Lorena Surducan remembers a soft toy lamb she became attached to as a child of 5 or 6 growing up in Brasov, Romania, in the Carpathian Mountains. Wind up the little lamb’s metal key, and it would play “Jesus Loves Me” time and time again. Now 22 and a music therapy and piano major at Mississippi University for Women, Surducan recalls that small gift vividly; in fact, her mother has kept it. It came in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox, and Surducan thought the box that also held brightly-colored pencils and other school supplies was a gift from God.
Collection Week
Thousands of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes are being similarly packed right now by people across the Golden Triangle, the nation and even the world in preparation for National Collection Week Nov. 14-21. Designated collection centers like one in Columbus will take in boxes filled by church congregations, school groups, Scout troops, civic, garden and social clubs, sororities and fraternities, Sunday School classes, families and individuals. Boxes will be distributed to youngsters in more than 100 countries. A project of Samaritan’s Purse, led by Franklin Graham, OCC reached 11.3 million children with shoeboxes in 2015.
“We had two collection centers for 2015, one in Columbus and one in Winona,” explained OCC Area Coordinator Nelda Brown of Columbus. “Our goal last year was 40,000 boxes. Total collections were 40,600!” Brown said 26,277 of those came into the Columbus center; 14,323 were turned in at Winona.
The 2016 goal for the two centers is 45,000 boxes. “I would love for our center in Columbus to collect 28,000 to 30,000 this year,” Brown challenged.
School supplies are some of the most desired items in boxes, along with bar soap, toothbrushes, combs and hairbrushes, Brown noted. All children love stuffed animals, balls or toy cars, especially for the boys, she added. Guidelines, age categories and suggested items may be found at samaritanspurse.org.
“Remember, what goes in a box is fun, but what comes out is the message that God loves you, and you are not forgotten,” Brown said.
Surducan recalled being at her Romanian church at Christmas as a child, praying to thank God for the boxes.
“And we prayed for the people who sent them” she remarked. She remembers feeling loved when she received hers. “It was really awesome.”
The shoeboxes are followed up with the Greatest Journey, a 12-week Bible study. There is also year-round follow-up from pastors in distribution areas as well as OCC National Leadership teams.
How to participate
Anyone can pack a box. Actual shoeboxes or plastic shoebox-size containers are acceptable. OCC at samaritanspurse.org also provides boxes and labels, as do some area churches. Before shopping, decide whether the box will be for a boy or a girl and choose an age category (2-4, 5-9 or 10-14).
Fill each box with small gifts. Select a quality “wow” toy such as a doll or maybe a soccer ball with pump. Then add other fun toys, hygiene items and school supplies. Suggestions are available on the website.
In the past, hard candy and toothpaste have been accepted, but as of November 2017, they will be off the list due to evolving customs regulations. Brown recommends leaving both items out of shoeboxes this year. Any hard candy or toothpaste already purchased for 2016 boxes must have expiration dates at least six months past Nov. 21.
A donation of $7 per box is requested to help offset transportation and delivery. Include a check inside the unsealed box, or make that donation on the website and receive a tracking label that allows a donor to follow a box to its destination.
“My church did this, and we received seven emails throughout the year telling us specific countries some of our boxes were being delivered to; it’s very exciting,” said Brown, who hopes at least 100 Columbus churches will fill boxes in November.
A brief personal note and photo of the sender, their family or group can be included. Send a name and address, and the child may be able to write back.
Columbus Collection Center
Columbus Collection Center hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays between Nov. 14-21 in the Boy Scout Hut at the corner of Second Avenue and Third Street North, adjacent to the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market. Hours will be 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20.
Anyone interested in volunteering may contact Brown at [email protected].
“It’s a great time of fun and fellowship for people from all over Columbus and surrounding areas,” Brown said. “Operation Christmas Child is the largest evangelical children’s outreach ministry. Through the 12-week discipleship program that is offered, there is a decision for Christ every 30 seconds somewhere in the world. For every box received, at least seven others are impacted. So you see how God’s multiplication works.”
For more information, call First Baptist Church, 662-328-3915.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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