Mini-Cassia Churches Participate in Global Holiday Ministry Through Operation Christmas Child
By Dianna Troyer
How can a few items that fit inside a shoebox have a life-changing impact on a child during the holidays?
Grace Church in Rupert participates in Operation Christmas Child, sending shoeboxes full of supplies to children in need around the world. Recipients say the boxes have changed their lives.
Since 2002, church members have packed boxes with school supplies, personal hygiene items, toys, and information about Jesus’ life and ministry of love. Boxes are made for children ages 2 to 4, 5 to 9, and 9 to 14.
“There are so many amazing stories,” says Sarah Wright, a Grace Church member who helped launch the congregation’s participation in the program. “People have told us how receiving the box was a tangible expression of love that helped them to become Christian and to share Jesus’ message of love and hope with others. In some cases, families have started churches that minister to their village or town.”
A girl in the Philippines and her pen pal, a boy in the United States, finally met as young adults and eventually got married, Sarah says. Another woman, sold into slavery as a child by her parents who needed money, received a box and eventually was able to obtain her freedom and live without bitterness about her early life circumstances.
A pastor in Ukraine described how the boxes helped refugees calm their stress and anxiety and reminded them they are loved.
Last year, Grace Church members packed 4,224 boxes. The church is a designated drop-off center for other churches in the Mini-Cassia area participating in Operation Christmas Child.
The boxes are forwarded to a regional processing center, shipped to church partners, and distributed to children during community events in more than 170 countries.
Operation Christmas Child started in 1993 as an outreach of the nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse, an ecumenical ministry. Since then, more than 220 million children have received boxes.
Grace Church members began participating in the program when Sarah was teaching a Sunday school class and was searching for a Christmas ministry the children could do.
“We talked about doing something that would mean something to someone else,” she says. “It all started with a goat. Through Heifer International, our kids could donate $160 and buy a goat for a family. I did some research and learned of Samaritan’s Purse and their program to buy a goat for $80, so we bought 2 instead of 1.”
When she received the Samaritan’s Purse catalog, she read about the organization’s other opportunities including Operation Christmas Child.
Sarah says the generosity of churches and people throughout the Mini-Cassia region impresses her and her sister, Roli Mack.
Every year, they volunteer at the Minidoka and Cassia county fairs and have a booth, donated by the fair boards, so fairgoers can pack shoeboxes and share information about Operation Christmas Child. Between the 2 fairs this year, they packed 2,022 boxes.
Each box contains a notebook, coloring book, pencils and sharpeners, toothbrush, washcloth, a stuffed animal, a deflated soccer ball with a pump or other toys.
“The ball is an outreach that often touches a neighborhood,” she says.
Booklets and pamphlets telling about Jesus are also included. Sometimes, the sender includes a personalized letter in case a recipient wants to reply or become a pen pal.
“I’ve had recipients write to me from Haiti, the Philippines, and Mexico,” Sarah says.
At Grace Church, the program is a year-round ministry called Shoebox 365. Volunteers host a June yard sale and other fundraising events throughout the year to support Operation Christmas Child.
“You can donate year-round, too, by packing a shoebox on the Samaritan’s Purse website” Sarah says. “You never know how the boxes will impact lives.”