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Inspiration In a Shoe Box

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Contributed by: Melissa Klute on 8/20/2007

A little more than 8 years ago I first heard of "Operation Christmas Child", a project of Samaritan's Purse, whose president is Franklin Graham. The goal was to fill a shoebox with school supplies, hygiene items, small toys, etc. for hurting kids around the world. The first thought I had was, "How cool this would be for a child who has nothing, to get some small gifts from far away! Any kid here in America would most likely turn their nose up at such simple gifts in a small box for a Christmas present, but for these kids...a whole different story." My family and I made several boxes for children from 4 - 14, included the shipping contribution, and took them to the Operation Christmas Child local collection center. Since then I've learned what a huge deal this is!

Picture this, children trying to live with a war going on all around them, during a famine or extreme poverty. Not enough to eat, seeing people dying around them, not feeling safe, going to bed with very little or no food to eat, wondering if it would be better to be dead than live like this. Almost all these children have NEVER received a present, other than the little food and clothing that they might find, if they are lucky. Could you imagine your children or grandchildren living like this? Well, there are millions of children all over the world who have this to look forward to every day.

This past March I was honored to be able to meet one of the individuals who received a shoe box as a child back in 1993 at the age of 10 in war-torn Bosnia. She spoke to an Operation Christmas Child volunteer conference, to encourage and inspire us to carry on. Boy did she ever! She said that she could not put into words how she really felt, but she did such a great job that Samaritan's Purse put her story on a CD. We hope this 15 minute CD will be played in every church in our area and many civic and service clubs as possible this Fall. Her name is Lejla (pronounced Layla) Allison. She is now living in Pennsylvania with her husband and two young children. Now on the "giving end", she makes shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child with her husband and children.

If you would like to hear "Lejla's CD" please contact our local office at 719-260-9356 and request a copy. (If you get voicemail, please leave your name, phone number and address and one will be mailed to you.) We hope that this recording about a little girl who found hope and a purpose to live in a shoe box will bless your heart and inspire you to participate with Operation Christmas Child.

Incidentally, last year 19,493 shoebox gifts were collected in the Colorado Springs area; 7.6 million worldwide! Yet, that barely scratches the surface of the number of these hurting kids. This year we will again be collecting the shoebox gifts from November 12 - 19 at Vista Grande Baptist Church on the corner of Stetson Hills and Powers. For more information, log on to www.samaritanspurse.org and click on "Operation Christmas Child." or call toll free, 800-353-5949 or the local number above.

Melissa Klute, Volunteer Media Coordinator, Operation Christmas Child

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CONTRIBUTOR INFO

Melissa Klute

Colorado Springs , CO

Melissa Klute has posted 4 stories and 0 comments since joining on 2/2/2007. Melissa Klute 's average story rating is 0.

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