A desire to reach children globally with the love of Christ has developed into a 23-year ministry for Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church. “Starting
back in 2000, our church wanted to get involved with an international ministry for children. One of the pastors asked me to head up Operation Shoe Box (now Operation Christmas Child). That’s where the journey started,” church member and Operation Christmas Child volunteer Harvey Blanchard said.
Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse and reaches children in 170 countries with Christmas gifts packed in standard sized shoeboxes. A shoebox can contain toys, hygienic items, school supplies, crafts, and clothes. “The excitement comes with knowing that we can be a part of international discipleship for children. We can participate here locally, and we can involve our youth.” Blanchard said.
During Operation Christmas Child, families and individuals are invited to fill a shoebox with gifts and take it to a drop-off location. In conjunction with other churches, Saxe Gotha serves as one of the drop-off locations in Lexington. “People can pick up a shoebox (from Saxe Gotha) starting October 22. They can take the box, fill it up, and bring it back to the church to drop off,” Interim Director of Children’s Ministry for Saxe Gotha Dawn Merck explained.
From the drop-off location, the shoeboxes are delivered to the Samaritan’s Purse processing center for inspection and final preparations before being distributed worldwide. To date, more than 200 million children have received Christmas gifts through Operation Christmas Child. “Operation Christmas Child says that with every child that receives a shoebox, nine people around them are affected and get to hear the gospel. This is a multiplier because it spreads out into the children’s families and their communities,” Merck said.
In 2010, Saxe Gotha began hosting its very own packing party for church and community members to assemble hundreds of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Each shoebox coming from Saxe Gotha is individually packed by volunteers, prayed over, and contains a one-of-a-kind, wooden cross handmade by Saxe Gotha church members Jeff and Candi Ashcraft.
“It’s amazing to see people come together to assemble shoeboxes. When we pack a shoebox, we want to make sure we present it well. We like to put the prayer cross on top so when the child opens it up, the prayer cross is right there,” Merck said. “During the packing party, we have a prayer room where people can pray individually, or kids can pray with their parents … I have a fifth grader, and I remember encouraging him to pray over his box as a kindergartener,” she continued.
A note is also included from the individual or family who packed the box. The note provides the child receiving the box information about where the sender lives and what their favorite foods and activities are. “We send a note to the child receiving that shoebox because we want to let them know we love them unconditionally. We get to tell them a little bit about who we are and where we live as well,” Blanchard shared.
Preparations for Saxe Gotha’s packing party are year-round as the church collects and organizes items all year. “The materials for the packing party are stored in big containers so that throughout the year as people bring things in, we can organize them. Over the summer we have youth coming in for service days and church members who also help to organize,” Merck said.
Sometimes recipients of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes have shared their experience at Saxe Gotha’s packing party. Merck recalled meeting a woman and finding out that she was involved in Operation Christmas Child in her country. She later shared her experience working with Operation Christmas Child at the packing party. “Six years ago, I was blessed to be introduced to a woman named Gina Rodriguez. She moved here from Colombia to teach Spanish. As we got to know her, we realized that she handed out the Operation Christmas Child boxes in Colombia,” Merck said. “Gina said kids were walking in the rain a couple of miles to come to Bible study … that made it more powerful for me because it showed this ministry is affecting hearts,” she shared.
There are various ways that the community can participate in Operation Christmas Child with Saxe Gotha. Those who want to provide shoebox items can purchase them from Saxe Gotha’s Amazon wish list. “Our Amazon wish list has items needed for the shoeboxes, which is easier for a lot of people because they don’t have to figure out what to buy. The items from the wish list will be delivered straight to the church,” Merck said. On Sunday, November 12, Saxe Gotha Presbyterian will host its annual Operation Christmas Child packing party which is open to the community. A pizza party will follow for all volunteers.