We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, Colossians 1:11
The delivery of the the Operation Christmas Shoeboxes are as important as the Shoeboxes themselves. Some of the areas the deliveries are made are very remote and often outsiders are not welcome. One area is South America where the specific location can not be told. But the persistence and bravery of the pastor in a nearby time to get the boxes to remote towns and villages has become a yearly endeavor for him and his church.
A volunteer got a chance to deliver boxes to one such village with this Pastor. First of all I must tell you this pastor is handicapped. To get around he uses a two wheel manual scooter, the kind kids used in the 1960’s and ’70’s. He sits on the running board and uses his one good leg to push himself along. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when he was one of the guest speakers at the International Conference in Florida three years ago and came rolling out on his scooter.
Then his story began, one of the churches members had a Chevy Suburban that they loaded up with boxes and began their journey over very rough terrain. During their hours long trip they got two flat tires and the truck overheated. But they journeyed on. Finally they reached the village and everyone gathered in the center of the village to meet their uninvited guests since there was no way to let them know that they were coming. They agreed the Shoeboxes could be handed out and the children were delighted with all their gifts, especially the school supplies.
But the Pastor wasn’t going to leave without telling the entire village about the love of Jesus for them. A friendship was formed and from that time on, the Pastor would visit often. Eventually a church was built as well as a school and received much needed medicine and medical care. Before long then entire Village had accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord and the Village was never the same again. The impact of one Shoebox can make all the difference not only to that child but everyone around them. No matter how difficult the way to get to this remote Village and its people, this Pastor was willing to do whatever was needed not only to get those boxes to the children, but to meet the needs of the entire Village. As we’re preparing our shoeboxes, that everywhere those boxes go their impact is not only felt by the child who receives it, but everyone that child knows, the light that shows the way to the love of Jesus.
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