Posted in Kings Highway Homeschool

Our service project for this month is for Operation Christmas Child run through Samaritan's Purse.  Most people are familiar with this but in case you aren't what OCC does is distribute gift-filled shoe boxes to needy children all around the world with a mission to share God's Good News with children who might otherwise not be receiving any Christmas gift at all. 

My boys and I really love this project and every year we try to top the number of boxes we filled from the previous year.  The boys actually work very hard in the summer time to earn prizes from our local library reading program to fill the boxes (the library gives some great prizes).  Every book they read earns them fun toys that they donate to the shoe boxes and throughout the year we watch for items to fill the boxes with.  They seem so proud when they fill the boxes and we also pray around the boxes before we take them to the drop off location.  The cutoff date was the second week in November but it is not too late to participate.  Many of the shoeboxes are filled but the processing fee ($7 per box) is not always taken care of, so you could still make a monetary donation.  You can also fill your box and ship it directly to a processing site because the shoeboxes are actually delivered throughout the year and not just at Christmas (although, I gather, the big push is for Christmas).  One year I would like to donate my time and help process these boxes or actually go and give out shoeboxes.  What an amazing experience that would be for my boys.  Ahhh!  Some day when they are older.