Ideas for those of you who do sponsor through Compassion International....

The children you sponsor love to hear from you!  Letters take on average about 2 months from the time they leave your mailbox until they receive them in their hands.  Because of this, make sure to keep writing letters instead of waiting for a reply (since the reply takes 2 months to get back to you as well).  This will ensure a steady stream of letters both ways if you try to at least write once or twice a month. 

The Process: 
You mail your letters to the main Colorado location, they sort the letters by country, box them up, ship them out once a week (if I remember correctly), and then they make their way through the mail.  Once in the correct country, they divide them up by location/school and then all the letters need to get translated.  Most of the kids we write to do not speak English (although some do), so it is key to get the letters translated so they can understand what we wrote.  Once translated, they get passed out to the children about once every week or two.  When they call the names of the children who received mail to pass them out, they feel so special to receive something, so no matter how short your letter is, they will love it!  In some countries this process is faster, while others it takes longer, so please be patient. 

Because of the high costs of duties and taxes, you may only mail paper items so that it is considered correspondence or low value.  Below I will list some ideas of acceptable items that you may send, that will bring a smile to your child's face.  A letter is always wanted, but when possible, include some of these other items as well.  Although we would all love to send school supplies or clothes, that is just not possible, because of the high taxes, shipping costs, etc.  If you want your child to have some of these items, think about sending them a "family gift" or a "birthday gift" of money in any amount.  You can either specify what you want them to buy with the money or let them use it for something that would most benefit the family.  They are always very grateful, and you would be surprised how far a $20 gift will go in another country.  Make sure to send the money 2 months before the child's birthday so that the money has time to go to that country by wire, and then a representative at their location will take that child shopping to help them pick out some items with it.

We sent $25 to Selemani in Tanzania (19 years old) for his birthday and he bought a pair of boots, a bag of rice, and a soccer jersey.  Amazing :)  They will take a picture of the child and the items they purchased and send it to you, so it is very rewarding to see the smile on their faces.

On to the promised list of ideas....

Ideas of items to send:

*Coloring book pages, or coloring sheets printed off free websites.  I staple a variety of coloring sheets together and send about 5-10 at a time, so that they get new ones each time.
*Book marks
*Band-Aids (I know this isn't paper, but somehow they said these were acceptable....a few at a time of course).
*Pictures- send pictures of yourself, your pets, nature, your kids, etc.  Do NOT send pictures that show off wealth though (your fancy car or big house), since it might make them feel bad.  If you want to take a picture of your garden, that is fine, but just be aware of the background in pictures.  It is better to send a picture of you in a park or with a blank wall behind you, then a picture in front of your intricate fireplace.  I know it might be a good picture, but it is something to consider.  That being said, we send the kids a picture from our wedding (outdoor picture) and they loved it.
*Pictures of your sponsored child.  You can email compassion to request a digital copy of the picture of your child over email.  Print the picture out at Target or whatnot and send them a copy (or make it into a bookmark, picture frame, etc.).  Their family probably does not own a camera so this might be the only copy they will have of a picture of themselves.
*Stickers- there are so many awesome and clearance stickers out there.  Both boys and girls, as well as kids of all ages love stickers!
*Old calendar pictures.  I glue two calendar pictures together back to back (so they don't see that its from November of 2010 or something).  They can then use the pictures as a poster. 
*Postcards.  They can learn about different parts of the world.
*Posters- sports figures/teams (soccer is popular all around the world), nature posters, a world map, etc.
*Mazes, word finds (if they speak English, or if you create them in their language), Sudoku, or other games.
*Loose leaf paper- I staple like 15-20 pages together. They can use it to practice handwriting, math, write letters or stories, or whatever they want.
*Construction paper of different colors- staple these together too so you only have to put a label on one of them.  They can use the paper for crafts, cards, etc.
*Bible verse cards
*Cards for each holiday- these won't be translated, so I try to pick one with the cutest front to it, and then look up the translation for Happy birthday or I love you....that way they know what you wrote.
*Paper dolls.
*Paper airplanes
*Scrapbook paper.
*Lapbooks. These are homemade books/fliers that you create with construction paper for your child that include pictures and/or information on a certain topic (like your family, a certain season, etc.).  It is educational and shows you put time into it.  I haven't personally made one yet, but it is a great idea.
*So much more!

Just remember that the items have to be paper....no tassels on bookmarks, no magnets, or ribbons anywhere.  You may laminate items though, which helps make it more durable.  The maximum size is 8.5 x 11 inches, so if you send an item bigger than that (like a poster), just make sure it is folded down to that size.  Put it all in a manilla envelope (I paperclip all items for each kid together to make it easier for it) and mail to Colorado.  You need to put the child's name, child ID number, sponsor name (you), and sponsor ID number on each letter and item you send so that they do not get lost in the shuffle.  I print labels for each child on address labels so that I can easily stick the label on each item without taking too much time.  The file is saved on my computer so I just print more when I run out.

I stock up on stickers on clearance after holidays, since it helps for the next year when you need to mail Christmas stuff by the end of October for them to receive it in time.  I also go to the dollar section at Target (or any dollar store works too) and buy cute stickers, coloring books, and such.  This makes it more affordable to be able to send stuff each month.

You can also write them letters online through the Compassion International website, which they print off in Colorado and send through the same chain....it just saves you a stamp, and you can do it more often then.  They have lots of cute online stationary for those letters, and you can attach pictures to it as well.

Well, there is so much I could write, but I don't want to make this any longer than it already is.  Please feel free to comment with any questions and I'll try to answer them.  Thanks!