Vincelli: Party of 6

Vincelli: Party of 6

Monday, November 5, 2012

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD





Samaritan's Purse is a non-denominational evangelical Christian humanitarian organization that works worldwide to meet the spiritual and physical needs of people suffering from war, poverty, disaster, disease, famine, and persecution.

One of their ongoing ministries is: Operation Christmas Child. OCC is a 'global Christmas gift exchange' project operated by Samaritan's Purse. Each November it opens thousands of locations, typically at churches or schools, to collect shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, personal items, and other gifts. These boxes are then distributed as Christmas gifts, accompanied by Christian literature.

From 1993 through 2008, some 69 million gift boxes have been handed out in more than 130 countries. AMAZING!

Each year our church, Good Shepherd Lutheran, collects shoes boxes for "Operation Christmas Child." A friend of mine, Tammy, leads this up each year at Good Shepherd. What a blessing she is! This is the 5th year Nick and I have packed shoeboxes to donate. It fills my heart with so much joy to do this each year. Such a simple yet loving gift that will touch the hearts of many. The main goal is to teach these precious children about a loving God who sent His son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Many of them have never heard about Jesus. These wonderful gifts help spread the good news of our Lord and Savior!

And this year was especially special because we took Eli and Will shopping to buy the items and then we filled the boxes together. I know they don't fully understand what these gifts are, but we talked about how they are going to children who don't have many toys or school supplies. And also how this will help these children learn about Jesus, which is the best gift of all and what Christmas is all about.

Click here to learn more about packing your own box: Operation Christmas Child - Samaritan's Purse

Here are some photos of Elijah and Will packing their shoe boxes. We made one for a boy and one for a girl! We purchased lots of fun things to put in them: pencils, paper, pencil sharpeners, toothbrushes, toothpaste, washcloths, jump ropes, socks, balls, hair ties, puzzles, combs, toys, crayons, candy, watches, and a letter from our family.



We had to do a little reorganizing:



Will



Eli





Our family encourages you to pack a shoebox or two and touch the lives of children all over the world. Please ask me if you have any questions. God bless you!

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