Operation Christmas Child: Pray. Think. Pack. Pray.

Bosnia, 2000

The very first event of the Jeffcoat Christmas season is nearly upon us:  Operation Christmas Child.  You can click on the link for more details about this unique, hands-on ministry that takes the love of God and hope for the future around the world.  

OCC is near and dear to my heart.  Our family has packed shoeboxes for at least 15 years, and in 2000 we were on the distribution end of this amazing project.  In case you are new to this I want to offer some helpful hints about how to pack a quality box.

1.  Pray.  Ask God to help you decide what to put in it.  Pray for the child who will receive it and all the hands that will carry it across the globe.

2.  Think quality.  That box you are packing may be the only gift of any kind that child will receive.  Since the goal is to share God's love, make sure that is what your box says to the child who opens it.  What I mean is this:  

• Don't put junk in it.  Maybe kids in America can go buy a new Barbie doll if the head comes off theirs, but the recipient of your box probably can't. Buy a quality doll. 
• Do your own children only use Crayola Crayons?  Then put Crayola in the box. 
• Are there certain pencils or pens you hate to use?  Don't send them! (And send a pencil sharpener.)
• A jump rope is a fun item, but make sure it isn't a piece of junk.  (Some aren't worth the thread they are made of.)
• Pack new items.  (Save your old things for the neighborhood garage sale.  Most kids can tell the difference between new and used.  Don't make these children who have so little and been through so much feel sub-par.) 
• Including the $7.00 fee to help with shipping I think it takes around $30 to create a quality box.  (Here's the fine line: Though I believe in packing quality boxes, I also think it is better to send two boxes costing $30 each to build than one for $60.  Send Crayola Crayons but not the Vera Bradley purse.)  

3.  Think appropriateness. Samaritan's Purse asks that we don't put liquids, chocolate, breakables, or military related items in our boxes for obvious reasons.  But here are some other things to consider: 

• Girls of every age love jewelry, but remember: not every girl has pierced ears.  
• There is a good chance your box will end up in a Muslim area:  Don't put anything in there that has to do with pigs or pork.  You want to bless, not offend.  
• The same goes with that Barbie doll (that didn't come from Dollar Tree):  Maybe a bikini clad doll would be great for your grand-daughter, but it is not appropriate for most of the world. 
• What about gory, creepy, scary things?  Since many children around the world face real "monsters" let's leave them out of the box. 
• Make sure your items are age appropriate for the box you are making. If a tag says for ages 5 and up, don't put it in a 2 - 4 year old box. (Be careful with candy too.  A choking hazard is a choking hazard anywhere in the world.)
• Picture books are always fun, but avoid non-picture books.  Remember:  Not everyone in the world speaks English.

4.  Think quantity. What I mean is:  FILL THE BOX!  If you are unable to fill the box you have either get a smaller box or pool your resources.  When my family and I handed out boxes over seas I noticed that many of them were half empty.  What does that say to a child?  Yes, they are happy to have a gift, but shouldn't we bless them with a gift that is "pressed down, shaken together and running over"?

5.  Think ahead.  Don't wait until October of 2014 to begin on next year's boxes.  Shop year round.  Stock up on school supplies in August when they are on mega sale.  Look for sale items throughout the year. (That way you can get quality for cheap.) 

6.  Now pack.  Here is a list of great shoebox items: (I love the idea of using a $1 plastic shoebox.  They are sturdy and can be used for so many things.) 

Nearly every box we pack contains the following items:

• Crayons
• coloring book
• soap
• candy 
• toothbrush/paste
• comb or brush
• pencils and sharpener
• pens
• gender appropriate bandana

Then we add from there.  Other ideas: 

• stuffed animal or doll
• colored pencils
• markers
• notebook
• ball
• jump rope
• toy cars
• plastic cup
• marbles
• Barrel of Monkeys
• glow in the dark stars
• yo-yo
• small puzzle
• small drawstring back pack
• small purse
• hand/finger puppets
• rubber duckie
• stickers
• slinky
• small calendar for the coming year with pretty/cool pictures
• small frisbee
• jacks
• blow-up beach ball or punch ball
• t-shirt
• socks
• mittens
• cap
• hat
• scarf
• hair-bows/ribbons/clips
• play jewelry
• Solar calculator (for older kids)
• flashlight with extra batteries

This is not an exhaustive list, just one to get you started.

6.  Pray again. 

And that's all there is to it.  

Pray. Think. Pack. Pray.

