Well, we will start making a wish list now. Not all are necessities, but comfort items also. Here we go:

Gatorade

Starburst

Jolly Ranchers

Beef Jerkey

Hand Sanitizer

Letters and pictures from home

Sour worms

Corn Nuts

AA & AAA Batteries

Muffin Mix (Just Add Water)

Pankcake Mix

Hot Chocolate

Lipton Rice (Flavored)

Rolled Wafers

Envelopes

Stationary

Pens

Sharpies (different colors for making posters)

Markers

Schick Quatro Razors

Wrinkle Remover

Earrings for Mbali

Portable cd player (plays mp3)

Cookie mix

Puzzle books

Crystal Light

Books (non-fiction, Che Guevera, etc)

Orbit Gum

Here is our permanent address for our two years in Swaziland. Please, please, please send letters....

Lewis and Desiree Hoffman

P.O. Box 1614

Nhlangano

Swaziland, Africa

This information is complements of Anna McCrerey, part of the Peer Support Network in Swaziland. We got this information from her blog at http://www.themagickingdom.blogspot.com.

Here is some important information for sending packages, which we would love to receive:

1. Packages can be sent to :

Lewis and Desiree' Hoffman

P.O. Box 1614

Nhlangano

Swaziland

AFRICA

2. Padded envelopes are a must (unless you love us and want to spend money on us). Boxes tend to cost a lot and have a higher theft rate.

3. Print my address as neatly as possible and in all uppercase letters (use red ink!). Most importantly, please spell out SWAZILAND as carefully as possible (think kindergarden teacher writing on the chalkboard). I would hate for my package and your kind gesture to end up in Switzerland!

4. On the same subject, please put AFRICA underneath SWAZILAND. Generally putting the continent underneath the country is not necessary for global mail, but most other mail isn't going to the smallest country in the southern hemisphere.

5. On the backside in smaller handwriting feel free to include a message "religious materials," as well as your favorite bible verse. Southern Africa is both religious and supersticious and does not like to mess with God.

6. Every package needs to have a green customs sticker (free from the post office) in which you list the contents. Please be very very vague on this. Do not EVER list clothing (#1 most stolen item). Lying is okay, too! Just make it unappealing for any and all would-be-thieves.

Here is a breakdown of the costs:

Postcards or Aerogrammes (special stationary that fold into their own envelopes -- available at the post office) -- $.70

Airmail (letters or packages under 1 pound) roughly $.80 per ounce -- 2-4 weeks delivery time.

Surface/Economy Postage (big packages over 1 pound) roughly $.25 per ounce -- 2-4 months delivery time

Well, we both received cell phones. Crazy stuff. In order for you to call us, you will need to purchase Swaziland-Cell phone cards from Noblecom.com. Make sure you buy the Swaziland-Cell. You can call us whenever you would like, but keep in mind that we are 8 hours ahead. You can also email us to our phones...keep it short though (around 3 sentences).

Lewis' #: 011-268-631-6079

Des' #: 011-268-631-6077

If you would like to email us to our phones, type in the following address:

Lewis: 2686316079@mtnconnect.co.sz

Des: 2686316077@mtnconnect.co.sz

Hope to hear from you soon!!

One final trick: If we call you, we will let it ring twice, then hang up. Then, you call us back. That way, we don't get charged for airtime.

You can always email us at lewisanddesiree@yahoo.com. We will write back as soon as we get the chance. During the first three months we are in Swaziland, we are going to have very limited email access. Once we get settled and are done with training, we should have internet access once or twice a month (or so we have heard). Drop us a line...we will appreciate hearing from you!