letter years before! Betty had not only treasured the letter, but the friendship she felt from that dear woman. And I know our kids at Redeemer House treasure the letters, and especially the pictures, they get from their sponsors even more than the gifts – truly! Please keep encouraging these people to write to these dear kids!
I told ya!! In our Western world we cannot fathom the loneliness and hopelessness that so many have faced every, single, day of their lives. Betty held on to that letter for all those years and referred to her friend over and over. Seriously folks, I cannot help but cry when I think of the joy that simple act of writing a letter years before, had brought Betty.
So that’s the why.
Here’s some ideas about ‘what’ to write:
Include things like:
Who you are
If you have kids {even if they’re grown}
What you do
Where you live {like we live where it is snowing!}
That you are praying for them
That you are so thankful God made them
If you’ve ever been to Africa or hope to go one day
Exciting news that you/your family has {ie, grandbaby on the way, recently engaged, weddings coming}
That you will keep praying for them
Say things like: “I’m so glad we’re friends now!”
Where you live
A picture of you and/or your family – In fact I know of one person who is laminating the picture they are sending! Perfect! Guess what? Each picture sent will be treasured forever.
So take a picture and stick it in too!
****
And lastly – please, please, please tell them –
that you love them!
Okay, just a little forthrightness here…I have spent my life dumbfounded by the number of people who struggle to say “i love you” even to dear friends. Sweet friends, God’s word is clear: He loves. If we are to be like Him, we are to love. He expresses His love to us by saying He loves us…Please lay down the idea that it is awkward to say “i love you”…and be set free to say ‘i love you’!! “I Love You” is not something I say flippantly. I truly love. I love each of you and I care about you and your concerns. God’s love compels us to love others and to tell others that we love them. God freely loves and so must we.
So please don’t be afraid to tell these street boys that you love them.
Trust me, if you met them, you would see their circumstances and your heart would be wrecked.
Forever.
And you would, without even thinking, wrap your arms around them and tell them you love them.
I know you would.
I.know.you.would.
Lastly, if you are not able to send clothes, no problem. Maybe some of you would just like to send notes to the street boys, or maybe you already sent an outfit and you are willing to do more. I know several people who are sending big boxes of stuff. I am certain that not all the outfits will have letters. So we will put the letters sent with outfits that don’t have letters.
And if we have ‘extra’ letters?
We will hand everyone out to people we meet.
Promise.
The streets of Kampala, Uganda will never, ever be the same.
Please send letters to:
The River Church
860 Plymouth Drive
Durango, CO 81301
Attn: GO Team April 2011
I can't imagine why I didn't think about this before, but I think I will write at least a couple of letters, even though I'll be there with y'all. I think I might even do that tomorrow. (We have the day off, as it's a random public holiday.) Also, I'm going to shoot you an email, I have a question for you. 🙂
i love you, linny.
and kathy.
and these boys.
and uganda.
i am praying that i am at that orphanage the same time as your time. how fun would THAT be?!
our clothes and letters are soon on their way!
I just sent you an email. I have about 7 EXTRA ties!! I hope they come in handy! They will be on their way this week.
When do you need them by?? I hope to go this weekend, is there still quite a bit of time?
Oh, thank you for this. I too was so lost at what to tell someone I have never met. This helps a lot!
Thre little girl dresses mailed out this morning. I wish I had more to send. God bless you all for doing this.
Oh and I don't suppose there's any way of finding out who the clothing goes to? Maybe so we could maintain a relationship with the individual children?
What a beautiful idea to send letters! Janet P.S. Our Pastor sent out an e-mail on a prophetic conference at The River Church PRAYING that someone is going from Montrose Colorado
Oh Linny! I was just thinking that I wanted to find a way for my children to write letters to orphans to helps them understand more about adoption and the reality of children living without a mom and dad. This is the answer to my prayers!
I'm going to enlist my little ones to write letters and draw pictures to go in with them!
Hey…can I link this post to my blog? We'd love to 'adopt' a kid to send regular care packages too. Is that possible?
I emailed ya.
Love this more than words. Oh and I love you!
Thanks for the ideas about the letters. I have been wondering what to say, and have decided to write as if my children were writing it.
I live in Christchurch, New zealand. We had a large earthquake 6.3 in our city yesterday. I had to wait over 4hrs before i knew that my husband was alive. His building has been destroyed. My family is ok. I have friends who's houses are wrecked. There are 75 people who have died. Over 300 missing, lots in high rise office buildings. i don't know how many houses are now unlivable.Teams have and are coming from Australia, US, UK, Taiwan Singapore. We could use your prayers. I know those of you lovely ladies that follow the lovely Linny's blog are woman of prayer. Please continue to pray for Christchurch over the next week.
With a thankful heart,
Relle
Is it too late to send an outfit? What age category are you looking for? If it is for a girl what specifically should be sent?
mom to 2 China girls
Oh I wish this post had been before I sent my package. My letter was so far from any of this. I wasn't sure what to write… so I ended up not writing much at all. 🙁
Would clothes such as t-shirts be useful to the boys? Would you even have room to take them? I have an over-abundance of t-shirts & shorts in size 4T. (I just found that out today as I was going through the clothes for next season.)
I don't think that was a silly question at all. It ran through my mind when I was writing the notes that I sent to you. I think I did okay with what I wrote to the sweet boys. I'm sure it's hard to keep track of everything you are receiving, but I wonder if my package made it there?
True story…
I know someone that went on a mission trip and knocked on the door of a family on the other side of the world. She stepped in their house and saw a shoe box that appeared to look familiar. It was the very shoe box she had sent a year before. And God had brought them together. Gives me chillbumps to think about it. On the other side of the world…she knocks on the door of the little girl that just so happened to have THE shoebox she sent a year before. Not by chance. Only God.
Just put in the mail yesterday. . underwear and a letter (my 13 yr old daughter wrote the letter from us). Thanks for letting us come alongside the GO Team. Thanks for letting us be a part.
Continue to be bold for our King
We have some new boys shorts & underwear (Christmas patterns on the underwear 🙂 —is that okay?)to send.
Should these things laundered first? Or is it better to let them the recipients know these are "new" by leaving the tags/pkgs intact?
Thanks!