Twisted Adventures

It’s been a long time since I updated this blog. I have no excuse for that. It’s not that I haven’t had any adventures to recount; I’ve just been lazy about actually putting fingers to keyboard. So let me fill you in on some new twists.

My life is crammed with God’s provision of items for shoeboxes. I already have more than 5,800 clothing items ready to go—a great start toward my goal of filling 12,000 shoeboxes this year. I have these items stored in several places and am waiting on God’s provision for more space. I feel like the man in the Bible who said he needed to tear down his old barns and build bigger ones. Actually, I would love to have a barn of any size, but you get the idea.

In the midst of the clothing items and the 2,460 bars of soap I got with coupons and the 5,700 tubes of toothpaste, one of my most interesting adventures in recent months was the acquisition of candy canes.

These twisted confections are perfect items for shoebox recipients who long for ‘sweeties’ so I couldn’t wait for the after-Christmas sales to snap them up. After visiting our local Target store daily for two weeks, the magic 90%-off-on-Christmas-items sale arrived.

I had to work that day so my dear husband, a confirmed non-shopper, braved a howling snowstorm to haul a truck full of candy canes out of Target. I went again after I got out of school and filled my minivan as well. I counted 19,422 after cleaning out the store, but that didn’t seem like enough, so I called my daughter, Jen, and asked her to check the Target near her in Cranberry, PA. The dear girl was actually excited when she called me two days later and reported her haul of another 7,128.

My Church Relations Coordinator, Heather, snagged seven cartons of them at Wal-Mart and another nine cartons were donated by the mom of one of our Church Relations Specialists who lives several hours away.

Then my daughter shared the need with her boss and he was thrilled when he went to a Giant Eagle grocery store and picked up 1200 candy canes for only $9.00.

Final tally stands at somewhere around 37,000 candy canes. I know it’s twisted but I’m ecstatic.

Shaking Hands

A few days ago behind the stage at the media event for Operation Christmas Child in Boone, NC, Franklin Graham shook my hand and said, "This is my favorite time of year. I get to see what everyone is doing all year round for the ministry and that really charges my batteries."

What really energizes all of us is seeing what God is doing. We know that there is no good in any of us in our own power. "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." (Philippians 2:13)

I had the opportunity to be on the stage for a short time at OCC media events in Charlotte and Boone--representing the hundreds of year-round volunteers and 191 Area Coordinators who make this project happen every year. This was nothing I deserved but a blessing that came by God's grace

If you want to hear me stumble through my comments, Jana Snyder was kind enough to tape them....

If you want to read more about the event, here's a link to an article on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. website

http://www.billygraham.org/News_Article.asp?ArticleID=736

The scariest part of last week was renting a car at the Charlotte airport and driving myself around. I've never rented before and am terrible with directions. As I've learned, though, God is always sufficient and despite some tears and frustration I was okay, especially after I got a hug from Mary Damron.

The highlight of last week really wasn't shaking Franklin Graham's hand or even being on the platform for these events--it was meeting up with so many Area Coordinators from the Mid-Atlantic area and working in TWO processing centers to handle more of those precious boxes.

I also spent some hours working in the 'Inappropriate Items' section where I sorted countless bottles of liquids and scooped thousands of Tootsie Rolls (which are definitely inappropriate for boxes) into bins. The cool thing was seeing a list of all the ministries that were coming to pick up the items that had to be taken out of the boxes. Nothing is wasted. Every Tootsie Roll goes to help a local ministry survive. So I saw firsthand how OCC does help children in our country, as well.

As I watched thousands of boxes going through the processing center, I could visualize crowds of children, each one receiving a 'gospel opportunity' for the first time. Over 4.5 million boxes have already been processed in the six processing centers this season.

My hands are shaking with excitement.

Beyond Imagination

National Collection Week 2009 is over and so is Thanksgiving Day, but my thanksgiving for the harvest of shoeboxes God gave us is new every morning. The shine of God's amazing grace hasn't worn thin yet.

On Monday, November 16th, the Family Life Network did a live broadcast from the collection center at Church of the Covenant and by the end of the first day we had 1605 boxes already. Rose Dobson brought the 950 boxes from their small church of 35 members and they kept a crew of us busy cartonizing until nearly 6:00 pm.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we had plenty to keep us busy and on Thursday Pat Carter brought her 1166 boxes from Federated and a few other groups over to fill the truck. The first truck left on Friday morning with over 3,700 boxes.

On Saturday morning I worked with Judy Hyde and again we were busy cartonizing all morning. In the afternoon I called around to see how all the relay centers and the Warren collection center were doing and from the tallies I was pretty sure we'd make the 18,000 goal.

That evening I went to Fellowship Baptist--a small church that's been faithfully filling boxes for OCC since 1994--and helped with their packing party. It was great to see another 133 boxes filled.

On Sunday after church I drove to Church of the Covenant and found four cars in line to drop off boxes. I was the only one there and it was pretty busy for a while as car after car pulled up into the line. The garage was full and thankfully a few other people came to help.

That night the relay centers brought their boxes -- 2626 from Meadville and 1178 from Seneca. My fingers flew over the calculator adding up boxes. Depending on the final totals in Warren, I thought we might go beyond 21,000 and was so excited I couldn't sleep that night.

