Shoeboxes Speak to the Heart of Children in Mexico

We know that SOME of the shoeboxes from Southern Oregon went to Mexico, so I thought this Samaritan's Purse blog on OCC in Mexico was definitely worth sharing!!! Over and over again I was blessed by this article, seeing through it the transformative message of the Gospel. Our God is surely working in mighty ways!!

Below are excerpts from the blog From Streets to the Steeples. Please go read the whole thing!

“Each year, we look to give more shoeboxes to new kids who have never received them,” he said. “When a kid receives a shoebox, he sees the toys and plays with the toys, but there is also a question in him. ‘Why me?’ So through the shoeboxes, we get to the hearts of the kids and tell them how much God loves them. There are kids that have a hole in their hearts, and they start to fill it with all of these evil things: drugs, violence, robbery. So when we give out the gifts, there starts to be a hope in them, and they start to leave the drugs, the violence, the robbery; and they start to fill it with the love of God.”


Ten-year-old Karen Herrera had never heard about Jesus until the Gospel was presented at a shoebox distribution that she attended at Hilario’s church. After she received her gift, she decided to attend The Greatest Journey.
“Most of all, I’m happy because I got a New Testament Bible,” she said. “When I took the lessons, I invited Jesus into my heart. I learned that He’s my Savior.”
She can’t wait to share her new-found faith in Christ with her cousins and siblings.

Please Pray for the Airlift to Syrian Refugees

The flight was scheduled for yesterday, 65000 shoeboxes to go to the Syrian refugee children in northern Iraq... all paperwork and permits were in place, when at the last minute the trip was canceled and flight plan denied. They have rescheduled for the 25th. What a reminder that we must keep in prayer for the shoeboxes. There are MANY barriers that the enemy tries to throw against them. This is just the most recent. VAT taxes. Customs difficulties. Governmental issues. Please pray for the airlift to Iraq for the Syrian refugees... and for all the shoeboxes.

Hope for Syrian Refugees through Operation Christmas Child

From Samaritan's Purse:
An Airlift of Hope

Shoebox gifts will bring the message of God’s love to 65,000 Syrian children living in refugee camps in northern Iraq

A fierce civil war has forced millions of Syrians to run for their lives to neighboring countries. In northern Iraq, tens of thousands are living in bitterly cold tent camps mired in mud. It is a bleak environment, particularly for children already traumatized by war.
Help Syrian RefugeesSamaritan’s Purse is committed to helping these suffering people. We have already been providing basic necessities like food, clothing, shoes, and portable heaters. Now, we are giving shoebox gifts to the children.

We are airlifting a special delivery of 65,000 Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to northern Iraq. We want these children and their families to know that God loves them and gave His Son that they might know true peace through faith in Christ.

Please pray that God will use the shoebox gifts to let these boys and girls know they are loved and not forgotten.

If you live in the Charlotte area you can join us for this special event.

Christmas Clearance ~ Final Days

Here in Klamath today I did a final sweep of several stores in the area, ranging from 70-80% off. I found nail care kits for 40 cents, fold up chess sets for 20 cents, two packs of card games at Rite Aid for 50 cents and discount plush.

Keep your eyes out for MORE clearance in whatever store you go to.... you never know what you will find. For just pittance you may find a great blessing for a child!

Happy Bargain Hunting!

Operation Christmas Child Thank You Celebration in Klamath

Did you pack a shoebox??? Then we want to THANK YOU... and invite you to our Thank You Celebration! Learn more about where our boxes went, how many were collected, and some of the stories and videos and pictures that show how God is working through the shoeboxes!

I am over and over again amazed and blessed by the stories of the shoeboxes! Here is one just posted today on Facebook:

“After telling the kids about God’s love through which these gifts were sent to them, a six-year-old girl approached me to ask one more time who Jesus was. I told her that Jesus is the one who loves you and sent you this gift through a child your age on the other part of the planet. She then asked me, ‘Will Jesus be a father for me? Because my father has been in jail for a long time.’ I told her that Jesus would want nothing more than for her to be his daughter.” - Volunteer in Lebanon

Come and hear more of the stories and rejoice in what God is doing through shoeboxes just like yours!!  January 18th, at 1pm, at Calvary Chapel K-Falls! 

PS for more stories click on the Impact Stories tab at the top of the page.

A Year of Deals to Fill Your Shoebox

Do you coupon? Watch sales and clearance? Like to save money??? Then start now with an eye to filling your Operation Christmas Child box for LESS.

Check out this great blog from a great savings site on filling a box with your stockpile: http://forthemommas.com/articles/operation-christmas-child-using-your-stockpile-to-donate#comment-4077480

Let the After Christmas Sales BEGIN!!! (Operation Christmas Child Shopping Season!)

Today is the beginning of the true after Christmas sales and a great time to begin shopping for next year's shoeboxes. The best sales will still be to come.... but some things are worth getting now. Especially if you do not think you will be able to keep checking for deeper discounts. Some of my favorite things to get:

Washcloths (last year I got Walmart's 18 packs of red, white, and green washcloths at 75% off, which is $1!)
Plush!!! The cute Christmas plush designed for the stockings are the perfect size for the shoebox. Walmart's started at 2.97 and at half off they are a much nicer quality than the dollar store plush at just 1.49. (Sometimes they make it to 75% off but not often.)

Cups (the cute Christmas cups are inexpensive to begin with, but on sale these become a nice cheerful practical gift for the shoeboxes.

Filler - the myriad of stocking stuffers out there are a lovely addition to the shoebox... from small toys, to hygiene items, these are fun to get.)

Candy Canes - colorful and delicious and long lasting, the boxes are at 50 cents now and usually go much lower, 25 cents most years, and often even 10 cents per box.

Don't forget, there are many stores with Christmas clearance and this will continue into the new year... Michaels and JoAnns, Rite Aid, etc. Happy Shopping!

Christmas Comes to the Philippines

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

K Dove Distributing Shoeboxes in Ecuador!!

K Dove has been a huge supporter of Operation Christmas Child here in Southern Oregon... promoting it and being a drop off center... and now, one of their hosts is on a distribution in Ecuador!! Check out this video and be encouraged... and remember to pray! Your shoebox could be distributed any time now... or it could yet be months.... but none of that is a surprise to our God who is even now preparing your box to go to a specific child to bless them and show your love and His.

Airlift to the Philippines

NEW YORK — Franklin Graham, president of nonprofit Samaritan's Purse, joined project organizers, local families and survivors of Hurricane Sandy at one of New York City's major airports this week to personally send off more than 60,000 gifts to some of Typhoon Haiyan's most vulnerable victims in the Philippines.

"Do you know what these gifts are going to mean to these kids? It means that somebody loves them, it means they haven't been forgotten. It will mean everything in the world. It will give these little kids hope," Graham told more than 300 attendees at Thursday's event.

"It's about letting the children of the world to know that God loves them and God hasn't forgotten them," Graham added in his interview with The Christian Post. His Samaritan's Purse international relief organization has been delivering emergency aid to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan forced more than 3.9 million residents to flee their homes. The powerful Nov. 8 typhoon has killed at least 6,000 people and injured more than 27,000 others.

The organization's annual Operation Christmas Child outreach will be delivering shoe boxes stuffed with goodies and essentials to thousands of Filipino children to let them know that Christians on the other side of the world are praying for them and contributing to their needs.

 Read the full article and see the video at the Christian Post