STORY BY DALSY TURNER
PHOTOS BY DALSY TURNER AND ALEX JUAREZ
Operation Christmas Child is part of an organization that delivers shoeboxes filled with anything from school supplies, necessities, little toys and even notes and photos from the family who filled it, to 160 countries. The event was held at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Hays on September 14th. Operation Christmas Child is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse.
Touching hearts and lives with Jesus’ love and the gospel is what Operation Christmas Child is all about.
Many of the children that receive these boxes are living in poverty situations or areas with little resources.
Spokesperson Boun Thorne speaks about receiving her shoebox when she was living in Cambodia where she was born and raised on a boat.
“I will never forget how I felt when I saw that box,” she said.
The shoebox she received when she was 13 was the first gift she had ever been given.
The shoebox changed her life and gave her an opportunity to learn about the gospel. Less than 2% of Cambodians are Christian and Operation Christmas Child comes with a booklet of scriptures about the gospel in multiple different languages.
Children also listen and interact with a presentation about the gospel before receiving their shoeboxes.
Boun Thorne is now studying to become a nurse to help people and children that can’t get the help they need because of poverty circumstances.
To get more involved you can volunteer at a drop off location or processing center, fill a shoebox or host a packing party.
Drop off times for Operation Christmas Child start in November at the Messiah Lutheran Church.
Monday, Nov. 12, [4 p.m. – 6 p.m.]
Tuesday, Nov. 13, [11 a.m. – 1 p.m.]
Wednesday, Nov. 14, [11 a.m. – 1 p.m.]
Thursday, Nov. 15, [11 a.m. – 1 p.m.]
Friday, Nov. 16, [4 p.m. – 6 p.m.]
Saturday, Nov. 17, [12 p.m. – 2 p.m.]
Sunday, Nov. 18, [12 p.m. – 2 p.m.]
Monday, Nov. 19, [9 a.m. – 11 a.m.]
