Connections

I haven't been connecting very well through blogging but God has been bringing lots of connections into my Operation Christmas Child world nevertheless.

The picture above was taken at the end of January at our Mid-Atlantic Area Coordinators' planning weekend. It was a true honor to pray for Dania after she shared her full-circle shoebox story with us. How wonderful to connect with her and hear again of the impact these simple shoeboxes can have.

Meanwhile, God's been bringing us connections with so many volunteers to provide items and manpower for our packing party.  We had a work day on February 22nd and are planning another one in March.  Over 40 people came, including more than a dozen students from Bethel Christian School.

Myron cut the rest of the rope we had and hundreds were tied into jump ropes.

The students worked hard to unbox shoelaces and belts to get them prepared for the packing party while other volunteers stapled paper into packets.

A few new friends from Erie Homes for Children and Adults came to assist us, too...

And in the midst of the chaos there was time to stop and connect in prayer...

Last Saturday brought a really sweet connection when my friend Lisa from Virginia stopped in with these fabulous donations.  She and her three grown children, her sister, and her niece drove up in their minivan for her grandmother's birthday party.  In addition to their luggage they brought nearly 600 beanie babies (all washed and sorted) and over 500 washcloths.  Lisa said her children didn't mind riding with bags of animals under their feet because they love Operation Christmas Child!  This special connection is a real blessing from the Lord.

And the connections continue.  We haven't had any new applications for our team this year, so we're asking God to bring us some new members--especially on our prayer team and our church relations team.

And we're praying for all the countries where so many boxes have already been delivered and for those still waiting to get boxes through customs and into the hands of children...

Because every box is a connection to show a child and family God's love.