Operation Christmas Child

This past weekend some of my sisters in Christ and I got to assist in an amazing ministry. We packed up and headed to Boone, NC, to volunteer for Samaritan's Purse. One of their ministries is Operation Christmas Child. This was such a heartwarming experience for me. The facility is amazing. This year alone they will process over 600,000 shoe boxes full of gifts for children all over the world. Our day the boxes we assisted on were going to Jamaica, India and Brazil. Boxes are received from all over the country. Our job was to inspect every box and pack them to be shipped. There are some items that can't pass through customs, so these items had to be removed. Because of many generous donations we were able to replace these items with other gifts. As I inspected each box my heart was overwhelmed at how blessed we are that our children have what they need. Most boxes contained things such as toothpaste, soap underwear toys, school supplies and hard candy. Imagine not having such basic things for your child. For some children this will be the only gifts they receive. The staff pray throughout the day for each and every child that will be receiving the boxes. They especially pray that each child might get a glimpse of Christ and the love that He has for each one of them. As an added surprise for us Franklin Graham showed up! He came to pray with us as we prepared the boxes. He is am amazing man who has made such a difference in our world. Read more about Operation Christmas Child on their website. If this is something your church has participated in but you haven't gotten involved, I encourage you to check it out.