Can you fill a shoebox with love? The answer is yes ~ 100 million times! Since 1993, more than 100 million boys & girls in over 130 countries have received these boxes filled with love & hope. Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. It has one mission: to demonstate God's love to needy children around the world and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. While you may not be called to be an overseas missionary, you and your family have an amazing opportunity to respond to the Great Commission and reach every corner of the world with the love of our Saviour!
Chances are... if you are visiting this blog it is because you know how late the hour is! For those that are watching and waiting for the Lord's return, you can see the biblical signs and prophecies unfolding before us. The battle is intensifying in the spiritual realm and the physical. In whatever time we have left before the Lord comes for us, we must use to His glory. As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can give the gift of hope. We can shine our light into the darkness. We can love our neighbors and point them to the cross!
Please consider what our Heavenly Father is calling you to do during these last days. I know I am prayerfully considering how the Lord wants me and my family to serve Him. May each of us fulfill the calling that He has placed on our lives. How I long to hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." To God be the glory!
How to pack & fill a OCC Shoebox:
1. Find an empty shoe box or a small plastic container (Rubbermaid, Sterilite, etc.) A missionary told a friend of mine that the plastic containers are reused by the families to haul water and for a variety of other uses!
2. Determine whether your gift box will be for a boy or girl and the child's age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. You can download labels from the Samaritan's Purse website.
3. Fill with gifts & love! Be sure to pray over your box and for the child that will receive it.
4. Please include a $7 donation or more for each shoebox you prepare to help cover shipping and other project costs. You can give online or you can use a donation envelope.
5. Place a rubber band around each closed shoe box and drop off at the Collection Center nearest you during National Collection Week (November 18 - 25, 2013) or you can send your shoe box gift to:
Operation Christmas Child
Samaritan's Purse
P.O. Box 3000
801 Bamboo Rd.
Boone, NC 28607
Gift Suggestions
School Supplies: pens, pencils and sharpeners, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.
Toys: small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch, Slinky, etc.
Hygiene items: toothbrush, toothpaste, bar soap (in a ziplock bag), comb, washcloth
Other: hard candy and lollipops, mints, gum (please place all candy in a ziploc bag), t-shirts, socks, ball caps, sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights with batteries.
A Personal Note: You may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. If you include your name and address, the child may write back! We discoved to our delight that God directed one of our boxes to Burkina Faso. The girl that received it wrote us a lovely letter in French (her native tongue). We were able to use an online translation website to convert her letter into English. We were blessed beyond measure to have this treasured correspondence from this sweet young lady! We sent several more packages directly to this girl's family and eventually received a photo of her. This was an amazing lesson to our three children as they searched our world globe for the country of Burkina Faso (in Africa). We marveled at just how far God's love had reached... across countries, across oceans, across continents and around the world!
If you live outside of the United States but you feel led to help with this ministry, there are ways for you to help! You can build a shoebox online, you can mail a shoebox to the ministry address listed above, and you can make an online donation. Also, Operation Christmas Child needs a lot of prayers! If you feel led to pray for them, please click on this link to find out how you can be involved in interceding for this ministry: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/prayer-network/
Remember, there is power in a simple gift! For more information about this ministry opportunity go to http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/#
"Your gift of love may be the door God uses to open a child's heart to Jesus Christ."
Franklin Graham, President, Samaritan's Purse
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