Operation Christmas Child

Well, shoeboxes for 2017 has come to a close and what a year we had. We started collecting items in January and items were gathered all year long. Items such as crayons, soap and washcloths, small toys, coloring books and school supplies. Each month I emptied our collection boxes and the pile began to grow. Then came November and our youth gathered one Sunday evening and packed 100 shoeboxes with the items that you donated.

Collection week started in a huge way with over 1,100 boxes collected on Monday. The rest of the week went along and each day we collected shoeboxes from all over the Beckley & Raleigh County area. Saturday morning, we gathered, along with some help from the men of the Fellowship House, and we packed a truck and a church van and down to Princeton we traveled. Praise God we got there and back safely. But that’s not the end of the story.

We collected more boxes on Saturday afternoon, Sunday and Monday and I made my final trip to Princeton with this precious cargo (along with the paperwork) which is the part of the process that is not my favorite but anyway when all was said and done, we not only met our last year’s total of 3,151 but we topped it and just in case you haven’t heard, our final total was 3,440.

I would like to thank each of you for all your help this year. Whether you packed a shoebox, brought in some items all year long, worked in the collection center, helped load a carton or just prayed for this project, you are all truly awesome. We could not have accomplished this enormous task without your help. Please continue to pray for these shoeboxes as they start their journey and eventually find their home in the hands of a child somewhere in the world who will learn firsthand the name of Jesus Christ. May you all have a blessed Christmas.

It’s November and it’s crunch time.  At a meeting I went to recently November was referred to as the Super Bowl of shoeboxes.   It all comes together starting the week of November 13^th when hundreds and hundreds of shoeboxes will be coming in from churches, organizations and individuals in the Raleigh County area.

Just think of the impact that these shoeboxes will have on the children and their families all around the world.  Most of these children have never even heard the name of Jesus and are given the opportunity to learn about His love for them.  Just think that this miracle all starts with an empty shoebox.  Our youth will be filling shoeboxes with what you’ve brought in all year on November 5^th and I am certainly grateful for that help.  It’s a fun evening for them and a chance to learn something about missions.   We hopefully will pack 100 shoeboxes that night.

Recently I asked 30 people to donate $30 to cover the shipping for these boxes and I’m still a little short.  As of October 22^nd, I had $420 of the $900 that I need to cover the shipping for the boxes the youth will be packing. Thank you to all who have donated so far but if my math is correct, I still need 16 people.  So if you could find a few extra pennies sometime between now and the 17^th of November, it would be greatly appreciated.

by Debbie Vanaman

It’s October and Operation Christmas Child is gearing up for collection week next month and this is where I put my faith, as always, in God that he will provide whatever is needed to make this program the great success it has been for over 15 years here at FBC.

You’ve been very generous during this past year in donating whatever is asked for so that our youth can build our shoeboxes in November but now comes the hard part.  Our goal is to build 100 shoeboxes to go along with whatever we as a church collect.  To go along with those shoeboxes, a check for $9.00 a box has to be given to help with the fuel to carry these boxes around the world as well as the labor charges once they get to their destination to get them to the area that they will be distributed in.  In case you’re no good at math that’s a whopping $900 that is needed by the middle of November.

Now what I’m asking is this.  It takes one donation of $900 or two donations of $450 or 10 people give $90 or maybe 30 people giving $30 and remember you have until the middle of November to do this.  That means six weeks at maybe $5.00 a week.  Maybe take that one out to lunch day and make that your donation every week and before you know it you’re done.  I know it’s hard because it seems like everywhere you turn someone is asking you to contribute to something but this is an important part of the shoebox ministry and it’s what gets the boxes to the hands of children all around the world.  So do what you can and that’s all I can ask of you.

I will also need your help during collection week from November 13^th to the 18^th.   So don’t wait for me to track you down – volunteer to work a two-hour shift and I will be eternally grateful that I don’t have to hunt you down and beg for your help.  Last but certainly not least if you have any empty shoeboxes, we can use them as well.  They can be left in the church office.

Again you’ve been great in the past with your prayers and help in this vital ministry to spread the name of Jesus around the world to children and families in need.

by Debbie Vanaman

Something as small as a shoebox has the power to change a child’s life and it all starts with you.  OCC has been here at FBC for over 20 years and it has grown tremendously in those 20 years.  From collecting shoeboxes in what is now the choir room to the now demolished TCI building to the basement of the Wilkes Building to our current collection site in our Welcome Center thousands of shoeboxes have passed through our doors on their journey to children around the world.

Our collections during the year have been great and we just have a few more months to go until our youth will be filing shoeboxes with what you’ve donated.   During the month of September, we need girl’s hairbrushes and boys combs.  We also need small coloring books, markers and colored pencils to finish out our school supplies. You’ve been great in supplying these needs in the past and I am confident that you will continue with your donations. Collection week this year will be Nov. 13^th through 17^th and I’ll need your help during that week as well.

Just one final thing – due to rising costs of airplane fuel and transportation costs, the amount that is needed for each shoebox has been increased from $7.00 to $9.00.   If you are unable to pack a shoebox or wish do make a monetary donation, this would be a great way to share in the blessings that shoeboxes bring to children, some of whom may never heard the name of Jesus Christ.  Please keep this project in your prayers year-round as these shoeboxes travel around the world and spread the name of Jesus Christ to these children and their families.

