Author: Editor

Missionaries, just like anyone else, can feel homesick.

Missionaries wouldn’t trade their new home for the world, but when they are hundreds or thousands of miles away from their home, family, friends, and ward, the distance can produce real heartache. Being able to feel of support, prayers from home is a lifesaver. Perhaps that’s why the “laborers are few” (Luke 10:1-2).

Tangible gifts—such as care packages are one way of helping missionaries feel connected when they are far from home. Just as grandma’s cookies remind you of home, care packages from family and friends remind them of home.

If you are supporting a missionary, or if you know a missionary that you would like to send a care package, use these eight gift-giving ideas to encourage and equip your brothers and sisters in the mission field.

1. FOOD
   Food is one of the first things that feels different on the mission field. There might be a McDonald’s here or there in the field, but you can forget about home cooking, your favorite sandwich shop, and your go-to ice cream place. This makes food a fantastic item to send to missionaries.
   One caution, you need to know what food you can send overseas if your missionary isn’t state side. For example, if you send coffee to a missionary in Ukraine, it might get confiscated. You also need to be careful not to send perishable foods. You can send canned spices that don’t normally ship to the country in which the missionary serves. More than that, if allowed by the country, you can send unique brands of canned goods such as distinctive items, stateside mac-and-cheese packages (you could even make a “homemade” pack of dry ingredients), or their favorite cookies.
2. HOLIDAY DECORATIONS
   Many countries don’t celebrate the same holidays that Americans celebrate—and if they do, their decorations are very different. If your missionary is serving far away, you might want to send your missionary a few holiday decorations throughout their mission—including Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. This will give your missionary a chance to make their own home feel like the states and share a bit of American culture with those whom they teach during those seasons. More than that, many of these holidays serve as conversation starters that lead to meaningful gospel conversations about the birth of Christ, his resurrection, and our gratitude for the atonement.
3. LETTERS FROM YOUR WARD & FAMILY
   There is almost nothing as heartwarming as a handwritten letter expressing love, prayer, hope, and encouragement. Asking your ward, family members and friends to write letters of encouragement to your missionary would be much appreciated by your missionary. You could make a specific goal of writing 365 letters so that they have one letter to read every day for an entire year.
   Make it fun for your ward, family, & friends so that they are encouraged to support your missionary through letter-writing. The more participants you can get, the more material your missionary will have to draw upon each day. Don’t overestimate the encouragement your missionary will experience when they open a box bursting with letters from home.
4. PRACTICAL GIFTS
   Sometimes, a missionary really needs the everyday items just to survive. Consider sending them socks, shoes, underwear, deodorant, combs, brushes, toothpaste or toothbrush, highlighters, marking pencils, or high-power, long-lasting flashlights with several packs of batteries. This kind of missionary gift can make all the difference.
5. MINISTRY TOOLS
   Once they’ve entered the mission field, your missionary might have everything they need except the ministry tools that make their primary work easier and more comfortable. For example, your missionary might have packed 10 Book of Mormons to give away, but wants to give them marking pencils or scripture stickers. Consider sending a few things that might make help the new member or interested convert find certain passages easier.
   Ask your missionary if they’re lacking any critical item that would make their ministry more effective? What is it? How could you get it to them? Whether it’s a monthly care package or a holiday package, missionaries will enjoy getting their very own package. This monthly gift could be a simple creature-comfort that uplifts their soul and gives them a taste of home to sustain them when missionary work gets tough. Ask yourself—or someone who knows your missionary well—what they enjoy, and if they would enjoy receiving a care package.

Who knows what how it might encourage them to press on in ministry?