A Christmas Star

A couple of years ago a dear friend of the family made an origami star out of $1.00 bills. It was so cool! I decided it would be a great Christmas ornament if done in yellow paper.

I was right! Isn't it cute?

I just cut some paper the size of dollar bills and then followed the video I found.

Enjoy!


5 Dollar Origami Star -

You can turn the sound down as it only has written instructions. The music is just background.

What am I putting in those boxes????? Read on to find out

I'm making lots of cool boxes for Christmas this year. (Click here to read more.) Now I will tell you what I plan to put in each one.

WARNING: IF A MEMBER OF MY CHOIR IS READING THIS, STOP NOW OR THE SURPRISE WILL BE RUINED FOR YOU!

Our church has an awesome choir that I am tremendously blessed to direct. Here is a picture of them after our patriotic musical. (The children were flag bearers.)

I want to give each of these special people a gift for Christmas, but, as you can see, it could be quite expensive to buy so many gifts. So I'm going to give them the gift of prayer. Here's how it works. I flipped through my Bible and gathered together some Scriptures I wanted to pray. I typed them up turning them into prayers using each person's name. For example:

God,

Please don’t allow _____________ to walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But let her delight be in the law of the LORD. May she meditate on it day and night becoming like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and whose leave does not wither. May whatever she does prosper.

Amen

(Based on Psalm 1:1-3)

I take one person a day and pray the prayers just for that person then add the prayer papers to the box after they have been prayed. The last paper in the box is a poem I wrote:

Dear ________________,

Inside this box all tucked away
Are prayers I prayed for you today.
I went before God’s throne of grace
Seeking out the Father’s face
For mercy, joy, guidance, peace,
For blessings that will never cease,
Protection as you go your way
And strength enough to meet each day.
For zeal to always live for Him
And never let your light grow dim.
I pray you’ll always know it’s true
God’s loving hands are holding you.
Inside this box all tucked away
Are prayers I prayed for you today.
May this gift remind you of
The Father’s ever present love.


(c) 2007 Drewe Llyn Jeffcoat

Love,

Drewe Llyn

Date I prayed for you:

Then I date it and add it to the box.

Here is a list of Scriptures I used:

Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 5:6, Psalm 51:1-2, Romans 15:13, 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17, Ephesians 1:17-19, Ephesians 3:16-19, Psalm 91, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 1:1-3, Pslam 19:14, Psalm 20:1-5, Philippians 4:4-8, 13 & 19, Numbers 6:24-26, and for those with children Deuteronomy 5:6-7.

I'm also including a short, handwritten, more personal prayer.

If anyone would like to use this idea along with the poem, feel free. I only ask that you include the copyright information with the poem.

Be blessed!

Operation Christmas Child

(Did you realize Christmas is ten weeks from today?!?!?! We have already begun our first tradition of the season. Since these are due the middle of November I thought I'd post this now.)

I don’t know exactly when I first learned of Operation Shoe Box (a.k.a. Operation Christmas Child), a ministry outreach of Samaritan’s Purse, but I was hooked from the first moment. Shoeboxes filled with school supplies, candy, age appropriate toys, and other assorted goodies to send to children around the world who live in extreme poverty, war-torn countries, or areas devastated by natural disasters appealed greatly to the Christmas Spirit within me. It’s been a family tradition ever since.

In the early days I let my children help pick out purchases and pack the boxes while I paid for the “goodies”. In more recent years I’ve encouraged them to set aside a small amount of money out of their allowance each month so that the gift is truly from them.

From nearly the beginning I had a burning desire to be on the distribution end of this project. I wanted to personally hand out the boxes and see the smiles of joy and appreciation on little faces, many of whom have never had a Christmas gift before. My longing turned into a prayer that God would give me that opportunity.

Be careful what you pray forJ.

In 1999 my husband, Raymond, and I felt a very clear calling to minister overseas as missionaries through our denomination. We weren’t sure for how long; we were just sure it was the will of God. Eventually, we landed in a war-torn, Muslim part of Europe that was in dire need of hope and Jesus. All the cultural and language barriers made it seem almost an impossible task to get the Gospel to the ones who so desperately needed it.

I’m not exactly sure how the door of opportunity opened, other than an act of God Himself, but we gained access to Samaritan Purse Shoeboxes! My husband, Raymond, knew exactly what to do with them, take them to the local school where he was assisting the English teacher. (I use the phrase English “teacher” very loosely, as English was not this teacher’s first language, and she was, quite honestly, butchering it.) There were approximately one thousand students in this 99.9% Muslim school. Did I mention that sharing your religious beliefs with children under the age of eighteen is expressly forbidden in this country?

