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Operation Christmas Child brightens young lives

Submitted photo Two youngsters show off their smiles as they help pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

ELKINS — For more than 20 years, Operation Christmas Child has been brightening the holiday season of youngsters in Central West Virginia and around the world.

The Elkins team of Operation Christmas Child covers six counties — Randolph, Pocahontas, Webster, Upshur, Tucker and Barbour — and is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization led by evangelist Billy Graham’s son, Franklin Graham.

This year, across the six-county area, 11,197 boxes were collected, said Bob Cowgill, logistics coordinator for OCC.

Patty Parsons, area coordinator for OCC, said this was her first year and she was pleased with the amount of support the program received.

“As my first official year as area coordinator we had several new year-round volunteers join in our efforts to grow this ministry,” she said. “We also had several new churches that have not packed shoeboxes for a long time or have never, to pack them this year. We would like to thank our local Elkins Mountain School boys for their help. The boys came out to our central drop-off location at Bowden and helped to load and unload shoeboxes.”

Submitted photo West Virginia University Mountaineer mascot Trevor Kiess, left, and 101-year-old Ira Miller pose for a picture while helping pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

In addition to being her first year, Parsons said there were a lot of other firsts for the program this year.

“This was the first year that OCC has been set up at the state fair in Lewisburg, We had a great response and plan on making it a yearly thing,” Parsons said. “And, this year is the first year in a very long time that all of West Virginia had an area coordinator to cover the whole state. We call each other every two weeks to pray for one another and help each other personally and for this ministry. Paul Allen is our regional coordinator for the Great Lakes Region. He is located in Xiena, Ohio.”

Once again, the boxes were transported to a North Carolina distribution center. They were taken by two 18-wheeler trucks, donated by Kessler Trucking of Elkins, and the drivers donated their time to make the trip.

“Kessler Trucking… (donates) their truck and time to deliver our shoeboxes to Charlotte, North Carolina,” Parsons said. “We want to thank Elkins Big Lots for allowing us to use their facility, and help collect the shoeboxes that come in.”

Parsons added that without the support of everyone involved, the project would not be possible.

“(For) each and every volunteer that has put in many countless hours of time, money and prayers, we are grateful. Also we would like to thank Nadia, our special guest, who was a shoebox recipient from the Ukraine that came and shared her story with us,” she said. “Also our very own Mountaineer, Trevor Kiess who dropped by and helped pack shoeboxes with our guest of honor, Mr. Ira Miller, who happened to be 101 years young.

“None of this could happen if it wasn’t for all of those who volunteer for this wonder ministry. I would personally like to thank all of our Elkins team members for their support, prayers, time and dedication to this ministry. We are always looking for more year-round volunteers. If you would like to be involved please contact me, Patty Parsons, 304-949-9561 or parsonsp1968@gmail.com.”

Parsons said she hopes to help distribute the boxes in the future.

“It’s truly a wonderful ministry. One day when I get to go on a distribution, I probably won’t be able to stop talking about it,” she said. “That’s my dream, to go hand out in person these shoeboxes to those beautiful little children.”

Operation Christmas Child is the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, using gifts of toys, basic items of necessity and clothing to spread the gospel to children ages 2 to 14. Donations help supply literature of the gospel that introduces a discipleship program called “The Greatest Journey,” which is placed into the boxes before preparations for shipment.

Since the beginning of the project in 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has collected and delivered more than 124 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories. More than 4.7 million children have participated in “The Greatest Journey” program, implemented through a global church network.

According to the organization’s mission statement, “Samaritan’s Purse is a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to people around the world.” Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease and famine.

Operation Christmas Child also offers a year-round opportunity to pack personalized shoe boxes online. Anyone interested can visit samaritanspurse.org/occ to select toys and gift items, write a note of encouragement and “pack” them in a shoebox. To follow the box’s journey from the website to the country and child, there is a donation form available on the site.

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