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Care Package Ideas

A few people have asked what to send in a care package, so let me address that now. Any care package is the best care package I've ever received in my whole life!! Even the one my mom sent me that contained 4 bottles of vitamins... that was all... 4 bottles of vitamins. NO CHOCOLATE, no nothing. Vitamins. Ok, so that one needed some work, and therein lies the 1st rule. A care package must include chocolate. Even if it's just one small 'fun size' bag of M&M's, that's ok. Chocolate! I know you can relate to this one girls, but chocolate is a near necessity here. Oh, they have chocolate here. And if you look hard enough you can even find Snickers, but the chocolate here isn't the same as back home. Sometimes it's been here for YEARS and it's more like that dry, crumbly stuff you'd use to make chocolate milk than actually eat. For an idea, my friend Kelly sent a shoe box containing: M&M's, Pixie sticks, a Runners World magazine, 2 used DVD's from Blockbuster, Nerds, EZ cheese, and rainblow bubble gum. Today I received a box containing ONLY M&M's and Reeses Pieces, and I mean a FULL box! (Thanks Mike and Rita!!) I feel strange making a list, almost like the list your parents ask you to make for Christmas when you're 24 and you know it's just so they can buy whatever is on that list for you, but you've asked so here it is: Chocolate - M&M's, twix, 3 musketeers, Reese Cups, Reese Pieces, Whopers - whatever. Be smart about it. Like whopers come in this hard-to-ship milk carton thingy. Open it and dump it into a ziplock bag to save space. And don't worry, it won't melt (I don't think). It's hot here and all but the boxes usually stay inside and it's not an issue. Also, be thrifty. Buy up all the leftover Easter and Halloween candy. I'm not going to get it in time so i'll probably think you bought it in season.

Ultimate Frisbees!! Jacob and I are starting Ultimate teams at all of the local high schools but we NEED some frisbees for each school. They LOVE this game!! And the ONLY equipment needed is a frisbee. You'll have to look for what we're after, they are specific frisbees that weigh 175g and they should say Ultimate on them. I think they cost around $15 at any sporting goods store, but you CANNOT find them here in Uganda. The one I have, I brought with me and it's already showing some wear.

Chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, etc. Put them in a zip lock bag...they'll get here ok. Used DVD's from Blockbuster – they have new releases and who doesn't mind unwinding to a movie on a Friday night? The best movies to send are 'family movies' like Shrek and the Incredibles because i'll probably end up showing them to the Ugandans or the kids at Compassion, but personally i like to watch dramas, romance, thinking movies, some comedies… seriously just anything. Watch it first even before you send it, doesn't matter to me. They have movies and they rent movies here, so i have access to them. You can even buy/rent like 7 movies on 1 disc. I bought the 'matt damon' collection. Poor DVD quality, but not a bad deal. Krunchers Potato Chips (BBQ). Again not economical because of the bag, so open them and put in a zip lock bag. Even crunch them down a little. No Problem. These are my favourite chips in the WORLD and they might be hard to find. Pringles work well too. BBQ are my favorites. They sell them here but they’re expensive.

Burn a CD – Create a mix that you like, throw some new ‘hits’ in there. Throw some country in there. It’s funny but they play country here and seem to like it.

Stickers - Stickers go over so well with kids.

Crayons/Markers/Coloring Books Again... for the kids

Bacon Bits

some of those super bouncy balls...the girls have a game they play with them here, but they usually use some rubber from an old bike tire that they wrap around and around and around.

Surprises – Nothing’s better than opening a box of goodies and having a hodgepodge of random stuff. It’s Africa people, I’ll find a use for it somehow, someway… trust me!

I’ve heard that sending things in those padded envelopes is the most economical. It seems to take packages anywhere from 4-8 weeks to arrive, so keep that in mind. Again, getting packages are like small gifts from heaven, truly! And I want to thank anyone who has either written or sent anything these past few months! You are all in my prayers and please keep praying for these kids and the Compassion staff and for me as I try every day to figure out what the heck I’m supposed to be doing here…

posted by Brian R Dunn @ 10:48 PM