On the Seventh Day

(singing) On the seventh day of National Collection Week the good Lord gave to me--seven volunteers, six relay centers, FIVE ANSWERED PRAYERS, four carton pallets, three rolls of wide tape, two almost full trucks, and another great collection victory.

It's hard to believe that another Operation Christmas Child total will be in the books by tomorrow.

I had some great conversations today with folks who came to bring in boxes.  Got a lead on a possible new relay center for next year, talked to the pastor of a small Spanish church who was so excited to do OCC for the first time, and took pictures for a dear family who learned about OCC when they read a blog about activities to do with your children for advent.  They brought 5 boxes--each packed by a family member--and I'm still laughing at the faces their little boy made when we tried to take the family's picture.

I've been working my calculator hard all day and adding and re-adding relay center numbers.  I don't have totals for four of my relay centers so the final outcome is still a mystery.

And there's still an hour or so of collection at some of my centers in the morning, so who knows?

I've been checking lists of last year's participating churches and looking to see who has not brought in their boxes yet.  I really hope everyone gets their boxes in on time because I don't want to be mailing in boxes again this year.

I feel like we're closing in on the goal but the victory isn't secured yet.  It kills me to know that there's enough stuff left in the storage container to pack more boxes but I just couldn't figure out a way to get more done.

If we miss this goal by less than 100, I may be forced to buy a battery-powered spotlight and pack boxes in that dark storage container tomorrow.

I'm not good at waiting.