Tag Archives: Operation Christmas Child

Shopping for OCC Shoeboxes

This was posted on August 11, 2016 by Sarah Maxwell.

Remember the post about the little girls and Anna and Mary hosting a special breakfast to raise money for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes? Well, the other day, Anna and Mary took the girls shopping.

This is the perfect time as school supplies are on sale. If you’re planning on doing shoeboxes, you should check your local Wal-Mart for good deals right now. For example, notebooks were $.17 each, slap rulers $1 each, 4-pack tumblers $1.78 (making each cup less than $.50!). Obviously prices will vary across the United States, but this is a great time! They also bought erasers, t-shirts, washcloths, normal rulers, and Crayons. They only got a small supply of Crayons, as Wal-Mart was doing inventory, and couldn’t bring out the supply in the back, so the girls will return for those later.

Operation Christmas Child is an awesome way to show love to others this Christmas! You can find out more here.

Love,
Sarah

Slap-ruler-bracelets were the best part.

“My little children, let us not love in word,
neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
1 John 3:18

Mary Shares on Her Operation Christmas Child Packing Experience

This was posted on February 13, 2016 by Mary.

Joseph and my time at Operation Christmas Child was so exciting. I loved to think about how those boxes would bring HUGE smiles to the children receiving them. It was great to see boxes with notes. There were many “Ahh, look at this note!” moments to show the rest of the team an adorable note. Each was written with a lot of love. My other favorite was to see the boxes that were stuffed full.

I really enjoyed working with Joseph all the days too. When the brothers get married, it’s rare to get to spend that much time one on one with them like that! We both had fun getting acquainted with each step of the process. I think my favorite part was packing the shoeboxes into the box they’d ship in. It was a fun challenge for me to see how many boxes we could fit in. Fifteen had to fit in each one, but the more the better. The older kids tended to get bigger boxes, which took some creativity to get all 15 packed in there.

If you are considering doing shoeboxes this year, I would recommend doing either the older children or younger children. They have roughly double the middle age group. You might also consider doing older boys. They seemed to get the very least, and when I was looking through the boxes, I noticed theirs were often quite empty. Some ideas for their boxes would be tools, soccer ball and pump, fishing supplies, hat, shirt, flip flops, toothbrush and soap, candy, and certainly school supplies.

I hope you will share some of Christ’s love to these kids this year through Operation Christmas Child.

Thank you, Joseph and Elissa, for such an amazing trip that I will always remember.

Serving Jesus,
Mary

If you look hard, you’ll find me in this picture!

Here I’m fitting boxes into a large box.

Joseph and Elissa blessed me so much by taking me to OCC!

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
James 1:27

Bringing Christmas Joy

This was posted on December 10, 2015 by Sarah Maxwell.

“… I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.” Luke 2:10

Operation Christmas Child Volunteering!

This was posted on December 9, 2015 by Sarah Maxwell.

Happy graduation, Mary! Joseph and Elissa’s gift to Mary was to take her on a trip to the Denver Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Processing Plant and experience volunteering there for several days this December. The day has finally arrived, and Mary, Joseph, Elissa, and Calia are currently on their way to Denver. We’re so excited for them to have this opportunity! Oh, and if you happen to be there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, look for Mary and Joseph. They’d love to meet you.

Love,
Sarah

Mary, Joseph, Calia, and Elissa last night as we had, J, E, and C over for dinner.

“The LORD preserveth the strangers;
he relieveth the fatherless and widow:
but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.”
Psalm 146:9

Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes Finished!

This was posted on November 23, 2015 by Sarah Maxwell.

It’s with great joy and anticipation that our Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoeboxes are filled and will be taken to our local drop point this morning!

Today is the last day to drop the boxes off, so check for a location near you if you’ve forgotten to do so.

Although we don’t have a final cost per box yet, it is a lot less than other years. It’s like the miracle of the loaves and fishes!

Anna and Mary shopped throughout the year for sales. For example, after Resurrection Sunday (Easter), they bought candy (not chocolate) and stuffed animals for heavily discounted prices. They found knit stocking caps for $.10 earlier in the spring. At the end of the summer, they bought flipflops on clearance. At back to school time, they purchased notebooks and pencils for a great sale. In between holidays and events, they checked the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart, along with keeping an eye on Amazon for special deals. Anna also bought yarn from Joann’s when she received a $5 off coupon, again making it hardly any cost. So if you receive a $5 off coupon to a store, think again before you decide it’s not worth buying something!

Then, last week, we girls went shopping to round out the boxes. Since boys 10-14 are probably less-purchased for, and our desire is for them to have items that would be useful in a life skill, Anna and Mary bought tools at Harbor Freight.

So make it a family project, and start collecting for next year! Most of all, pray for those who will receive your gift and hear the good news of the Gospel!

Love,
Sarah

We had several $5 off coupons at Kohls and used them to purchase toys for little boys, hardly paying anything for them!

As I finished this post, I couldn’t help but add this picture of Melanie and her kiddos yesterday afternoon before they dropped off their boxes. The joy of giving continues!

“For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth;
the poor also, and him that hath no helper.”
Psalm 72:12

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Sewing Day

This was posted on October 24, 2015 by Sarah Maxwell.

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox collection week is coming up, November 16-23, and you should see Anna’s containers and bags of good deals ready for her boxes. She’s been diligently buying things throughout the year when sales come up at Wal-Mart and online. For more information on Operation Christmas Child, see their site.

In an effort to add a very specialized touch to the boxes, Anna and Mary decided to call for a girls’ sewing morning. All the sister-in-laws and nieces were invited, as even Abby and Bethany love sewing.

The girls were resourceful and found fabric we could use to make little purses. I will add a disclaimer here: the pattern directions weren’t easy to follow, so I’m not going to recommend it. Maybe some time we can do a step-by-step tutorial.

Wednesday morning, our dining room and kitchen transformed into a sewing-for-shoeboxes workspace. Meanwhile, Mom graciously babysat all the little ones.

What a delightful morning we had! Fabric everywhere, sewing machines humming, “now how does this work?” questions—yes, and some comical moments as we tried to figure out how these bags really went together—fun food and great fellowship. Eleven bags later, we were so happy and ready for lunch. Anna made spaghetti and garlic bread so the moms wouldn’t have to go home and fix lunch.

Why not add a personal touch of your own to your shoeboxes this year? The children will love it!

Sarah