( Just a Christmas Family Team Picture)
Hey,
So, I figured I would add a little more about what made Christmas special for me this year. Usually it would be hanging out with my family and friends (who I miss like CRAZY) and gifts but since I'm here in Thailand…I had to think a little out of the box. What made Christmas for me actually occurred on Christmas Eve. It happened during the crazy Christmas Evangelism Concert outreach to the community. In case you missed the Christmas video, I will give a quick recap of what happened. My team was asked to prepare two songs and a dance for the program so we pulled out anything and everything we knew. We sang What Child Is This, a Rosie Thomas song, and preformed The Hoedown Throwdown by Miley Cyrus in front of 1000 some Thai people who had no idea what they were in for. Oh and don't forget the fog machine that went off every few minutes that just gave me the giggles each time.
Then I watched Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes get handed out and this is what made my Christmas. I can remember as a child and even as a teenager filling shoe boxes that I would later drop off at church to be sent off to who knows where. But to watch firsthand REAL children receive the shoe boxes made it all the more real for me. I watched several children open their boxes but one seven year old boy in particular really stood out to me. I watched this little boy squatting on the ground carefully pulling each item out of the box as if it were a precious treasure. He lifted out of the box a comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a washcloth, a toy car, some bouncy balls, candy, crayons, and a coloring book. The little boys smile grew as he took time to examine each item before setting them on the ground next to him. After he pulled out all of the contents of the shoebox, he packed, then repacked the box so the lid would fit just right. He smiled and took the box over to his mother and I could see the smile on her face grow bigger and bigger as she listened to her son tell about all the goodies that were placed in the shoebox. It had never really occurred to me until that moment what the significance of the box was. How simple everyday items could really make a difference in someone else s life. How the shoebox brought hope and a joy to not only children but their parents as well. How this simple gift gave us the chance to share with the Thai people about Gods greatest gift to us.
I have always taken luxuries such as soap, toothpaste, hairbrushes, etc. for granted. It almost broke my heart watching a hundred plus kids opening these boxes because they were really in need. (In case you have not been following world news, Thailand dealt with severe flooding last month and the place we were at is still dealing with the after effects of the flooding.) Watching the children open their shoe boxes really made my Christmas. Anyways…moral of the story…you should fill a shoebox next Christmas to bring a smile to some other child s face in the world. Merry Christmas 🙂
-Rebecca
