To some a simple gift means all the world to them.
Local churches have banded together in Senatobia this week to fill shoe boxes with those simple gifts and send them around the world as part of Operation Christmas Child.
“The stories about the children who are so excited to get a toothbrush, a pack of pencil and soap are real,” said Martha Goodwin, who managed the collection point at Senatobia Presbyterian Church again this year. “We have so much and are so blessed. The people from the churches in this community have that spirit and have stepped up this year.”
Goodwin expects Senatobia to send about 3,000 boxes to the collection point in Hernando and then on to a final processing center in Atlanta before being shipped overseas.
"Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God." Bob Pierce wrote those now-famous words in his Bible after visiting suffering children on the Korean island of Koje-do. This impassioned prayer is what guided him as he founded and led the ministry of Samaritan's Purse in 1970.
Pierce died of leukemia in 1978, and a little over a year later, Franklin Graham became the President and Chairman of the Board of Samaritan's Purse.
“I got involved after I heard a sermon that challenged us to carry our faith outside the church,” said Goodwin. “I started about six years ago and it is a lot of work, but there is a deep satisfaction and joy that I get from it every year.”
Goodwin said her story is the child who got 12-toothbrushes one year and those handing out boxes were concerned that was the only gift the child would get
The child was so happy because there were 12 people who lived in his home and they would now all have their own toothbrush.
A little closer to home, Goodwin told of the Tate County family that has three generations help box, load and handle the physical part of Operation Christmas Child each year.
“There are some things about Operation Christmas Child that a lot of people don’t realize,” said Goodwin. “Shoebox recipients also participate in a 12-lesson follow-up discipleship program, sort of like Bible School, where people come to salvation. More than 1,000 churches have also been planted in places where there were none.
“I also tell people once they hand out shoe boxes in a village, they move on to another village,” she explained. “If a child does not get one that year, they may never get one.”
The last day to drop off boxes was Monday, but Goodwin said donations can be made to Operation Christmas Child at any time.
“We had more than dozen churches put boxes together and donate to pay for the shipping,” said Goodwin. “This outreach has grown, we’ve been blessed, it’s Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for so many things.”
To make a donation, go to samaritanspurse.org. To get involved locally, contact the Senatobia Presbyterian Church at 662-562-8743.
Goodwin said Senatobia Operation Christmas Child is looking for someone with a covered trailer and truck that can haul boxes to Southaven.
