100 Million Examples of God’s Love
A young, enthusiastic Operation Christmas Child ambassador crosses the country with a milestone shoe box gift
National Collection Week may be over, but the journey of Operation
Christmas Child’s 100 millionth shoe box gift has only just begun.
As millions of boxes were being brought to drop-off sites throughout the
United States, 12-year-old Evilyn Pinnow was gathering items from
around the country to add to the special gift that symbolizes the 100
millionth box collected since 1993. The simple box, wrapped in white
paper and stamped with the handprints from Evilyn’s friends in The
Shoebox Club in Fort Atkinson, Wis.,
began its journey last week.
So far, Pinnow has traveled more than 5,000 miles with the 100 millionth
box, stopping at various shoe box packing parties along the way. With
each stop, she spreads her passion for Operation Christmas Child.
“When I heard that OCC expected to collect the hundred millionth shoe
box this year, I thought it would be cool to help encourage people to
meet this milestone,” she explained at an annual packing party hosted by
K-LOVE Radio and a local volunteer team in Sacramento, Ca.
More than 8,000 shoe box gifts were packed at the annual event, and
year-round volunteer Ann Olson added a few meaningful items to the
milestone gift.
“About 10 years ago with our family, my daughter was passionate about
putting socks in boxes because she hates cold feet. So my first item is a
pair of socks,” Olson said. “Art is so wonderful because it helps you
express your creative side, so my next item is art supplies.”
The socks and art supplies joined some jump ropes that had been added by
the hosts of a Milwaukee morning radio show at the first stop on
Evilyn’s journey.
The quick stop in California was followed by a trip to Nashville, and a
packing party at Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home in Brentwood. The
home, one of six operated by the Tennessee Baptist Convention, offers
support for children in difficult family situations. It was the perfect
backdrop for Oksana Nelson to add a stuffed musical lamb to the box.
Nelson grew up in a Russian orphanage, so she empathizes with the children living at TBCH.
“I think packing a shoe box will help kids [at TBCH] feel like they’re
contributing,” Nelson said. “When you’re in the position of always
receiving and needing, you don’t always feel like you can do something
to help someone else.”
About 20 residents of the children’s home chattered excitedly as they
packed 200 shoe box gifts in the gym alongside a local 4-H club and high
school football team.
Kelly Campbell, regional vice president of TBCH and director of the
Brentwood campus, said that serving as a drop-off location for Operation
Christmas Child and hosting a packing party “gives us an opportunity to
reach out. We believe in the Gospel message, and want children around
the world to hear the Gospel.”
When the last baby doll, bar of soap, and set of beads had been placed
in a shoe box, Campbell and the packing party participants paid rapt
attention as Nelson shared her story.
“When I was 9-years-old I received my first gift,” Nelson said,
recalling the time Operation Christmas Child came to her orphanage. “It
was the first time I ever felt special enough to be somebody in this
life.”
As she placed a fuzzy musical lamb in the 100 millionth box, Nelson said
that each item in a shoe box gift represents a hug and transfers the
love of the giver to the child who receives it. The crowd gathered
around as Evilyn asked God to bless the shoe box and the program that
conveys His great love for children around the world.
“Dear Lord, thank you for a project that allows kids like me to give gifts to kids around the world,” she prayed.
The next day in Tupelo, Miss., another recipient whose life was touched
by Operation Christmas Child contributed his own significant item to the
100 millionth gift. Renan Perdomo, now grown and living in Petal,
Miss., was able to attend school in Honduras after he opened a shoe box
gift filled with pencils, a notebook, crayons and scissors. Perdomo’s
pencils joined the growing list of items and stories they represent.
Finally, Evilyn took the box to New York City, the stop that she looked
forward to the most—other than actually handing the gift to its
recipient in the Dominican Republic, of course.
In the city that never sleeps, she took the box on a whirlwind tour from
sun-up to sun-down: The Today Show in Rockefeller Plaza, Times Square, a
harbor cruise past the Statue of Liberty and under the Brooklyn Bridge,
and finally, the headquarters of The Salvation Army for a packing party
and concert by Matthew West.
Although she was impressed by New York’s towering buildings, she didn’t
seem phased by meeting the well-known Christian recording artist
backstage.
“I’m sorry, I’m in the middle of a candy thing,” she stated,
matter-of-factly, as West introduced himself, setting the stage for the
pair to joke together as they waited for the concert to begin.
“If you ever get in trouble, it seems like the fact that you have packed
2,000 shoe boxes kind of means you get a free pass,” West said, quickly
adding, “This girl would never disappoint. She’s not disappointing
these kids, is she?”
Evilyn didn’t disappoint the crowd of about 1,000 New Yorkers, either.
West introduced her, and the crowd broke into raucous applause as she
announced, “This is the 100 millionth shoe box!”
West, who has supported Operation Christmas Child for several years,
added some “fancy hair bows” chosen by his daughters to the box.
“I haven’t really thought much about the holidays and this kind of
starts it off for me,” West said. “A lot of times, we go on a missions
trip or we do something kind for somebody else and we think it’s going
to help that person. And then we’re surprised to find how God uses it to
enrich our lives.”
Evilyn and the 100 millionth box will continue travelling over the next
couple of weeks, enriching the lives of people along the way with her
story of kids helping kids. She will return to Wisconsin before
continuing to Huntington Beach, Ca.; Aurora, Co.; Bloomington, Minn.;
Duluth, Ga.; Boone, N.C.; and Charlotte, N.C.
Finally, in December, she will hand deliver the special gift to a girl in the Dominican Republic.
More items and more unique stories will be added along the way, all for
one purpose—to share the love of Jesus Christ through a simple
gift—fulfilling Evilyn’s prayer to help the needy.
Evilyn summed up her motivation simply: “I think every kid should feel loved.”
National
Collection Week is over, but you can still bless a child through
Operation Christmas Child through Build-A-Box, a fun and easy way to put
together a shoe box gift online.
By
making your donation online using a credit or debit card you will
receive a special shoe box label included in your e-mail receipt. 
