Operation Christmas Child

For a few years, we have been participating in a project called Operation Christmas Child. OCC provides Christmas boxes to thousands of children through out the world. For us, it's a perfect opportunity to let our children learn and serve. People who live in the United States of America are RICH compared to most of the world. Check out the Global Rich List- it's an interesting website that helps put into perspective how much money we make compared to the rest of the world. Americans, by in large, are in the top 1% of the world. Over half the world lives on less then $2 a day- less then what many of us might have spent on coffee this morning.

I want our children to grow up with the realization that we have much to be thankful for. We are thankful for our home, for heat and water, for our beds to sleep in, for food to eat, for the freedom to go to church and worship God, for jobs, for cars, for health insurance. We are blessed. And I want our children to grow up being thankful- and realizing that there are many people throughout our world that don't have some of the most basic things, like clean water.

We started talking to Silas two years ago about how some children in the world don't get any Christmas presents. So we got a shoebox, took Silas to Target, and he picked out things for boy his age. We picked out some basic "need" items: a toothbrush, toothpaste, a bar of soap, a washcloth, a comb. Then we picked out "fun" stuff: a coloring book, crayons, a small toy, a shirt, candy, sunglasses, a flashlight... you get the idea. And the neat thing about it was that we were able to get Silas involved- and let him pick out things he would want to get himself.

So this year, we involved Eliana too. We went to Target and the two kids picked out all sorts of stuff to pack in their shoebox, so that a child somewhere in the world would get a present for Christmas. I put a picture of them in their shoebox. They are going to color a picture too. We want the children who receive the boxes to know they are loved. And that another child across the world picked out these gifts for them.

A girl at the Bible Study I have been attending grew up in what is now the Republic of Georgia. When she was a child, she received an Operation Christmas Child box. She was able to tell our group how much it meant to her as a child. It was neat for me to hear her experience- and to know that this very little thing that we do, does make a difference in a child's life.

If you would like to be a part of this, act quick. The last day to drop off  boxes is November 21st. I would encourage everyone to be a part of this project and help make a difference in the lives of children around the world.

Here is the stuff that Eliana picked out for her box.

Here is the stuff that Silas picked out for his box. 

To happy kids with their Christmas present boxes for a child in need.