On Monday the boxes were still rolling in and Seph had to keep extending the collection center hours. Kristin Hesch helped him in the morning. I was making phone calls from school in spare moments to check on Warren and get updates on their relay centers.

After school I went down to help Seph put the final boxes in cartons and got the FINAL TOTALS by 5:30 pm. Last year we had 15,015 boxes and our goal this year was 18,000, including the new collection center in Warren.

Well, God did it again. Just comparing our Erie collection center were were up to 19,768--a 32% increase--and adding in the Warren center our grand total for Northwestern PA was 22,331 (loved those repeating numbers again)--a 49% increase from last year.

God, I'll never get used to this--seeing You do what only You can do and watching You go beyond my imagination.

Now I'm praying about next year's goal. Whatever it is, I want it to be beyond imagination.

National Collection Week Eve

Actually, it just passed midnight, so it's NOW officially National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child. We area coordinator volunteers were having a Facebook discussion about how we felt on the eve of NCW. It's a butterflies-in-the-stomach blend of anticipation, excitement and apprehension. I liken it to the way I felt at the starting line of a marathon back when I did a lot of distance running. You've spent all those months training and preparing and you stand at the line and wonder how it will all work out. Then as soon as the starting gun sounds you take off running straight for the finish line.

So now we run.

Tonight I did my final speaking engagement for OCC. I went to the First Baptist Church in Meadville. It was a blessing that my husband drove since I forgot to take the church address and couldn't program the GPS. It's a good thing he loves me as he patiently waited for me to go into another Baptist Church's evening service and ask for directions. I'm so glad to be home.

The best news today, though, came from Linda Bennett, our Prayer Coordinator. Linda comes from a rural church that actually began OCC in Erie County back in 1995. Their small church doubled their shoebox numbers to 88 this year. This morning they had the children's Sunday school class pack 12 boxes. They showed the DVD and explained to the children that these boxes were being given to tell children about Jesus, and they also gave out those credit-card size Salvation Poems.

Linda said there were several children there who she sensed had never made a commitment of their lives to Jesus, so they shared the salvation message and gave an invitation. And THREE precious children trusted Christ today at a little church's OCC Packing Party. Linda says they are children who've had a tough life but now they know Christ. Just wanted to tell you that as an encouragement. Our boxes are ALREADY bringing little hearts to Jesus.

Will you pray with us for a great harvest of shoeboxes this week and an even greater harvest of souls?

Jonah-ish

Today I'm trying to emulate the transparency that David displayed in the psalms he wrote. Today I'm feeling awfully Jonah-ish.

Today I don't want to do what it takes to obey God.

Today I don't want to be an Area Coordinator for Operation Christmas Child.

Today I don't want to be anything that requires leadership.

Today I don't want to be a servant.

Today, like Jonah, I don't even care about all the children around the world who "don't know their right hand from their left" and don't know God loves them.

Today I don't want to 'translate the cause'--not even to myself.

Today I want to read a mystery novel or watch a mindless movie.

Today I want to eat things that aren't good for me to try to make me feel better.

Today I want to pull the covers over my head (or sit under my dead vine and whine).

But God, by His mercy, reminds me that

Today God's truth is always there to be heard.

Today God has a plan and will make a way.

Today God may move someone to pray.

Today is too precious to waste and

Today is not over yet.

Generally Blessed

Today was one of the days I wait for--90% off at Dollar General on summer clothes and shoes. I made it to 8 stores today and was blessed with 444 clothing items for Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. Now I'm sorting and bagging the bounty.

For the first year that I can remember, I don't really need these items to meet my goal of packed boxes for the current year so I'm trying to decide where to store them.

Should I start taking stuff to the loft at Grace Church in hopes of having another giant shoe box packing party next year? Should I take it to the basement of Wesley Church and keep packing boxes throughout the year?

In the midst of these questions I've been doing a lot of speaking for OCC. Last night I was in Albion to speak to the Lions Club's auxiliary and ended up getting lost in the country. I hate country roads--especially at night. They're so creepy and dark and lonely. By God's grace I didn't get attacked by an ax murderer but it felt like I might. Tomorrow I'm headed back into the country again--down to Seneca, PA. Sunday before last I was in Guys Mills (country again) and this Sunday I'm off to Clintonville--which I'm SURE is in the country. Creepy. But I'll drive to the ends of the earth (or at least what seems like it) to beg for more shoe boxes to be packed.

Enough of this. I'm off to sort sandals and think about how to inspire country folks to pack more shoe boxes.

I really am Generally blessed.

A Great Number

My Bible reading yesterday took me to the first chapter of Numbers where I was reading about the census God commanded them to take of all the men over the age of 20 who could fight for Israel. When I got to verse 46 I read, "The total number was 603,550."

It just made me stop and think of what a perfect total number of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes that would be for the Mid-Atlantic region this year. We've all been praying for the goal of 600,000 anyway--so why not up it to 603,550? What a great biblical number. Just think of 603,550 gospel opportunities touching 603,550 children who could then fight to take the gospel to others. Of course I had to grab my calculator to check and I found it's just a little over a 15% increase over last year's Mid-Atlantic total.

Also, I noticed how the numbers in Numbers chapter 1 are counted as a total from those of individual tribes just as ours will be a total from area teams--we'll have our own little paraphrase of this chapter. It gave me a new appreciation for the idea of all those numbers in the Bible.

Just thought I'd share that I have a new prayer goal--603,550.