Operation Christmas Child Regional Manager Shelli Wisard of Atlanta will be in Columbus Saturday, July 19 to share experiences she had on a recent trip to distribute OCC shoeboxes in the Philippines.
“It’s very exciting to have a staff member of Operation Christmas Child come and share,” said Nelda Brown of Columbus, OCC area coordinator. “This event is open to anybody to hear firsthand what the shoeboxes are doing.”
The fourth annual OCC Christmas in July event is from 10 a.m. until noon at the First Baptist Church Ministry Activities Building at 3000 Bluecutt Road.
OCC is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. Wisard was among a team of volunteers dispatched to the Philippines by Samaritan’s Purse president Franklin Graham in May to deliver boxes filled with hygiene items, small toys and school supplies collected from individuals from across America for under-served children.
Golden Triangle and surrounding communities are strong supporters of Operation Christmas Child, surpassing a goal of 30,000 packed shoeboxes turned in at the Columbus Collection Center in November 2013.
“We’re always amazed, because Columbus isn’t our most populated area, but the number of boxes that come from there is pretty incredible,” commented Wisard.
Stark realities
When Wisard and the rest of the OCC ministry team arrived at one of their designated locations in the Phillipines, they witnessed some of the worst living conditions and squalor many had ever seen. There were children running naked in raw sewage, scabbed and dirty, relayed Wisard, who had previously helped distribute in Uganda and Zambia. Talking with some of the women and about 50 children revealed that many lived under a bridge in deplorable surroundings.
The distribution of the boxes brought, at first, disbelief and then dawning delight to the faces of the small recipients. For some, it was the first gift they have ever received.
“I would just invite people to come out July 19 and hear about the fruit the shoeboxes are producing,” urged Brown.
OCC is also impacting children and adults around the world with “The Greatest Journey,” a Bible study program.
“On July 19, I’ll be talking a lot about the details of what happens to the box when it leaves your hand and share a good bit about the ministry leaders we partner with and the work they’re doing overseas,” Wisard said. “When you’re packing a box here, it’s good to understand the impact it makes. Every box is important.”
Packed boxes will be accepted for the 2014 OCC drive at the Boy Scout Hut next to the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market at Second Avenue and Second Street North in Columbus during National Collection Week Nov. 17-24.
For more information, email Brown at [email protected] or contact First Baptist Church, 662-328-3915.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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