Send a missionary child a “Birthday in a Box."
Include fun things like stickers, hard candy, a small photo album of your
family, etc.
Host a mission party. Select a country/theme.
For example, we once hosted a
Hawaiian
luau complete with costumes, foods, games, and decorations. We shared native
customs and wrote up interesting questions on slips of paper for attendees to
answer. We concluded by praying for the spiritual needs of the Hawaiian people.
Host a missionary family during an annual church
missions’ conference. Eating, sleeping, and rubbing shoulders with real live
missionaries in your home is one of the best ways to expose your children to
missions.
Volunteer to tutor an immigrant. My oldest
daughter, Rachel, chose to peer tutor a Vietnamese girl for two years while in
high school. Our entire family got involved in the process, sharing meals and
outings with the Vietnamese family. This experience later led to Rachel
teaching English in China
for a summer.
“Adopt” a missionary family. The children can
write letters to the kids. Learn about their country by reading books from the
library and preparing recipes. Send a package around Christmas time. Pray for a
particular need each day of the week.
Post a missionary map on a bulletin board in a
prominent area of your home. Help the children write out labels with the names
of some missionaries your church supports. Then pin the labels to the map.
Occasionally drill the kids to see if they can remember which missionary lives
in which country.
Helpful Resources for Families
Becoming a World Changing Family, Fun & Innovative Ways to Spread
the Good News, Donna S. Thomas, Baker Books, 2004.
You Can Change the World, Learning to Pray for People Around the World,
Jill Johnstone, Zondervan Publishing House, 1999.
Children Around the World series, William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1987.
