For years, Lampasas County residents have been a part of Operation Christmas Child, a global project that shares the true meaning of Christmas with children around the world.
On Oct. 24, volunteers from six Mid-Texas Area counties gathered at Immanuel Baptist Church of Temple to kick off the project’s collection season.
The goal for the six-county area is to pack more than 16,675 shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene items for National Collection Week, Nov. 16-23. These giftfilled shoeboxes will contribute to the project’s global goal of reaching more than 11 million children in Jesus’ name.
Operation Christmas Child will deliver these gifts to children in need overseas using whatever means necessary – boats, airplanes, trains and even elephants.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world.
For information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, visit samaritanspurse.org/occ. Participants can donate $9 per shoebox gift online and receive a tracking label to discover its destination.
Those who prefer to shop online for their own items can browse samaritanspurse. org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 178 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.