The year is half over and summer is officially here.   Summer is a great time to relax, possibly go on vacation or just lie around the house drinking a cool glass of sweet tea.  But lying around the house is not something that I do very well so here goes.During July and August, it’s also a good time to find those back to school bargains so we will be collecting school supply items such as pencils, pens, erasers, pencil sharpeners, crayons, colored pencils and markers and small note pads.    Many children who receive these shoeboxes cannot start school because they don’t have the proper supplies so these things are very important.

During July and August, it’s also a good time to find those back to school bargains so we will be collecting school supply items such as pencils, pens, erasers, pencil sharpeners, crayons, colored pencils and markers and small note pads.    Many children who receive these shoeboxes cannot start school because they don’t have the proper supplies so these things are very important.

Donations can be left in the Samaritan’s Purse boxes located in the Welcome Center and also at the top of the ramp in Fellowship Hall.    This program goes year-round so your prayers are always needed.

by Debbie Vanaman

As summer is now upon us and the weather is turning warmer by the day, I know it’s hard to think about Christmas and shoeboxes but this need goes on around the world 365 days a year.  Children who live far from Beckley, West Virginia every day are learning, some for the first time, about the love of God and the name Jesus.  We here at First Baptist have been involved in this program for well over 10 years and most of you I would say are very familiar with the name Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child but just on the off chance you have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s the short version.

You take a trip to the dollar shore and you pick up pencils, pens, crayons, coloring book, personal hygiene items such as hair brushes or combs, soap, washcloth, a small stuff animal and a small toy.  Then you find an empty shoebox and put all these things in them and the week before Thanksgiving you bring it back to the church with a shipping donation this year of $9.00 (this is an increase from previous years due to shipping costs rising dramatically) and that box will eventually find its way around the world to a child.  You have a second option of checking the bulletin or this newsletter each month that tells you a particular item or items that we are collecting.   Then the beginning of November our youth gather all of these items and they fill empty shoeboxes on a Sunday evening.  They really get a kick out of doing this.    Last year we collected enough items to do 100 shoeboxes.  This year I hope it’s more.

Anyway, that’s what Operation Christmas Child is all about.  Please consider being a part of this ministry to spread the name of Jesus around the world to children and eventually to their parents, families and the towns that they live in.  It’s one small way to bring love to a child.

Remember – you can change a child’s life through the power of a simple shoebox.

by Debbie Vanaman

This ministry has grown in the 15 years that we here at First Baptist have been involved.  In our first year we took in roughly 700 shoeboxes and we were excited about that.  For the last two years, we have received over 3,000 shoeboxes and excited doesn’t even begin to express how we felt and for this, I am extremely grateful to the people of Beckley and the Raleigh County community who gave a shoebox.  The need worldwide to show the love of Christ through the power of a shoebox grows each year.

We here at First Baptist have been collecting items on a monthly basis so that in November our youth can share in this ministry on a Sunday evening and create these gifts for children around the world and this seems to be working well.

For the month of May, we will be collecting small hairbrushes, combs and girl’s hair bows for our shoeboxes.  Donation boxes are located in the Welcome Center and at the top of the ramp in Fellowship Hall.

Please keep this ministry in your prayers daily as shoeboxes are distributed around the world spreading the name of Christ to children and their families.

by Debbie Vanaman

As you are reading this article, children all around the world are receiving a shoebox, perhaps one that you packed, and learning about the love of Jesus for the very first time.  As they open up their boxes, they shout for joy at the contents and that someone whom they do not know thought enough of them to pack a shoebox and show the love of God.

We here in the southern part of West Virginia last year packed over 16,000 shoeboxes and that was a record for our area.  The grand total world-wide last year topped 11 million and there still isn’t enough shoeboxes to fill the demands that Samaritan’s Purse receives each year.  Thank you so very much for your support and prayers for this project.

For the month of April, we will be collecting school supplies such as pencils, pens, crayons, markers, small note pads or notebooks, erasers and pencil sharpeners.  Donation boxes are located in the Welcome Center and at the top of the ramp in Fellowship Hall.   Again thank you so very much for your prayers and donations as we strive to carry out the Great Commission to spread the name of Jesus to every corner of the world.

by Debbie Vanaman

It may seem that Christmas is far, far away but it’s never too early to start thinking about packing a shoebox this year.  This program distributes shoeboxes filled with personal items, school supplies and toys to children around the world all year long.  Many of these children have never heard about Jesus and this is their one and possibly only opportunity to learn about his love for them.

Due to the fact that I was out of the office for most of February and didn’t get my collection boxes out until the middle of February, we are going to again collect soap and washcloths during the month of March.  These boxes are located in the Welcome Center and in Fellowship Hall.

Please keep this program in your daily prayers as they strive to carry the word of God throughout the world.

by Debbie Vanaman

Well now that Christmas is over and a new year has begun, it’s that time again – well not really but it’s time to start thinking about shoeboxes for this year.

Our collection effort during 2017 was a huge success and a number of people told me that they really liked the way we did a different item to bring in month.

So here goes the start of shoeboxes for 2018.   For the month of February,  we will be collecting bar soap and wash cloths.  There will be boxes set up in the Welcome Center and in Fellowship Hall for your donations.   As always, please keep this program in your prayers as shoeboxes are being distributed daily to children around the world.