Several of you amazing friends and family have been asking us about sending care packages. Let me tell you, we are so incredibly thankful and feel so blessed that you are asking!! We’ve only been here a month, but we are already realizing that it’s a whole lot of little things that you really start to miss about America. The food, especially convenient cooking! Good coffee. Seasons. Nice smells. Cute crafts. Antiperspirant deodorant!! Things that are by no means a necessity (except maybe the deodorant…), but that are just fun and remind you of home!
Receiving a care package is like having a little bit of home come to us here in PNG! So thank you for asking, and here are some instructions on how to send one:
Address:
Jack and Lael Crabtree
PO Box 1079
G oroka EHP 441
Papua New Guinea
A flat rate box from the post office is the best way to go.
They will give you a customs form to fill out, and it’s good to be broad. Don’t lie, but if you bought skittles, be generic and put “candy.”
If you wrap items, they are less likely to be stolen/”confiscated”
It’s a good idea to put food items/candles/etc double wrapped in ziplocks, as PNG rats love to get into things!
Here’s a list of ideas:
Food Items:
Good, locally roasted coffee!
Natural, no stir peanut butter
Kids Gummy vitamins
Fruit Snacks
Fruit pouches (like flavored applesauce)
Annie’s Mac and Cheese
Reese’s Peanut butter cups
Skittles, hard/sour candy
Any chocolate
Seasoning packets (Fajita, chili, etc)
Drink mixes (like Crystal Light strawberry lemonade)
Almonds, Pecans
Sprinkles
Canned chicken
Beef Jerky
Pepperoni
Celery seed
Almond extract
Any kind of box mix
Earl Grey tea bags
Loose leaf tea
Trail Mix
Craisins
Other Items:
A picture of you and your family
Scented Candles
Holiday stuff
A magnet of where you’re from
Deodorant (Jack: Degree or Axe antiperspirant; Lael: Dove Revive, or any fun scent!)
DVDs for the kids
Kid crafty things (like: construction paper, glitter, glue sticks, felt, pipe cleaner, etc!)
Coloring books
Kid nail polish/lip gloss
Kid craft kits (especially for holidays!)
Stickers
Kids’ shampoo
Bath finger paints
Cute dishtowels
Yarn
Cute journals or cards
Flea collars for our cat
Homeschool materials
Most of all we love and miss our friends and family back home. We are so grateful for technology and FaceTime, so the distance doesn’t seem so wide! Thanks for keeping up with us!
Love from PNG, The Crabtrees
PS–the name of this blog refers to WWII, when military planes flew over PNG dropping supplies for troops. Tribal folks out in the bush just saw packages of food and clothing fall from the sky. A mysticism emerged around this concept, and people today still look for cargo! They call it “cargo cult.”
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