CRESTVIEW — This Christmas, more than 50 needy children around the world will receive a mix of toys and necessities from Crestview area residents.
Volunteers filled Hangar 252, Emmanuel Baptist Church's Air Force-inspired children’s facility, on Oct. 3 to pack shoeboxes with school supplies, hygiene items and toys — donated by businesses and individuals — along with bracelets and “Tic-Tac-Toe" and memory games.
They hope these items will change the lives of children they don't know, just as a shoebox of gifts — part of Operation Christmas Child, a Samaritan's Purse initiative — once changed Luis Gonzales's life.
The now 26-year-old received a shoebox gift 20 years ago in Panama City, Panama, where he lived in poverty, sharing one bed and one towel with his family and brushing his teeth with salt.
The shoebox gift included school supplies — pencils, paper and crayons — he had prayed for so he could go to school, he said. His gift also contained a letter and a picture of the giver. The note read, “God loves you, and I do too.”
He still has the stuffed lamb and the plastic box, but what affects his life even today is the faith, hope and love that touched him two decades ago, he said.
WHAT: Operation Christmas Child, a Samaritan's Purse initiative to help needy children in hard-to-reach countries
HOW: Pack an empty shoebox with a “wow” item —like a doll or miniature soccer ball — and other toys, school supplies and hygiene items. Then take it to a drop-off location during National Collection Week, Nov. 16-23. The boxes will be prepared and delivered to children overseas by boat, airplane, train and even elephants.
ONLINE: Read more about the program, including how to prepare a shoebox gift, at samaritanspurse.org/occ
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview volunteers prepare gifts for poor children