Ronnie Fox and D.C. Kenman, load several of the 17,021 shoeboxes collected at the Trinity Baptist Collection site, to be shipped to Atlanta.
Trinity Baptist Church in Calhoun was recently named the Northwest Georgia collection site for the program and churches, clubs, organizations, and individuals from all over Northwest Georgia brought shoeboxes they had filled with letters, toys, books, anything they wanted to send to children for Christmas around the world.
Trinity Baptist has been a collection site for about 10 years, according to this year’s drop off coordinator at the church, Faye Darby.
“We collected 14,000 last year, and this year our goal was 16,000. Even in this economy people have huge hearts,” said Darby. “This is people’s way of being missionaries, when they can’t travel around the world, they can pack a shoebox and make an impact in a child’s life across the world.”
In Gordon County, alone, 48, churches, clubs, and organizations donated filled shoeboxes to the drop off location at Trinity Baptist. Bethesda Baptist Church donated 363 boxes, Belmont Baptist Church donated 219, First Baptist Church donated 305, Newtown Baptist Church donated 313, and Trinity Baptist Church donated 240.
Clubs that participated in the event were the Calhoun High School Cross Country Club, which donated 17 boxes, Calhoun High School FBLA donated 39 boxes, and Calhoun High School Beta Club donated 148 boxes.
“Every box is important and we hope to encourage businesses and others to participate in the future,” said Darby. “Individual children bring in a box and that one box is just as important. One box at a time, one child at a time.”
The boxes were sent to a packaging center in Atlanta, by way of ABF, which is contracted with Samaritan’s Purse, the organization that ships the boxes overseas. Operation Christmas Child has shipped 100 million boxes to children all over the world, since the inception of the program in 1993.
Donations for things to fill the boxes with are collected all year long, according to Darby, who says that the program is for people of all ages; especially the young children who get very excited to help others.
Darby shared of one story involving a gentleman who collects items for the boxes all year long in memory of his wife who passed away. The contents he provides fills more than 100 boxes each year, which is how many his wife used to donate when she was alive.
“It’s a community effort. It’s creating the ripple effect,” said Darby. “We want to provide a growing enthusiasm and excitement of sharing the love of Jesus Christ, and we want that excitement to spread everywhere.”
GC courthouse family businesses.
You laboring under the delusion that daddy gives a damn what anyone thinks.
Well –
What most people don't know is that the organization behind it - Samaritans Purse and is run by that well know islamophobe Franklin Graham (Billy Graham’s son) - who calls Islam "a very wicked and evil religion" Their poison isn't just directed at Muslims, they refer to Hindus as being "bound by Satan's power" and were caught preying on Catholic earthquake victims in El Salvador in 2001- refusing them temporary homes provided by US AID unless they first attend a half hour evangelizing "prayer" session. Afterwards Franklin Graham gloated that in one village they converted 150 Catholics.
Other relief organizations were appalled by Samaritan's Purse's actions in Nicaragua in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch which left over ten thousand people dead or missing and considerably more homeless. Rather than focus on helping people, Samaritan's Purse used up relief money arranging an evangelical concert at the national baseball stadium in Managua. 50,000 children - mainly Catholics - were whisked away in rented buses to the stadium to listen to Graham, who flew in on a private jet, preach his brand of Christianity asking them to accept Jesus as their savior and be born again, and be rewarded with a shoebox of gifts and a Bible.
Last year the Charities Commission slammed "Operation Christmas Child" for hiding their missionary aims from teachers and parents of school children asked to support the scheme, and from volunteers helping the project. They found that Operation Christmas Child "appeal leaflets sent to parents and teachers say nothing about any missionary aim, or religious affiliation."
Once the shoeboxes of "gifts" arrive in their destination countries they are used to target the most vulnerable members of society - the children. The "gifts" are used to bribe desperate children away from their parent's religion.
The children are told "the gift is from Jesus" and upon receiving the "gift", in return, they are enrolled to attend a further 10 lesson indoctrination bible study course - their own annual report suggests that four out of every five kids who receives a "gift" shoebox ends up attending such a course.
This isn’t a charity this is forced evangelism.
As for Mr. Graham's comments on Islam the Islamic beliefs are derived from a book called the quoran or some spell it koran. In this so called holy book it tells the followers of Islam that they are to either convert non Islamic people to Islam or Kill them. That sounds like an evil and wicked religion to me. The poision you talk about us directing at people is that Jesus came and died on the cross for their sins. Our holy book the Bible, which by the way was written by men and inspired by the one true God, commands us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature. If they do not accept it we do not kill them in fact we are commanded not to kill.
As for not advertising that Operation Christmas Child is a religious affiliation, it was started by Samaritans Purse which is a Christian organization. That in itself should let everyone know that it is a mission.
As for when the boxes arrive to their destination no one targets the most vulnerable members of society. The boxes are made for children who otherwise get nothing in the way of gifts hardly ever not just at Christmas but any other time of the year because of the poverty and conditions they live in.
As a Christian I will Pray that you will one day see that God loves you and sent His son Jesus to die for you, but it is your choice to recieve His gift of salvation or not I will not try to kill you if you don't.