On Saturday our church packed 300 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child! If you don't know what OCC is, it is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse, a Christian relief and evangelism organization led by Franklin Graham. OCC connects giving hearts here in the States with children all over the globe. From their website: "The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ." And indeed, that is just what it does!

I have had a couple opportunities to help with OCC. I first did a couple on my own years ago. And then back when I worked for The King's Academy in Seymour, TN, my Bible students helped me pack and send nearly 30 shoe boxes. We had a wonderful time and students really enjoyed giving to children around the world in such a tangible way.

My church, Friendsville First Baptist Church, used to participate in OCC years ago, but hadn't done it for some time. My stepmom Kelly and our friend Shirley serve with the Women's Ministry at church. Last year they had both been praying about a project for the Women's Ministry. Kelly received a brochure about OCC and she and Shirley instantly knew that was their answer. They organized everything for the church to participate, and last year several people packed their own boxes in addition to having an "assembly line" of donations and a packing/fellowship day to finish them up. A dear friend of ours and like a grandmother to so many of us, Kathleen Grubb, was always seeking out ways to serve and bless others. After getting a difficult health diagnosis, she and her daughter Faye still packed up a box to send for OCC. She passed away shortly before packing day at church. Our church named our OCC ministry, The Granny Grubb Shoebox Ministry in honor of Kathleen. I was blessed to be able to visit with Kathleen during my brief visit to the U.S. last fall. She passed away a year ago today.

Last year our church packed around 150 shoe boxes. This year they made a goal of 300 shoe boxes. Throughout the year, everyone gathers up supplies and goodies for the big event. On Saturday, they had the tables lined up and all of the gifts sorted out for easy packing. There was a great turnout of people of all ages to help and we knocked it out in less than an hour! I enjoyed listening to everyone as they carefully picked out the items for each shoebox. I can tell you that they were put together with love, care, and prayer!

Here are some photos to give you an idea of the fun we had! And of course we prayed for the children and communities who would receive these boxes. We pray that they would experience God's love through this ministry and would have the opportunity to hear the gospel to receive God's most precious gift!