Send me some love!

A lot of people have been asking if/how they can send me packages while I'm in Korr. The following is what I pulled off of AIM's website. Hope it helps :)

Here are some helpful hints concerning sending packages to our AIM missionaries on the field.

1.) We have a system for sending packages through Pearl River to our mission family on the field. We do most of this by way of air freight. You can send a package to Pearl River, and we will forward it on by this method. Please address the package this way: Name of Missionary, Africa Inland Mission, 135 West Crooked Hill Rd., Pearl River, New York, 10965. Send the package to us by way of United Parcel Service (UPS) or through the regular post (USPS).

2.) We work on a first-in, first-out basis, with priority being given to ministry related items. Please be patient - we handle the things that arrive here as quickly as we can, but depending on how much comes in here, we can have a considerable back-log of things at certain times. However, it is still usually faster sending packages this way rather than through the post.

3.) When you send a package through Pearl River, the missionary receiving it will have to pay shipping charges on it if you don't cover it for them. In the case of sending things that the missionary requested, this if fine. However, if you are sending gifts, please send money to cover the shipping costs involved. The way to do this is to send a check made payable to Africa Inland Mission, under separate cover, to the attention of the shipping department. Please do not attach your check to the package. You can estimate that the missionary may have to pay about $7.00 per pound for air freight they receive. (This is an estimate as the charges are broken down in Africa). We deposit the check into the missionary's transmission account, which is their personal checking account. No allocations are taken from the money for home administration, and you will not receive a tax deductible receipt. It is not treated as a donation, but as a payment. This payment only gets the package to Nairobi - there could be additional charges to send it on to the actual station it is going to.

4.) Please bear in mind that we are serving about 800-900 missionaries this way. If you are sending packages, we cannot tell you how long it will take for them to be sent, or to arrive. If you are sending Christmas gifts, we cannot guarantee that they will reach their destination by Christmas. It is best to have them here in Pearl River by the end of September if you want them to have a good chance of getting there in time for Christmas. It is best to keep gifts small. We would also encourage you to please NOT wrap the individual gifts that you send in a package. We have to open each one here in order to create packing lists for each shipment. They may also be torn open to be searched through when going through Customs in Africa. If you want to send gift paper, a good tip is to buy those wrapped, flat sheets of paper, which can be easily packed along with the unwrapped gifts inside your package.

5.) If you have any questions we can be reached at 845-735-4014. Ask for Keith Barber or Sarah Carter and we will be happy to answer any questions you might think of.