Tree Leaf ‘Befriend a Mission’ Idea:
Cut out tree leaves from construction paper- in various shades of green or in fall colors,
glue a missionary family member’s picture and/or name and age on one side of each
one of the leaves.
Then punch a hole in the top of the leaf and tie a loop of yarn
through the hole. Then hang the leaf from a real tree branch
set in a pot or pin the leaf to a cardboard cutout of a tree.
1) Have the congregation choose a leaf off the tree, write a
small note of encouragement and/or a prayer on the backside
of the leaf, and (if they want to) purchase a small gift or gift
card that will fit into an invitation-sized envelope.
Eric
Duchesneau
5 years old
2) Sign both the giver’s name(s) and the Congregation’s name.
3) Put each leaf with the note/prayer/gift in the invitation-sized envelope and mail all
these envelopes together in one 6X9 envelope to each missionary family. You can get
your Ladies Group to help you make the leaves. Be creative and happy crafting!
Christmas Tree ‘Befriend a Mission’ Idea:
Decorate an invitation-sized envelope as a ‘present’, stick a bow
on top of the envelope, glue a missionary family member’s picture
and/or name and age on one side of each of the envelopes, and
insert an age-appropriate Christmas card inside the envelope (can
be computer generated- eg. a coloring page for the little ones).
Then punch a hole in the top of the envelope, tie a loop of yarn
through the hole, and hang it on a Christmas tree, or on a pine
tree branch set into a pot, or pin the leaf to a cardboard cutout of a
Christmas tree.
Rachel
Duchesneau
5 years old
1) Have the Congregation choose a ‘present’ (the decorated envelope) from off of the
Christmas tree, write a small note of encouragement and/or prayer inside the card, and
(if they want to) purchase a small gift or gift card that will fit inside the ‘present’ ( the
decorated envelope) for that person.
2) Sign both the giver’s name(s) and the Congregation’s name
3) Put each Christmas card with the note/prayer/gift in the envelope and mail all these
envelopes together in one 6X9 envelope to each missionary family. You can get your
Ladies Group to help you make the leaves. Be creative and happy crafting!
Flower ‘Befriend a Mission’ Idea:
Materials Needed:
 Small pictures of each of the missionary family members
(you will be making one flower for each member)
 Green and other various colored construction paper
 Wooden skewers (found in supermarket or dollar store)
 Green colored marker
petal oval
 Razor blade
 Glue stick and tape
flower’s center 
To Make: Cut out 2 circles of colored paper (I chose
yellow) large enough to paste the pictures of the
‘Befriend a Missionary’ family members onto. These
circles are the centers of the flowers, front and back.
Karen
Duchesneau
Glue the family member’s picture onto one of the
flower centers and print that person’s name.
Cut out 8 ovals in the color of your choice. These will be the
petals of the flowers. Glue these to the backside of the circle with
the picture, radiating out from center (see picture on right).
Cut out 4 green ovals. These will be the leaves of the flowers.
Glue 2 of these ovals to the backside of the flower with picture.
 leaf oval
 skewer
(stem)
Color the wooden skewer green with the green marker, (this will be the stem). Split the
skewer 1/2 inch down from its top with a razor blade (be careful!) and insert the other
center circle into that split (see picture on left).
Glue the remaining two leaves to the skewer by gluing one end of the
leaf and wrapping it around the skewer (can tape to hold in place).
wooden
skewer
split on end
Glue the other center circle with the skewer onto the backside of the
flower with the picture (can tape to hold it in place).
insert circle

To Display: Insert all the flowers into vases or a pot of floral foam. Also
provide for your congregation half sheets of cardstock- (folded in half)
and an invitational sized envelope.
Print Out These Instructions for Your Congregation:
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Choose one of the missionary family member’s flowers
Remove the flower from its stem (skewer)
Glue flower onto the front of the folded half sheet of cardstock- provided
Write a note of encouragement/prayer inside
May also include a gift or gift-card that must fit inside the envelope
Sign your name (congregational member’s) and church’s name inside
Insert card into the envelope- provided and give to LWMS reporter to mail
Reporters: To save money, mail all the cards of each missionary family together in one 6X9 envelope