All Wrapped Up

This week, we have a great package story from Cricket Young. She and her husband Dan have been missionaries in Panama for over twenty-five years.

A package that they received on the field had a funny history. During a short furlough, they were in a small church during their missions conference. In one of the services, they were asked what was one thing that they missed from the States when they were in Panama. She and her husband had talked and laughed about different things that they missed as they were driving from church to church. When they were asked this question, Cricket looked at Dan, and he told her to go ahead. She said, “Soft TP!” The people laughed as she explained that they graded their toilet paper by how much it was like sandpaper.

The people continued to ask more questions about Panama and the Youngs' work there. The question came up about sending packages to them or to any missionary. They told the church that the best way to send packages to them was to wrap it in Christmas paper if it was sent between October and January and to use birthday paper for the rest of the year. They also explained that the best thing to put on the declaration slip was zero value and that it should be marked as a gift. They told the church that it is a good idea to let the missionary family know that a package is on the way without letting them know what is in the package. Many times, it helps to let the people at the post office know that a package is expected to ensure that it is delivered!

About seven months after the Youngs got back to Panama, they received a notice that there was a package in Customs that had to be retrieved from the main Customs office. Her hubby went down to retrieve the package. It was a 24-inch square box wrapped in . . . you guessed it, Christmas paper! It had all of the proper custom documents stating that it was a gift. The custom's officer wanted the box to be opened because it was so big. He did not think that it could be a gift with zero value! Her hubby opened the box in front of the custom's officer. The mouths of both her husband and the officer dropped open when they saw the contents. The box was FULL of . . . TP, a case of different types of four pack “soft” TP! Her hubby took a deep breath and said that the box was from a supporting church in the States. To which he added, “WOW, they must think we live in the jungle!!!” Everyone laughed, but her husband walked out with ALL of their soft toilet paper, and they enjoyed it for a good while!

If you have a funny story that you would like to share with us, please e-mail it to me at loconsford@gmail.com. Please include the name of each family member, your field of service, and a picture of your family if possible.

Until next week, keep your sunny side up!