It was the last Operation Christmas Child shoebox distribution of our week-long trip to Costa Rica. The four Canadian pastors on the trip had seen and experienced much of what God is doing through Operation Christmas Child to show His love to poor children and bring them to faith in His Son.
Now we had one more experience-going to the homes of two shoebox recipients and give the children their shoeboxes there.
This was an eye-opening experience for the pastors. While children usually attend distribution events in their very best clothes, the conditions they live in every day are almost always very different. And this was certainly the case at the first home.
The mother had nine children, plus a grandchild to care for. Her husband was away working and could only come home on weekends. Her unwed daughter-the one with the child-worked as a nanny and also had to live elsewhere on weekdays.
The house was a four-room concrete block bunker with two beds, some foamies for the kids to sleep on in the living room and kitchen, and no electricity. It was cut off because the family couldn’t pay for it. So no lights, no fridge, no stove.
The mother was amazingly stoic during the entire visit and allowed us to photograph her with the children in the midst of their living conditions. We were moved by the experience and prayed with her before leaving.
That’s when the problem came up. We had to get back to our hotel as fast as possible, because we were behind schedule and Costa Rican pastors were waiting there to tell us about their experiences and the challenges their country faces.
So I made a decision; we would skip the second home and leave it up to our local partners to provide the shoeboxes.
But-and here’s the little ways God so often moves in our lives-just as we were about to enter the bus for the trip to the hotel, along comes the mother and children from the second home! Astonished and astounded, we decided to delay leaving just long enough to give them their shoebox gifts and tell them about Jesus Christ, the giver of all good gifts.
That was the kind of week it was: fellowship amongst believers and children; many opportunities for the Canadian pastors to see that Operation Christmas Child is so much more than boxes of stuff for children in need; and God to do what He so often does-show His sovereign power to change lives for eternity.
Please donate $12 for every shoebox you prepare. Your donations will help cover project costs, including shipping (make one combined donation for multiple shoeboxes). Consider making an additional donation to help Samaritan's Purse go beyond the shoebox and expand assistance to children, their families, and their communities. Samaritan's Purse does not provide receipts for the value of gift items included in a shoebox.