I remember once when I was a little child my family was preparing for Christmas. In our preparation for advent we went out of our way to help someone less fortunate. We packed some cheap little toys and gifts into a shoebox and mailed it of to Samritians Purse in part of what they called Operation Christmas Child.
After we put those boxes in the mail I never saw anything of them again. I never knew the joy or impact those little boxes had. It wasn’t until the other day that I really saw the joy those boxes can bring to struggling kids.
Saturday I got the opportunity to be on the other end of that process. We worked with Vida Abundante, a church here in Trujillo, to distribute those gifts to kids in poverty.
It was honestly a very humbling experience. I was blown away with how much joy those little gifts brought to kids. If I’m being honest I as a little kid would have been severely disappointed if my Christmas looked like that.
God is using this journey to continually open my eyes while I get to serve him. I don’t know that you could ever realize how blessed Americans are unless you give it all up. Abandoning everything you’re used to is so hard, but God uses it to show you so much. I’m finding when you clear away a lot of the distractions you find how much you can depend on God. This journey is constantly humbling and so life changing.
Anyway back to the shoeboxes. It was awesome to see the results of people coming together to do something good for those less fortunate. Though I’m being constantly humbled and challenged, I an also so excited and joyous.
I want to challenge you all to give up part of yourself in order to grow closer to God and make a difference in the world around you. I also want to share some cute and joyous faces with you. Enjoy the pics of these little guys.
