With a beautiful fall and no snow on the ground like some years it is hard to get excited about Christmas. But Operation Christmas Child is in full force here in Thompson and throughout Canada.
Operation Christmas Child is a hands-on way for individuals and groups to bring joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift filled shoeboxes.
Shoeboxes are available at CHTM and Thompson Public Library, our longtime supporters of this amazing opportunity.
Shoeboxes are to be filled with toys, clothes, shoes, school supplies and hygiene items. You can fit a lot of items in a box! The boxes are sent to Winnipeg via Maple Bus, another wonderful partner. From Winnipeg they travel to Calgary to be processed. Canada‘s boxes are sent to West Africa and Central America and given out to thousands of children through churches and schools.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, which provides international crisis response and Canadian disaster relief programs. Things like food, water, shelter and medical care are distributed during these disasters. Ongoing development work provides education, animal and agriculture training, help to stop exploitation, water projects and more.
Samaritan’s Purse gets its name from the Bible story of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan man stopped to care for a stranger who had been beaten, robbed and left by the side of the road. The Samaritan man even paid for a room at an inn so the stranger would have a place to heal.
To learn more about Samaritan’s Purse or to donate to OCC go to samaritanspurse.ca or call 1-800-303-1269.
In the past two years RDPC has been very supportive with efforts to help Ukraine. Money raised through a bake sale, concert and decorating Ukrainian eggs went to Samaritan’s Purse’s ongoing help to provide food, water, solar lights, blankets, tarps a hospital and staff, as well as helping Poland house women and children, giving them therapeutic art supplies to heal from the trauma of war.
Consider filling a shoebox this season. Such a small act of kindness can make a big difference to a child. Boxes are due back by November 5.
Galatians 6:9 states “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest and blessing if we don’t give up.”
