The other day one of my life dreams came true. My family has been packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child for as long as I can remember. We loved shopping each December to fit as many things into our boxes as possible. We always talked about who would open our carefully packed gift and what their reaction would be. We wondered if they would like what we chose and if they would understand how much they were loved and cared for despite the circumstances in which they lived.
Over the past 3 weeks we’ve been working in a very poor village in northwestern Cambodia. It’s the most foreign place I’ve ever been and the living conditions are dire, but we’ve fallen in love with the children. They are the cutest kids I’ve ever seen in my life and it’s been so much fun teaching them songs, crafts, bible stories, English and games. On our first day here, we were asked to teach them how to draw something, but then realized they didn’t have any paper or crayons.
This community is in need; they don’t have any waste management, sanitation and hygiene are very poor, there aren’t enough teachers and most children don’t have the opportunity to study past eighth grade.
When I saw the Operation Christmas Child boxes at our pastor’s house I was overcome with excitement. THIS is the PERFECT place to receive shoeboxes! I was so happy to see proof of how Samaritan’s Purse has been able to infiltrate the world with God’s love and I couldn’t wait to be a part of the delivery.
It happened on a Sunday afternoon, in the blazing heat…we arrived at the church, the boxes were unloaded and the kids filed into the church. There were approximately 120 boys and girls ranging from ages 4-16. The pastor gave a short message, I said a few words and we handed out their much-anticipated gifts. They all waited patiently and bowed their heads to join in a prayer of thanksgiving. Then everyone went outside for a group picture, we counted “1,2,3” and they opened their shoeboxes in unison.
The next moment was one of the most joyful I have ever witnessed in my whole life! There were so many smiles, screams of excitement and lots of laughter. They loved their gifts! I thought that they would compare with their friends for who got better stuff, I expected some kids to be sad because their’s wasn’t as good as someone else’s, but none of that happened. Every child was just genuinely happy for themselves and for each other. They would take a few things out, admire them, and then quickly close the box back up. They became very proud of their new things and it seemed like they didn’t want to lose anything or get them dirty.
I am so grateful to have had this opportunity – to be a part of such a beautiful day! We put together this video to show YOU the joy you bring when you pack a shoebox at Christmas time, and to say thank you. Hope you enjoy!
