did somebody say CHRISTMAS?

Something that my family has done every year since I can
remember is Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse.  Never in my life did I think that I would
actually meet people that were directly affected by this program.  That all changed when I got to Montenegro.

For those of you who don’t know, Samaritan’s Purse has this
program called Operation Christmas Child. 
You can check out their website here for more information but here is
some information that I pulled from their website about what Operation Christmas
Child is:

Operation Christmas Child is the UK’s largest children’s Christmas appeal
and has been running for over 19 years. Thanks to a huge army of volunteers who
give their time to help make this Christmas ‘miracle’ come to life, we are able
to deliver gift-filled shoe boxes to children in Africa, Eastern Europe and
Central Asia.We work with local churches and charities overseas to ensure that your
shoebox gets delivered by hand to children who need it most. Our approach is to
give shoe boxes to children in need, regardless of their background or beliefs.  Where it’s appropriate our local partners also make available to children a
booklet of Bible stories, including the original Christmas story – the birth of
Jesus. 

When we arrived in Montenegro, the pastor in the capital, Podgorica,
sat us all down to give us some general information about the country.  There are 700,000 people in Montenegro with
only 120-150 Christians.  The major
religions here are Muslim and Orthodox. 
Montenegro is one of the countries that receive shoe boxes from
Samaritan’s Purse at Christmas time. 
About 2,000 boxes are sent here which are spread out between 3 churches
around the country.  There are some
children who live here have never received a Christmas present before.  When I spoke with the volunteers who distributed
the shoe boxes they told how amazing it is to have the opportunity to be
involved in this program.  They told me
you can clearly see the joy in the faces of the children.  When they ask the church members who sent the
gifts, they are able to share with them that God sent them through people who
love Him. 

A clear example of the fruit of this program happened in
Podgorica.  Just last year, 15 of the
children who received a shoebox who live in non-Christian homes began attending
Sunday School at the church.  So 15
children who otherwise would have no idea of a Christian church near their home
were able to not only hear the gospel but have a church to attend.  The church in Podgroica went from 5 children
attending Sunday School to 20 children simply because of people’s involvement
in Operation Christmas Child.  Praise
God!!