Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Letters from the Countryside are beautiful stories told though letters sent by mail, through a subscription. The letters are ongoing fictional stories that follow the lives of 6 people: Hannah Maybree the 39 year old mother, Faith Maybree the 16 year old daughter of Hannah, Benjamin and Lilly Maybree, Hannah's 7 year old twins, Aunt Sybil, who is 82, and Ellie Preston, who is 26, and a very dear friend of the Maybree Family.
You will be immersed in the lives of the residents living within this community, and are sure to be inspired and encouraged in your faith, as they sharpen one another in Truth, learning that no matter what season of life they are in, they are to cling to the One who is able to carry them through.
You will receive two letters per month, that are at least one page, front and back, in length. Along with the letters, you will also find, included in the envelope, a keepsake item to enjoy. These letters are sure to encourage you in the faith and bring a since of peace and nostalgia as you look forward receiving a real letter personally addressed to you. It's like getting a letter from a very special friend!
What a great question and we are excited to answer this question with a very joyful "no". That is one of the many things that makes this subscription beautiful and different from many others. These are ongoing letters, meaning the lives of the characters continue on, like yours and mine. They are not stuck at an age, but year after year, you will read about new things happening, birthdays, marriages, anniversaries, the welcoming of new life, and, as also found in life, death. These letters will continue, for as long as the Lord sees fit.
Since all characters’ stories are ongoing and exist in the same subsequent timeline, starting a new character’s story later on would put the two characters in two different times, which, for some, it may not be a problem, but for others, it may confuse the narrative’s flow. For example, if I was 5 weeks into Ellie’s story and then decided I wanted to follow Hannah's, as well, Hannah's letters would begin 5 weeks before Ellie’s, meaning Hannah would exist in the past rather than the present. We had meant for the characters to be enjoyed by different age groups, but have since come to realize that some readers may want to read letters from the other characters, as well. Because of this, we have come up with a solution! You may choose the option to bundle, meaning, you can opt to receive one letter from Hannah and one letter from Ellie per month, for the same price as two letters per month from one character. We have also made this option available for those who would like Hannah and Sybil's Letters.
The beauty of these letters is that they do intertwine with another character, in some way or another. This does not happen in every letter, but since these are people, who love one another and spend their lives together, each story will "hug" another, and in those special circumstances, some of the letters will be told again, but from another's perspective. Each letter, from any character, builds on the letter before. So let's say you are receiving Hannah's letters but you would also like to begin receivings Ellie's, you would need to start Ellie's from the beginning, in order to really get to know her. You will come to love the character or characters of your choosing, because you will be immersed in their lives from more than one perspective in certain circumstances. Please also see the "I want to add another subscription" tab for more information
This is a wonderful question! Not necessarily. Take for instance the twin's letters. These letters are written for children 12 and under, so if there are no children present, you wouldn't miss any vital information from not subscribing to their letter. Same with Faith, as her character is a 16 year old young lady who's letters are geared more toward young ladies 12 and up, so again, if there aren't any young ladies in that age range, her letters wouldn't contain anything vital to the others. The three, whose letters do intertwine the most are Hannah's, Aunt Sybil's and Ellie's. This is why we have placed the 3 of these special ladies into a combination package for your consideration. You may choose from Hannah and Aunt Sybil or Hannah and Ellie. This option can be found within their pages.
Great question! These letters are steeped in talk about our Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and living life for the LORD. The foundation of these letters is the Word of God.
Of course! You may subscribe to as many stories as you'd like. You may also choose the subscription term you would like, whether that be monthly, every 6 months or annually.
By subscribing, you authorize Letters from the Countryside to charge you card until you cancel your subscription.
All subscriptions are set to renew automatically, according to the term you chose upon checkout (ie. Monthly, Bi-Annually, Annually). Your credit card will be charged and your subscription will continue. You are free to cancel at any time by logging into your account page and cancelling your subscription. The letters will continue throughout the duration of your subscription, but your subscription will not be set to renew.
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Please see the cancellation FAQ for more information on cancelling a subscription.
When I had the idea of Letters from the Countryside, Hannah, Faith and the twins, Benjamin and Lilly were my main focal points.
As a retired homeschooling mother of 3 adult children, I wanted to create a homeschooling family with a very strong bond, both one to another and to the Lord.
Great Aunt Sybil, not too long after, began to grace the pages of the family's letters and she had too much to godly wisdom and insight to ignore. So I began to create letters from her as well. These letters began to intertwine with Hannah's and so, although they can be read separately, their lives are in sequence with one another, and are best paired with one another.
Now enter in sweet Ellie Preston. This character was created from my precious daughter's request of a young christian woman, in her mid 20's, who is unmarried, but desires to be. She hasn't had the easiest life, but through God's great mercy, she did have a grandmother who was adamant about praying for her soul. Ellie and Hannah's stories intertwine as they are neighbors along Shephard's Path and very much a part of one another's lives.
