10 months ago I was walking through a community in Alajuelita, Costa Rica that looked more like a junkyard than a community. It was basically a sketchy back alley dirt road, full of sketchy houses made out of scrap metal and wood, occupied by sketchy people giving me plenty of the ol' evil eye. In short, it was a rough place I was only allowed to visit because I was with locals who were there to help bring some relief to the people there.
The people in this "community" consists of two groups. Adults in slavery and children in slavery. If the adults weren't drug dealers, they were drug addicts (or both). And if they weren't addicts, they were slaves to prostitution. The children were slaves to this environment, to parents with violent tendencies. The children were slaves to abuse of all kinds…emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual. In short, it was a seemingly hopeless situation for everyone there.
Getting the picture? So, why, during the very start of our beautiful winter holiday season am I bringing this up? Not because you won an all expenses paid guilt trip to Costa Rica (guilt is from our enemy, not our God), but because as we gear up for holiday mode, I want you to think about "those poor people" in those "poor places", and to possibly share some of that holiday joy with them. And I want you to think about it so that you'll be open to understanding how EASY, how incredibly EASY it is to share just the slightest amount of Christ's JOY with them.
You've probably heard about that organization that gets people to donate toys in shoeboxes for poor kids all around the world. Well, that group is known as Samaritan's Purse, and their Operation Christmas Child is incredibly legit. How do I know? Because I was in one of the sketchiest places of my entire life…where drugs, sex and hopelessness were king…and saw those shoeboxes arrive from middle America and brighten up the lives of the children there. It was real. Somehow Christ's joy made it to them…and I believe they got more than just some toys…I believe their spirits were able to understand that maybe, maybe there is hope. Maybe people do care. Maybe there is more than just crap in life. I instantly became an avid fan of this whole deal.
These boxes get to the places the organziation says they do. They get to children who's understanding of toys and fun are usually centered around playing with junk and garbage. These boxes, in some way I can't fully express or explain, bring the JOY and FREEDOM of Jesus to children are who prisoners to their envirnoments. And the best part…YOU can play a role in that. YOU! It's so awesome! So this year…before you go and spend more than your allotted Christmas budget, before you run out of time and before you're already burned out from the whole holiday thing, go ahead and invest in God's Kingdom by putting together a box or two, and sharing God's love with some children who are desperate for it. It's so EASY! It's so FANTASTIC! It's such a GREAT way to LOVE! (And the deadline to have the boxes finished is only three weeks away!)
These links should give you everything you need:
About Operation Christmas Child
How to Pack Your Shoebox
Drop-Off Locations Near You
And here's a video I made during our time in Alajuelita helping a local church hand out these gift boxes!
