Here’s a message from Bruce and Joan Edwards:

SOME REFLECTIONS ABOUT MAILING PACKAGES TO KENYA:

Here’s another thought about friends and family who want to send packages to Kenya: all of us need to be aware that packages take a long time to be delivered (no matter whether you use “express mail” or not), some never arrive (someone “borrows” it), and any of them typically must be picked up at the post office, where one must wait in line before meeting a postal inspector.

There they must be opened by the recipent in front of an official and then inspected for “taxable” items, which sometimes cost the recipient more than the contents are actually worth. So the thought is great, but it can be a pain to actually get a package!

When we lived in Kenya, our church sent us a couple of packages with lots of “catch-all” personal and food items, over the counter drugs, etc., and when we finished paying for the custom charges we were buying very little at a high cost.

Our counsel to people who want to bless Sam and Amanda with a package would be rather to send a support check to NICS. Or fly to Kenya and deliver your package in person! We hope to do that ourselves sometime this year!
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and another comment on the matter by Amanda:

Thanks Bruce and Joan for explaining to everyone the crazy postal service that we deal with. Yes, they take a long time and yes, if things look valuable we pay a lot for them. BUT, if you still want to risk it, there are several inexpensive things from America that we miss, so i can tell you if you e-mail me. I think flying here to visit is the BEST IDEA EVER!! Good suggestion guys!!!