Photo Friday // Operation Christmas Child

National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child has finally arrived! At our church we had a packing party earlier in the week to get boxes ready for shipment. Since September, we've collected donations of shoe boxes and gifts, preparing for the church-wide packing party.

Setting up an assembly line for the packing party.

We also had a kids-only packing party in our Kidz church one Sunday. The children loved hearing about boys and girls in other countries, and they had so much fun filling out coloring sheets to put in boxes with gifts they picked out. The kids put together a little more than 20 boxes themselves!

So Tuesday we finished the children's boxes, sealed up the donated boxes and filled a bunch more with remaining toys, hygiene items, clothes and school supplies. By the end of the night we had 60 boxes ready to ship! Praise God!

60 boxes ready to go!

The best part of this experience is knowing that 60 little boys and girls around the world will be able to hear the Gospel, perhaps for the very first time. The gift box they receive will let them know that we love them, but also that God loves them. And they will have the opportunity to complete a discipleship program to learn about a life of faith in Jesus.

We are praying that every child that receives a box will fall in love with their Savior. Will you pray with us?

As coordinator of this event, I did encounter one "thought" that almost caused me to pull back some: What if we pack more boxes than we have donations to ship them? Because for every box there is a $7 shipping cost. The last thing I wanted was to have boxes we couldn't ship.

But God told me to trust Him. He is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. And every box we packed is paid for. God bless all those who were faithful to His call to give!