1. This one took lots of before he left planning and secretivity. I had each girl draw him a picture for some of the days he was to be gone. I took photos of the girls and myself. I wrote cards of encouragement for him. I had envelops with the date to be opened on the front. I put the drawings, pictures, and notes in each envelop, and put them in his luggage. This was for mission trip to Nicaragua, and many of those who went with him told me how much he looked forward to opening the envelop each day.
2. When Matthew was gone for 18 days - the longest he had every been away, the girls needed something to help them cope. I was able to talk to him almost daily, but the girls were usually already at school or asleep. For the girls, I had strips of paper for them to write something they missed about daddy, and I did it too. We rolled the strips up, and placed them in a large mason jar. When Matthew returned, he opened the jar and read each one.
Here is one of Bethany's strips:
And one of Alice's:
And one of mine:
This is the jar filled:
3. Matthew more recently went to the Philippines. The area he went to has problems with the Taliban. So to encourage Matthew, I wrote scripture and a prayer on an index card for each day of ministry. 
So, what to do now? Matthew has some more trips coming up. I haven't been able to think of more creative ideas. I have a little time. Ideas may come. If you have any ideas, please comment. I'd love to hear them and try them out. If I use your idea, I will give you credit for the idea on my blog.
