While we were in Texas in December one of the questions I was
asked several times was if I ever got to see the Christmas shoebox gifts
delivered to children. It’s really funny, but Westerners from countries that
donate the shoebox gifts through Samaritan’s Purse seldom ever get to see them
delivered.  |
| This little girl is modeling her new hat. |
The whole process, after the gifts leave our prosperous
countries, is handled by local churches in the countries where the shoeboxes
are delivered. That makes the fact that a couple of times each year I get to be
a part of the delivery, REALLY special. I took the pictures and video in this blog two weeks ago when helping at various shoebox distributions in Siem Reap province. I always enjoy it and hear special
stories from children and parents every time.
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| These little guys were focused on looking through their boxes at all the goodies |
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| They were both really excited by what they found! |
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| If someone gets a shirt that is too big, or shoes that don't fit, there is no complaining. This group is gathered around the well discussing their gifts and trading for the right sizes. |
I’ve had parents come to me and say “thank you” because
their child only had one pair of clothes and in the shoebox was a complete set
of new clothes. I’ve had teachers in schools say “thank you” because children
who don’t have school supplies now have school supplies. And the kids always
say “thank you” because they love getting toys, which is very, very rare for
most of them. Of course I’m not the one giving the gifts, but I guess that is
why I’m posting this photo and video blog. TO SAY “THANK YOU” from the kids and
to let you see just a few pictures of some of the kids who receive those gifts.
Hope you enjoy sharing in the joy just a bit.
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| This little boy is using the traditional hand gesture to say "Thank You" |
This video is just a taste of how excited the kids are when
they open their gifts. On this particular day when the kids first opened their
boxes the squeals were sooooo loud it hurt my ears.
The other part of the story is the local church pastors who
volunteer a large amount of their time to coordinate delivering these boxes to
the remotest and most disadvantaged parts of the country. For those of you who
have sent shoeboxes you also are helping these hard-working men and women,
share the Gospel across their country. I have the great fortune to be friends
with two of the national leadership team for delivering the shoebox gifts.
These men are always overwhelmed at the love others have for the children of
their country. It’s no wonder that God is doing great works in their churches.
My friend Sophea recently had to work with his congregation to build a much
larger sanctuary to hold the growth of their church. Your shoebox gift story
doesn’t end with a child, it is only the beginning of what God is doing in
expanding His Kingdom in nations around the world!
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| This is my friend Pastor Sophea. He is the National Leadership Team Leader . He is responsible for leading the team that distributes the shoebox gifts across the country. His church has outgrown their current facility and is almost finished with their new place! |
