Serving Others Through a Shoebox
Monday, September 17, 2012 at 5:00AM
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. ~ Matthew 25:40
One of the most gratifying and truly HELPFUL ways to serve others during the holiday season is through the packing of shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse - Operation Christmas Child. In our church last year we packed 76 boxes; we packed them as classes and as families.
This year we are talking about shoeboxes again. I have challenged my children to pack more boxes this season, and we will be starting this week. The blessings my children experience are ENDLESS, and it is imperative that they pass these blessings along to children around the world through Operation Christmas Child.
If you aren't familiar with Operation Christmas Child, you can read all about packing shoeboxes and how they are delivered, etc... The national collection week is November 12-19, 2012, so start packing!
I will be blogging more about this in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned. For now, if you want to bless children through this ministry you can do the following:
PRAY
Pray for the children who are in need. Pray for God's will to be done through the hearts of your children. Pray for the wonderful people at Samaritan's Purse that run this ministry. Pray for local leaders in your churches and communities who help organize local efforts.
SHOP
Begin purchasing items for shoeboxes. This graphic is taken directly from Samaritan's Purse:
SHARE
Tell others what you are doing! Take pictures. Put a button on your blog! Blog about packing shoeboxes. Share pictures on your Facebook page, Instagram, and/or whatever social media outlets you use. As I told our church when I spoke with them: We can use social media to work for the good of children!
I am proud to be partnering with some of my friends at the iHomeschool Network in this effort.
As a member of iHomeschool Network’s Samaritan’s Purse Blogger Team, I write about the ministry on a volunteer basis. All posts are my own thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the views of Samaritan’s Purse. I am not an employee, agent, or contractor of Samaritan’s Purse.
Have you started packing boxes yet? Do you have a story to share with me? I'd love to hear about your efforts to bless children through Operation Christmas Child! Link up your posts below!
Reader Comments (5)
Mary, we've always enjoyed participating in this ministry. I love how you pack numerous boxes at your church as a project (as well as family boxes). Last year, we missed the deadline; thanks for the reminder! This is too important to let slip by.
We are doing it this year with our homeschool group. I am hoping all 83 families do one box.
This is something we look forward to all year!! Love Operation Christmas Child and seeing children serve other children:)
Mary, it's so great that you're getting started already. We look forward to seeing how your boxes turn out!
Yes we pack boxes. i have 6 for this year and want to add more next year (a few extra for the oldest boy group...another blogger said they are the most overlooked group).
Have you seen the OCC Packing Party invitations? I want to do that at my house next year. Everyone brings their stuff, packs their box, and goes to a station to write a letter about themselves, a station to decorate their box, and a station to do a craft to include in the box (like a finger puppet or friendship bracelet). :)