Take a Missionary to Lunch Day (In honor of Alber Schweitzer's birthday)

Obviously, our perspective on this holiday has changed over the years. I promise you that any of these will be a huge encouragement to missionaries near and far. These suggestions on how to celebrate come from "Every Day a Holiday" by Silvana Clark:

-Celebrate the most obvious way-take a missionary to lunch! Better yet, take their whole family out to lunch or dinner. Call your church or local Christian organizations to see if any missionaries are home on furlough.

-Can't find any missionaries to take to lunch? Put together a "lunch basket" to send to missionaries overseas. Include a variety of items they may not be able to get. Let your children pick out their favorite snack to send to missionary children (suggestion from the Choates - e-mail and ask those missionary children what they are missing)

-We often think of missionaries as people who serve God only in remote third world countries. Show children how they can be missionaries in their own community.

-Ask your church or denomination for the addresses (or e-mail addresses) of missionaries with children close in age to your children. Start a correspondence with them. Ask about their hobbies, daily schedule, and new experiences. Ask how you can pray for them.

-Read a book about Albert Scheweitzer's life.

-Ask a missionary how your family can pray for him or her this coming year. If the missionary is in a third world country, can you help by sending school supplies to his or her children? Find a way to stay in contact with the missionary's family.

-Design a "Getting to Know You" scrapbook. Give family members sheets of paper that will fit in a photo album. Everyone designs several pages with photographs and descriptive captions. Include brochures from your hometown. Compile the scrapbook and send it to a missionary family.

-Along with taking a missionary to lunch, consdier giving missionaries living in the U.S. gift certificates to restaurants. They'll appreciate being able to take their family out to eat on a limited budget. Throw in some gift certificates to McDonald's for fun!