Operation Christmas Child

A few years ago, we were invited by our church to pack shoeboxes for kids.   These boxes go all over the world via Samaritan's Purse, to impoverished children.  A shoebox is a small thing, and we were happy to do it. 

One year, we were invited to go with the church youth group to one of the processing centers, which is here in Charlotte.  I was not prepared for what I saw.  It was an enormous warehouse with palates and forklifts and hundreds of workers and volunteers each touching these little individual shoeboxes that were being sent out all over the globe.  As a part of the training for our work on the line that night, they took us to an upstairs balcony space.  We were able to look out over the whole warehouse and it was incredible.  I had no idea the magnitude of the reality of this simple idea by Franklin Graham years ago.  It had come to life in a way that few ideas do.

Amazing!  Each day, they have a marker board near the door with the names of the countries where the boxes that day are headed.  The boxes and countries are prayed over several times a day and all work stops for a few minutes to do so.

One of my favorite things about Operation Christmas Child is that they partner with local churches in the countries where they distribute the boxes.  There is a network for follow up to care for these children rather than just giving them a gift and then disappearing.  To be a part of such a huge thing is humbling and special.

The best thing about it, to me, is that children who have never received a gift in their life, are given a gift that they treasure as amazing evidence that someone somewhere far away cared for them enough to give them such a great gift.  It is an awesome way to tell them about the Greatest Gift given to them by God in His Son Jesus.  If a shoebox full of little treasures is received as such a huge act of love to them, then God sending Jesus to them is a mind-blower!

You should try it!  If you'd like to pack a box, here's a link to the info on how to do it:  How to Pack A Shoe Box.   You don't have to live in the Carolinas to be a part of this - there's info on the website about how to send your boxes in.  Next week is National Collection Week, so click the link and check it out!

Also, they have a really neat feature where you can print a traceable label that allows you to find out the destination of your box so you can learn about the country and what life is like there for these kids.  A small gift can make a HUGE difference!