A Huge Thank you and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you

Oh how my heart rejoices on this day! I pray that each of you is filled with thanksgiving today as we as a nation celebrate all God has done for us individually and as a nation on this day of Thanksgiving.

Enjoy your blessings. Enjoy your family. And rejoice in the work being done around the world through the simple gifts you packed in a shoebox!

So today, on Thanksgiving, I wanted to take the time on my blog to say THANK YOU!!!! And share this video I just found from last year.. watch and rejoice for this year the numbers and the impact will be even GREATER as we pass the 100 million mark!

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.

Change for Children

OK... so this year of OCC is now over... and perhaps you think it is too early to start thinking about next year. I want to challenge you to do just that! Sometimes what I hear is that I can't afford to do a box, or more than one box, etc.

Here is my challenge for you. Place a jar in your house, and collect pennies! Just 2 cents a day, and you will have your $7 to cover donation by next Collection Week! 2 cents!!! You can do that, right??

As for filling the boxes? Start early and watch here for deals! If you had followed the posts here, you would have had free toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and paper for multiple boxes. Penny deals on school supplies. And 25 cent flip flops, hats, and gloves. 74 cent plush. Free photo paper to print your photo on. And tons MORE for your boxes all for pennies!

If you start now, you can also fill your boxes with wonderful homemade items, no matter your crafting skill level!

Begin your year of OCC today! Don't procrastinate.. and little by little, penny by penny, you will be surprised at how quickly your box(es) can fill!

Begin today and the blessings will pile up for a child!

Day One of a New OCC Year and Donations are Coming In

The truck full of shoeboxes just left yesterday and today I stopped by our local Payless to let them know the numbers of shoeboxes donated in our area, as they gave our area OCC hundreds of empty shoeboxes this year. To my surprise my visit yielded my first donation of the new year! I am forever blessed by the generosity of people around Klamath Falls! The sales clerk presented me with bags FULL of 8 pairs of shoes for children, socks to go with them, and some small extras! She had seen the clearance and thought of OCC... and TOTALLY made my day! Just THINK of the blessing these gifts will be to the children who receive them!!!

Let the new year begin!!!!!!! 

Rejoicing in what the Lord has done!

The numbers are IN!!! Southern Oregon (the area including K-Falls, Medford, Roseberg, etc) blew past our shoebox goals this year... 14,056 shoeboxes !! Praising God for His goodness and thankful for EACH of YOU who gave a shoebox! It is truly a reason to REJOICE! Please continue in prayer in the months to come as these shoeboxes begin their long journey to the children who will receive them.

Another year completed! Boxes overflowing with God's blessings!

Our boxes, here in Klamath Falls, are now on their way! We are rejoicing because we had SO many shoeboxes, that we ran out of cartons to put them in YESTERDAY... and the rest of yesterday's and today's shoeboxes had to get put in whatever boxes we could find!! SO many children will receive the good news of Jesus Christ and receive this tangible expression of YOUR love and GOD'S love and this makes me REJOICE!!

So, what if you missed the deadline??

If you packed a box, you can no longer deliver it here in Klamath Falls, but you can choose to mail it on to Samaritan's Purse.

Operation Christmas Child
Samaritan's Purse
P.O. Box 3000
801 Bamboo Road
Boone, NC 28607

OR you can pack a box online!

You can choose to pack a box online that will bless a child! To do that, go to https://www.samaritanspurse.org/giving/buildabox/

Or maybe you want to give to Samaritan's Purse in other ways... you can sponsor the Greatest Journey.. the 12 week discipleship course that is often done where the shoeboxes are distributed. Each child who completes the course will receive a New Testament in their own language. Or you could buy chicks or ducks or help with medical care or education. There are so MANY needs. Learn more at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/

There are so many needs that sometimes it can feel overwhelming.. but we can make SO much of a difference through ONE shoebox, transforming a child's life, bringing the Good News and rich blessings in our simple gifts. And while one of us alone can not solve the world's problems, one plus one plus one.... we can bring such hope and blessings for the glory of God!

THANK YOU for your care! Your love! And your prayers!

Nothing is worth as much as ONE child coming to Christ

And your shoebox is a gospel opportunity for a child in need. When you pack a shoebox, and fill it prayerfully with things the child might need and items to make them smile, you are pouring God's love and your love upon that child! The box goes forth with the gospel. And know that over and over again.. millions of times over, children, their families, and even communities come to Christ through the blessings in the shoeboxes. God IS working.. and He can work through YOUR gift! You still have time to get a box in by tomorrow morning's deadline... but if you can't do it this year... know that next year, you can do one box.. or MANY boxes.. and change lives. It's worth it ALL for the sake of one child coming to Christ!

Here is a new video by OCC.. enjoy. 

Ruth's Story... a story of passion for shoeboxes.

Today is the last Sunday for Operation Christmas Child.. but it is not too late! Packing a shoebox is such a simple thing but it has such a HUGE impact in the life of a child. Learn more about what to pack and how to pack a shoebox at samaritanspurse.org

And take the time to enjoy this video and see what JOY there is in giving!

Learning to be Generous

This video may be my new favorite. It is not professionally done. It is not about the child who receives a box.. though THOSE videos get me every time. This is a video with a sweet little girl made by her mama that is SUCH a clear reminder about WHY it is SO valuable to pack shoeboxes with our children.. to TEACH them, deliberately, about giving, about sharing the love of Christ, letting our light shine, our love go forth, from when they are young, and then throughout their childhood. We don't come to sharing and giving naturally, which is why this is SO vital.

