Operation Christmas Child

Shoe Box- $0
Enough stuff to fill it- $30
Changing a child's life- Priceless

Brandon and I are always looking for ways to teach our children compassion and love for others. With the Christmas season coming up it is easy to be so focused on ourselves and on our own wants. This morning we took Daniel out to learn what it feels like to give to others. There is a program called Operation Christmas Child that is organized through Samaritan's purse. What they do is they ask people to get a standard size shoe box, and fill it with items for either a boy or a girl in a specific age range of your choice. We chose a boy in the age range of 2-4 since because that is the same age range as Daniel. Then you fill the shoes box with things that a child overseas would want or need and they distribute these Christmas boxes all over the world. Before giving them out they place a booklet about Jesus Christ in each one, and after giving them out they present the gospel message to the children. I watched a video this morning of a young lady telling her story. As a child she lived in Bosnia. It was a war torn country, which left her living in fear. She was scared to even leave her house because of all the land mines around her village. As time went on the government refused to let aide into the country, and slowly her family ran out of food. The hunger that she felt aches all the way to her soul. One morning she went to put on her shoes to go to school. She only had one pair of shoes and they had so many holes in them her feet froze in the cold. She was so heart broken, so hungry, and so cold that she wanted to fun away and never come back. She had these thoughts all the way to school. When she arrived at school she saw people there giving out shoe boxes. She did not know why she needed an empty shoe box so she did not go over and get one, instead she stood by the wall. One of the men handing out the boxes called her over and handed her a box. Much to her surprise it was not empty. She opened the box and inside was a brand new pair of tennis shoes. Tears started flowing down her face. She went up the man and asked "Who gave me these shoes, who sent these to me?" The man then started to tell her about Jesus Christ. She was so moved by this because in her mind only God would be able to know how much she desired a new pair of shoes, and that day she became a Christian. It was because of that box, and the compassion of others that she gave her life to the Lord. Today she is married and has two children. The Lord has blessed her and she is now living in the United States. Every year her family packs boxes to give to children and they pray for the children who will receive their box that they to will accept Christ. Brandon, Daniel and I are also praying for the little boy who will receive our box. When a small, hungry, broken boy opens our Christmas box he will find a new pair of shoes, a pair of pants and a shirt, underware, socks, 2 toothbrushes, toothpaste, 2 combs, a wash cloth, soap, pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, crayons, a coloring book, toy cars, a slinky, tootsie pops,, and most importantly I pray he finds Jesus Christ. I encourage you to get involved. Take your child and let them help you shop to fill a shoe box. You can click here and find out more information about this ministry. You can change a life and teach your children about the true meaning of Christmas.