“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15

September 6, 2023

I am going to assume you have not read either of my books so I will give a quick synopsis of my involvement with the ministry of Operation Christmas Child.

It all started back in 2000. I was introduced to the ministry for the first time and it changed my life forever. A couple from my church was sharing from the pulpit what the ministry was and how to get involved. I had four young boys at the time and when they heard about it they were very excited to do it. I shared with them that it would be expensive for us to do. We would have to pray about it. That was the first thing we did when we got home from church.

Within a few days that prayer was answered miraculously! The Lord provided all the items needed for the shoe boxes and the $5 shipping cost per box. We packed 12 boxes. For the first time I understood faith. We prayed and God answered in a big way! I also heard Him speak and say, “This is your ministry.” Answered prayer and hearing His voice was new to me and I loved it. I wanted more! It started a hunger and thirst for more of Him.

When it came time next year to do the boxes I said, “Lord, they are your children. If you did 12 boxes last year why not 25 this year?” He miraculously filled more than 25! Next year why not 50? He did! Next year why not 100? He did! It went on to double each year until we reached 10,000 filled in one year.

In 2002 I took the Collection Center Coordinator position on the local area team for the ministry. I then moved to the Area Coordinator position. I then moved into the Regional Area Coordinator position. As I was growing in the ministry I was growing spiritually as well. The Lord was doing such a huge work in my life. He was growing and maturing me in all areas of my life. During this time I was part of such incredible miracles that left me in awe as God would provide for all of these shoe boxes.

Sadly in 2013 I went through a divorce. I had to step down and away from the ministry for a time. I was working 7 days a week just to pay the bills. The Lord promised me I would come back to the ministry in His time and in His way. He did share with me that I would pick back up where I left off. I would not lose any ground but it would look different when I stepped back in.

True to His word I stepped back in 2017. It was different as I was no longer serving in a position on the local area team of OCC. I would just be packing shoe boxes for the children. At the time that I stepped back in I was managing a resale store that my church owned. I started packing boxes in the back room of the store. We quickly outgrew that space. We moved the ministry into my 30 X 40 pole barn on my property.

Many miracles had to happen for us to operate in the pole barn year round. It had to be insulated and we would need a heater. Both were donated just in time before winter set in. One by one God sent me the most precious godly ladies to partner with me in what He was doing. We have grown to over 20 ladies now. Some sew items at home for the boxes. The rest meet every Friday to pack boxes and sew at the pole barn. We experience miracles constantly! One of the ladies came in on a Friday and said, “I’m going to start calling it, miracle Friday!” God continually shows up and provides ways that leave us in awe! We can’t wait to see from week to week what He is going to do. We have adopted a motto. We ask the question, “Lord what are You saying and doing so we can join You?”Our motto is the same as Jesus was when He was here on earth.

John 12:49 “For I do not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”

Our goal for the past couple of years is to pack and send 5,000 boxes. That is utterly impossible for us to do. He must show up and do it because we physically and financially can’t do it. We do not go around petitioning for donations. We pray and take the need to Him. He has always supplied. He has always answered our prayers.

We quickly outgrew the pole barn. We were in need of more space. We began to pray and petition the Lord for the answer. It came right away. We were given a $20,000 donation to put a 12 X 40 lean-to on the existing pole barn. What a huge blessing!! We named the new addition, “The Harvest Room”. The new addition is where we put all the filled shoe boxes that are in cartons waiting to be shipped out. We all felt the Lord showed us there would be an incredible harvest of souls coming from these boxes.

If you do not know about Operation Christmas Child I invite you to go to samaritanspurse.org. There you can learn all about it. It is a ministry that anyone can do. You simply take an empty shoe box and fill it up with items you think a child would like. You pick a boy or girl. You then pick the age category of 2-4 yr old, 5-9 yr old or 10-14 yr old. Once the boxes are filled they are then sent to over 100 different countries. Along with the shoe box the children are given a booklet written in their own language of the story of Jesus. It tells them of His birth, life, death and resurrection. It then leads them on how to accept Him as their Savior. Last year over 17,000,000 boxes were collected. I know of no other ministry that can touch that many children with the gospel message in one year.