None of the three letters must be read together. However, because of how they are structured, with Hannah being the first, then, the other two characters entering not long after, it would be best to begin the stories together. This is completely optional. But, should you choose Hannah's letters and then decide to begin Sybil's letters 2 months later, Sybil's letters will be behind Hannha's in succession.
I have asked the Lord to direct these letters and have given this indecision over to His council.
He, in His kindness has directed me to a solution. Two special bundles options have been added.
If you choose a bundle, you will receive one letter from Hannah and one letter from Aunt Sybil per month, or one letter from Hannah and one letter from Ellie per month. And the subscription fee stays the same.
How to Order
We are so excited to have you!
From our character pages, choose a story and select whether you would like a monthly, annually or bi-annually subscription. Please enter your billing information and after you have completed your purchase, please check your email for the confirmation. Please note that you do have to check out separately for each subscription, in order for us to keep things nice and organized and ensure that your subscription(s) are logged.
This is so thoughtful of you!
After choosing your story or stories, please go to your cart, and enter your recipient’s shipping address. This way, their letters will be sent directly to them.•
If you want to purchase multiple subcriptions for recipients at different addresses, please kindly complete the order for the first recipient, then place a new order for each subsequent recipient.
After you have added their address, please add your billing information.
After your purchase is complete, we will send a confirmation email for your records.
We also have a welcome letter for gift recipients that can be found HERE. Should you choose to have this email sent to them, please send us their email address, at checkout, so that we can let them know that, thanks to you, they can begin to look forward to checking their mailbox!
Wonderful question! Subscriptions are processed within 1-3 business days and follow a mailing schedule that can be found HERE.
Oh no! We are sorry to hear that! Because we mail letters, throught USPS, with a stamp, the old fashioned way, we aren't able to track them, but, please do be patient. Most letters take anywhere between 1-2 weeks to receive, within the U.S. If you feel your letter is missing, and it has not reached you by the 15th day of our mailing schedule, please reach out to us, using the "Contact Us" tab, and we will happily replace your letter, free of charge. Please use the subject line: "PLEASE HELP! MISSING LETTER"
If your letter is damaged, please reach out to us, using the "Contact Us" tab, and we will gladly send you another letter ASAP. Our heart's desire is that this subscription is a blessing to you. Please use the subject line: "PLEASE HELP! DAMAGED LETTER"
Absolutely! We do allow upgrades from monthly subscriptions to bi-annually or annually. Just visit your profile, choose which term you prefer and check out, as before. If you are on a monthly plan, that plan will finish out first and then will begin with your newly chosen term once that month is finished out.
This is a great question! Unless you want each child to have their own, the letters can be shared between the children. Just please be sure to add each of their names when checking out so that we can make sure they all appear on the envelope together.
Shipping
Subscriptions are processed between 1-3 business days after ordering. Letters are scheduled and are mailed on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month. Please find our mailing schedule HERE. Please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery.
Thank you for asking! Since we send out our letters using the old fashioned snail mail, we do not have access to tracking. We have found it very helpful to sign up for a free service, Informed Delivery, found on the USPS website. USPS will notify you each day through email with the mail you will be receiving for that day.
Great question! Changes may be made to your address by logging into your account. Please note: it is the responsibility of the customer to keep their address updated. As a courtesy, we will resend any letters that have been sent to an old address, to the new address up to one month back, (two letters).
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If you happened to mistype the receiving address and we send letters to that address, you may reach out to us regarding the mistake. However, you must reach out within 30 days of the start of your subscription otherwise, we will not be able to help. As long as it is within the first 30 days, we will resend your letter(s) to the new address up to one month back, (two letters). Please us the "Contact Us" tab and use the subject line:
“PLEASE HELP MISTYPED ADDRESS".
Please note: If it has been over 30 days, then we cannot send out new letters, as multiple letters would have already been sent out to that address.
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Unfortunately, we do not ship internationally at this time. But we do plan on making that an option in the future!
Payment/Billing/Cancellations
You may change your address and/or payment method by logging into your account.
Absolutely! Please note that there are no refunds. So, for instance, if you are paying monthly, you will still be charged for that month but your subscription will end the following month. If you pay every 6 months, you will still be charged and will still receive the letters for that time frame and after the 6 months, your subscription will end. The same is true for the yearly subscription. If you decide to cancel, your card will still be charged and your subscription will continue through those 12 months and then will end, thereafter.
You may log into your account to cancel your subscription at any time. You will receive an email stating that your account has been cancelled for the next month, 6 months, or 12 month term, whichever pertains to your subscription. You may also log in to see if your account is active or cancelled.
address. Thank you for understanding.