At the moment I am a passenger in a car, driven by my cousin, as we return from a trip to the mountains with our moms. We are hurrying back to my hometown, because I am supposed to hook up with our discipleship team from church for a field trip this afternoon. Judging by our current rate of speed, I may miss the lunch gathering.
For the past two years, our little group, plus 3-4 other church friends, has gone to the regional warehouse space, rented by Samaritan’s Purse, to process Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoeboxes. This is where all the shoeboxes Christians pack each fall go, after they are turned in at their local churches. Our small congregation that averages 180-205 each Sunday packed over 500 boxes this season. We give all the glory to God for that.
Upon arrival, each group is verified, oriented and then assigned to a work table/area.
One of the first tasks is to inspect each box for monetary donations. I like to pay my $9 shipping online, so that I can track where my shoeboxes end up. (Last year, it was Nambia, Africa.). But, many folks just put their check into an envelope and tuck it inside their box.
The next thing that happens is that each box is checked for ‘contraband”. The most common items found are liquids and toothpaste, neither of which is admissible. We place all those disallowed items in a bucket, and Samaritan’s Purse donates them to a local men’s or women’s shelter. Boxes are also checked to make sure they contain no “war toys”, as many of these children have been traumatized by either tribal or national warfare.
Then, we sometimes find that some of the shoeboxes are “skimpy”. People do the best they can, with their available resources. It can get expensive packing a shoe box. I know one lady who got away with spending only $15 per box, plus shipping. But, I’d say that was a result of strategically smart shopping. It’s not unusual to spend $30 per box. Members of our discipleship team start their bargain-hunting for next year’s boxes as soon (or before) they turn in this year’s! They are super-sleuths for all kinds of bargains!
At any rate, I digress. Samaritan’s Purse purchases little toys that workers can use to enhance skimpy boxes, to “plump them up” a bit.
Next, each box goes to “the taper”, that is, the teammate who rolls a large roll of tape over the box, to make certain the box is securely closed. The box is then handed to a crate-packer, depending on whether or not it is a “tracked” box (those who paid online and wanted to track their box) or an untracked box. The tracked boxes are scanned with a hand scanner, and then all the boxes are packed into large cardboard crates, by age group and by sex.
Our group worked a four-hour shift last year and is scheduled for the same this year. It is rigorous work, especially for older folks.
Our group worked a four-hour shift last year and is scheduled for the same this year. It is rigorous work, especially for older folks.
Why do we do this? Why pack these boxes? Why do we pray over our boxes, asking God to be sure each one winds up in the hands of the child for whom He intends it? I heard tell of a friend of a friend who said, “Well, the poor will be with you always. So, why go to all this trouble?”
With all our wealth and abundance in America, it is easy to forget that there are children across the world who have never received even one gift, Christmas gift or otherwise. That thought alone is staggering.
But, more importantly, with every shoe box, a children’s book in the child’s own native language is given. This book, called “The Greatest Journey”, presents the gospel message. Along with the gifts from across the world comes the story of the Greatest Gift, from out-of-this-world! Samaritan’s Purse follows up with children who make a decision to follow Jesus Christ, in response to the OCC invitation. When each child completes the follow-up program, he or she is given a New Testament in the native language.
Operation Christmas Child has been conducted by Samaritan’s Purse for over 25 years, and last year, 2018, over 8.8 million shoe boxes were distributed. This year over 10 million have been collected thus far!
What a wonderful way to share the gospel during this Advent season! Yes, Jesus said that the poor would always be among us, but when His children finally see Him face-to-face, I expect He will want to know if and how we shared the Good News with them.
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