Watch this video. Please. And enjoy.

Reaching a Milestone for Christ

A girl who has packed hundreds of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes with her friends embarks on a journey to pack and deliver the 100 millionth gift

“Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12, NIV).

These words, written by the apostle Paul to Timothy, were a fitting send-off for 12-year-old Evilyn Pinnow as she said her final goodbyes to family and members of The Shoebox Club at the Milwaukee airport on a Friday afternoon. Surrounded by about 15 of her friends, Evilyn cradled a small shoe box wrapped in colorfully painted paper.

“Since all of your handprints are on the box, it’s like a little piece of the club is going with the box,” Evilyn told her peers.



The box, stamped in red, blue, green, and yellow handprints, is the symbolic 100 millionth shoe box gift packed for Operation Christmas Child since 1993. The project will reach the milestone this week, as shoe box gifts are packed and taken to drop-off sites around the United States during National Collection Week.

NATIONAL COLLECTION WEEK: A 90-year-old woman continues to use her creativity to bless boys and girls through Operation Christmas Child despite her limited eyesight.


Evilyn, with the 100 millionth box in tow, is making appearances at various events around the country, including Sacramento; Nashville; Tupelo, Miss.; New York City; Huntington Beach, Ca.; Denver; Minneapolis; Boone, N.C.; and Charlotte, N.C.. She will encourage communities to join in the fun and pack their own boxes to add to the total before traveling to hand-deliver the milestone gift to a girl in the Dominican Republic.

A new item will be placed in the box by a different person at each stop, creating a collaborative gift that represents the collective effort that is at the heart of Operation Christmas Child. Each year, millions of shoe boxes are filled with small toys, hygiene items, school supplies, and other items chosen with care and packed by children, families, churches, businesses, clubs and organizations.



Evilyn’s gift represents the millions of children around the world who have been touched by receiving these tangible demonstrations of the love of Jesus Christ. Many of the items will be added by shoe box recipients who now live in the U.S. and send shoe boxes of their own.

Evilyn founded The Shoebox Club in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, when she was just 8, after she won a “Kids Praying for Kids” journal from Samaritan’s Purse as a prize for completing a crossword puzzle at an AWANA meeting.

She had been praying, asking God to show her how she could help children in need. After reading about the dire living conditions in countries such as Uganda and Cambodia, she felt the Lord calling her to start a club with her peers to pack shoe box gifts for Operation Christmas Child to send to children who desperately needed to know the love of Christ.

The club started small, with 26 kids attending the first official meeting in May 2009.

“Now we have anywhere from 40 to 80 kids that come each month, and we pack 40 to 50 shoe boxes at each meeting,” Evilyn said.



Since it began, the club has packed more than 2,000 shoe boxes.

“It was growing by the hundreds, and now it’s just erupted,” she said.

It has grown not only in size, but in sophistication. The club, run entirely by its young members, has a vision statement, mission statement, and fully functioning board of directors with a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer who must be elected by the members each December.

Children of any age may join, but the board members are limited to those in third through sixth grade. The club even has a bank account to receive donations, which the treasurer—Evilyn’s younger brother, Owen—uses to purchase needed filler items or supply the $7 per box shipping fee.

The current president, 10-year-old Autumn Congdon, is largely responsible for presenting the project to local business owners and requesting donated items that the club can pack in the shoe boxes. Vice president Brynn Torrenga, 9, reserves space for the monthly meetings and sets up the packing areas. Secretary Elizabeth Lyon, 9, writes the club newsletters and updates the bulletin board at Faith Community Church, where many club members attend.

“It was my mom’s idea to get the board [members] to help me,” Evilyn said. “I’m glad she did that.”

After helping her daughter set up the board, Josie Pinnow and the other adults now attend the meetings as monitors, occasionally reminding the kids about snack time or the need to pray for the boxes they are packing.

Parents also wrap all of the shoe boxes, many of which are donated by a local Nike outlet. The store has been a supporter of the club since the beginning when Evilyn made her first presentation to the owner asking for empty shoe boxes. Now the outlet appoints an employee as a coordinator for The Shoebox Club, a coveted position among college students who start work at the store each year.



Club members gathered last week to pack the final set of boxes for the season—about 100, bringing their total for the year to more than 800 gifts.

“I cannot do anything but think about the children who will hear about Christ,” said 7-year-old Noah Schultz.

Brent Torrenga, father of the current vice president, Brynn, said The Shoebox Club has been an example to the adults in the church.

“With the kids leading, they show the adults that they can get involved too,” he said. “It’s such a hands-on way to show the love of Christ, just to walk up and grab a box and be praying for it, knowing that there’s something greater at stake—the child’s salvation.”

Each child involved understands the importance of the shoe box gifts. Eight-year-old Maren Christian joined The Shoebox Club because, “Jesus told me I should do it for all the kids around the world.”

As the club members finished up, Evilyn began to pray: “Dear God, thank you for this project that allows us to be your hands and feet.”

She will be the hands and feet representing everyone who has packed a shoe box gift since 1993.



“It’s very special to me to be on the 100 Millionth Box Tour,” she said. “I’ve been packing boxes for four years, so it’s going to be very exciting to actually see the looks on the kids’ faces when I give them the shoe boxes.”

She wanted to make sure, however, that the trip would not be focused on her. On Friday, as she embarked on the first leg of the journey that will end in the Dominican Republic she said, “Please pray that God gets the glory for everything I do.”

Find out how you can get involved with Operation Christmas Child during National Collection Week, November 12-19.