Raymond marched into the principal’s office with a shoebox, a pamphlet (which all the boxes would contain), and a translator. “We would like to give this as a gift to each of the students in your school,” Raymond said. “But I must tell you, each box will contain one of these pamphlets.” The principal took the pamphlet, which was the Gospel story in the national language, and read through it carefully. Then he said to Raymond, “No problem.”

So, though I was unable to pack shoeboxes for Christmas 2000, I received the answer to my prayers and helped with distribution. This was hard work. The boxes had to be picked up in the capital city and transported to the school. Since we didn’t have a vehicle big enough for over a thousand boxes Raymond had to secure the services of a truck driver. (He says it was the scariest ride of his life!)

We turned a spare classroom into our base of operations. Stacks of shoeboxes and boxes of pamphlets were everywhere. It looked a bit like organized chaos as our team of Jeffcoats and translators gathered boxes for each group of students, attached pamphlets to each box, and then carried them to the various classrooms.

I was not disappointed by the response. The students stood beside their desks out of respect for us when we entered. (It is the norm for them to stand when an adult enters the room.) The looks of joy, gratitude, and hope on their faces were exactly as I envisioned them. They were so excited by even the smallest of trinkets. The ones who had cards or letters in their box begged for someone to translate them from English (These boxes came from England) into their language.

During the course of the day a stoic looking man made his way into our “base of operations”. He looked at us and glanced at the boxes. I was told by a translator that he was the one who taught the Muslim children the Koran at school. (For some reason this was legal.) Fear gripped my heart. He did not look like a “happy camper”. He moved near me and picked up a pamphlet. After thumbing through it he looked up and said (in his language), “This is good! This is very good!” (Again, an act of God!)

We passed out nearly one thousand shoeboxes that day and saw only one pamphlet on the floor, none were in the trash. Knowing how they value gifts, I’m sure the one on the floor slipped out of some child’s hand by accident.

Three years later Raymond, my son Kyle, two of our church members, and myself went back to that same area to pass out Bibles. I overheard a lady say, “Those are the people who brought us the shoeboxes!” And she took a Bible joyfully.

Shoeboxes: It is a simple project for all ages, yet the ramifications of taking the Gospel around the world by ministering to hurting children goes far beyond the simple contents of the box. They equal the gift of life.

Here are some pictures from my answered prayer (I would have more, but I was too busy! ):

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Boxes, Boxes, Boxes!

I love boxes! (Perhaps I should start posting pictures of the ones I’ve collected through the years.) I’ve been wracking my brain for a Christmas gift idea for the members of the church choir which I direct. Since the choir is an eclectic group it has to be something suitable for men and women, young and old. I finally saw an idea in a Christian catalog and have tweaked it into something more personal and more “me”. I’m not going to reveal that idea just yet. (Don’t you just hate cliff-hangers?) But I am going to show you the beginning stages. This gift requires lots of boxes. Instead of trying to find and purchase just the right ones, I’ve decided to make my own, each one a unique creation for the unique recipients. I can’t remember where I first learned to do this, and I’m sure you can find it all over the internet, but here’s my rendition. Ready?

I began with a regular 8 ½ x 11 inch sheet of tag board and decorated it. (My 12 year old daughter is helping me with this.) You can use any kind of paper, any size. (Old Christmas cards work nicely, just make sure you center the picture.) The main thing is to create a square out of whatever you are using. This will be the top, so I’ve trimmed it to an 8 ½ x 8 ½ inch square.

On the back mark an “X” from corner to corner.

Fold each corner to the center making your folds crisp and clean.

Without unfolding those, fold opposite edges to the center, again making sure your folds are crisp and clean. Unfold those edges and fold in the other edges.

Open the entire square. You should see a lot of creases.

I’ve marked the ones that need to be clipped. (You’ll only do one pair of opposite sides.)

I’ve now shaded four triangles. Cut these off.

Fold the sides that haven’t been cut into the center like this…

Now fold in the sides that have been cut.

Make sure every thing is square and laying flat and tape the center where the points meet.

There’s the top of your box! Isn’t it pretty?

Do the exact same thing for the bottom, only make sure you start with an 8 x 8 inch square instead of 8 ½ x 8 ½ . When your box is finished it will be 3 x 3 x 1 ½ inches.

You can make these in any size using anything you can fold. The possibilities are endless.

Stay tuned for what I plan to do with those boxes. (Insert maniacal laughter.)