Good News of Great Joy!

It's hard to believe but we've supported
Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child
since 2001. If you're not familiar with this
it's simple! Pray for the millions of children who
will receive shoe box gifts! Fill an empty shoe box
with toys, gifts, school supplies, personal items,
clothes and more and see lives changed, many
eternally! Over the years our strategy and
approach may have changed a bit but we are
as excited and passionate about this shoe box
ministry project today, as we were way back in 2001!

Anyone who knows anything about our group
knows that we love to eat and can make anything
a time for fun! Even when we work hard, we manage
to have a great time doing it! This year we were
joined by two of our Growth Groups who wanted
to show the love of Jesus to others through their
service. We were thrilled to have them join us and
check out those smiles. I think they had a great time!

We worked as teams! Charlie and Brian made
sure that the OCC cartons were assembled,
filled, labeled, taped and wheeled out to our
staging area! The guys never stopped and did
a fantastic job!

Laurie showcased her proven shoebox packing
skills for her team! She was joined by a
hard working crew who managed to pack 40-50
additional boxes! Check out this box of goodies! I can
picture the smiling face of the little one who
receives this special box filled with so much love,
can't you?

Over the years, we've invited people to "Adopt
a Box" and it has always been a huge success
allowing many people who couldn't get
out to shop to participate. They make a cash donation
and we have volunteers who do their shopping for them.
This provides us with lots of toys, school supplies,
clothes, and many more goodies for us to pack!

As Laurie's team worked on packing new shoe boxes,
Vivian's team helped us check all the shoe boxes that had
been carefully packed by people attending LAOG! Those
"Adopt a Box" donations make it possible for us to add
more to boxes that might just need a little helping hand.
Sometimes, we simply add a bag of candy! What child
doesn't like a taste of some sweet thing!

After 2 very focused hours working, we had more
than 28 cartons filled with shoe boxes, ready
for pick up!

For the last few years, an area Christian elder
care facility has been our benefactor, paying
for the cost of all of our shipping. Starting last
year, our blessings multiplied when the facility
sent their guys to pick up our contribution.
So today, Al and Marcos arrived to pick up
the boxes! Wow! They came with their pick-ups
and were thrilled to discover that they would have
to make a second trip because we had so many
cartons.

This year we also were priviledged to be
joined by another  local church! What a
blessing to be able to tell them that their
shipping tab was being covered along with ours!
Imagine, in just a few short minutes,
Al and Marcos took away a total of 459
shoe boxes!

We thank God for all of you who pray, pack shoe
boxes and volunteer your time or give financially!

Here's an idea to insure that next year is an even
greater success! Why not shop all  during the year! When you
spot a great sale, pick up a few items to stash away.
Back to school time is another great time to stock up!
Shop smart all year and the possibilities are
endless!

Striving to live In Line With The Word!