A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away in Ikes Fork, West Virginia a lady dreamed of making life better for children around the world. So she set out on a journey to collect items such as school supplies, personal items and a toy or two. She walked up and down the coal hollers in her community and through the generosity of those neighbors, her collection grew and grew until her tiny house could hold it no more and thus Operation Christmas Child was born.
Twenty years later, Mary Dameron’s dreams of making life better for children around the world has grown even more and after meeting with and partnering with Samaritan’s Purse children around the world are not only receiving a small box filled with all kinds of goodies but also a book in their own language that shares the message of Jesus Christ.
This year has had its high’s and low’s but we won’t talk about lows. We opened our collection center last Monday morning and by 3:30 that afternoon we had taken in over 1100 shoeboxes from local churches. Then the rain, cold, ice and snow came but that didn’t dampen the spirits of our collection center workers. We’ve laughed and ate and laughed and ate some more and somewhere in there even managed to pack some shoebox cartons. I want to thank everyone who volunteered last at our collection center. You guys and gals are totally awesome.
Then came the task of loading the Helping Hands truck with those heavy cartons and boy were they heavy. A special thank you to those strong armed men and women who helped.
When it was all said, done and delivered 2,980 shoeboxes were collected from over 50 area churches and organizations. This was a phenomenal task that could not have been accomplished without your support and prayers. Please keep OCC in your prayers throughout 2015 as they spread the word of Jesus through the power of a shoebox to children around the world. Remember – it’s never too early to start buying for next year !!!