I couldn’t believe it when I got the call in Dec. 2000 from the Samaritan’s Purse office in Santa Ana-an invitation to help distribute shoe box gifts for Operation Christmas Child in Honduras. My initial thought was to decline. After all, I had less than a month to gather money for my ticket, schedule two weeks of vacation time from work, and obtain a passport.
With financial help and encouragement from friends and family, I made plans to go. Through the money-wise efforts of Samaritan’s Purse, the original estimated cost for my part of the missions venture was nearly cut in half.
When I first volunteered to collect shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse in 1998, having dinner in Tegucigalpa, Honduras at the US Ambassador’s home along with 40 other OCC volunteers was the furthest thing from my mind.
I had a traveling companion-“Bluffy, the Geography Bear”- a small stuffed toy from Mrs. Virginia Crockett’s first grade class at Community Christian School. Together, we logged the daily itinerary in a journal for the students back in Red Bluff. Ambassador Frank Almaquer and his wife Antoinette posed for a picture with Bluffy.
January 2001, Honduras was recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. While riding through the streets of Tegucigalpa, someone asked about the flooding during the storm. Our guide pointed to a tall hospital in the center of the city, informing us that the flood waters had reached the fifth story of the building. I could only imagine the reality of the disaster- water rising in the city, as if filling a giant bowl. Brown water marks on each building told the story.
We distributed shoe boxes at a prison during a family visitation day. A Christian band from the prison church played in the courtyard, as long lines of children filed in to surround huge stacks of colorful shoe box gifts. A children’s booklet called “The Greatest Gift of All” depicting stories from the New Testament was placed on top of each shoe box as the boys and girls received them. I noticed one mother reading the booklet while her children opened their brightly wrapped gifts at her feet.
I am grateful I was able to witness the Operation Christmas Child project first-hand at the receiving end. I wish everyone could see the tremendous effort made by a dedicated chain of volunteers, along with Samaritan’s Purse personnel to ensure the safety and integrity of each gift. Many logistical challenges are faced annually. In destination countries, volunteer teams coordinate and fund the transportation and delivery of gifts to churches and mission organizations for distribution by local pastors and missionaries in their sphere of influence.
I remember meeting Elizabeth, a woman in her mid-forties from Sweden, who had arrived in Honduras at age eighteen, with a desire to care for orphans of the streets. With the support of partners in Sweden, an orphanage complex had been constructed outside of Tegucigalpa. Several red brick bunkhouses bearing the names of Biblical characters surrounded a central dining hall. Months before our visit, a school campus was completed within a mile of the compound, also made possible through donations from Elizabeth’s sponsors in Sweden.
The children of each house had prepared a special song or dance routine to show their appreciation for the gifts they received. As I watched the children enjoying their gifts in this beautiful setting, I knew there was a story behind each gift being opened in front of me. Each year, families, youth groups, school classes, and churches prepare shoe box gifts for children in over 100 countries worldwide. Added to these, are many grandmas, many who do so sacrificially.
Each of 80 orphaned children I saw that day were blessed to live in a safe place because Elizabeth, one woman, saw a desperate need, then devoted her life to meeting it. Others back home in Sweden had embraced her vision and taken practical steps to make it a reality. The children in Elizabeth’s care were excited to receive special shoe box gifts because of generosity a world away.
I am grateful for many individuals, churches, and groups of Tehama County who have participated in Operation Christmas Child. Last year, over 6,000 shoe boxes were collected at Community Baptist Church. The California total was 300,188 with 7.6 million collected internationally. 61 million shoe boxes have been distributed since 1993.
Pam Price is the new Relay Center Coordinator. Collections Week is Nov. 17-24 at Community Baptist Church 598 Round-Up Ave. 527-4303
The OCC project can continue to grow as information is shared with relatives and friends; creating new collection points in other communities and states. Search drop-off locations by zip code at http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Drop_Off_Locations/
For official OCC news releases regarding OCC visit http://www.demossnewspond/
Please pray and fill a shoe box. Thanks!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
