Operation Christmas Child

Happy Thursday, friends!

This time next week we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving all across this great nation but there are many others around the world who don't have much at all to celebrate. I've been really convicted of that this year as I've followed the trips of the Compassion bloggers and read their stories about children in other countries who don't have in a year a fraction of what my child enjoys in a single day.

To prove that point to my girl - and to get her more involved in helping others - we began packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child last year. We packed one for a girl and another for a boy and Tay really enjoyed it. The boxes are shipped all over the world through Samaritan's Purse.

What I didn't realize is that there are so many around me who don't know about this project and, more specifically, don't know how easy it is to help others through this ministry. So here's the deal - all you have to do is get a shoebox (or one of the plastic shoeboxes, which is what we do so the kiddos can use them over and over - 99 cents at Home Depot), fill it with items a child would enjoy, pay $7 for shipping and drop it off at a participating collection station or church.

Easy, right?

I took Tay to Dollar Tree last Friday while we were waiting to pick Davey up from work (he got called in while we were out for dinner) and we LOADED UP, friends, on crayons, coloring books, books, toys, hard candy, etc. We got princess dress up clothes for the little girl and "guy stuff" for the little boy. And toothpaste, toothbrushes and socks because they truly don't enjoy the luxuries we take for granted.

You can find out more information about what to pack, drop off points, etc. by clicking here. One other really cool option is to pay the $7 shipping online, which will allow you to print out labels that have a barcode on them. That way you can follow your box and learn where exactly it was sent.

Awesome, right?

So, let's get packing, friends.

Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions.

1 John 3:18