Almost everyone has head the old advertising adage, “bigger and better,” usually when someone is trying to sell you something. However, with Operation Christmas Child (OCC), a Christian ministry designed to bring joy and spread Christianity around the world, beginning with children, this year’s local project was just that, “bigger and better” as a new record for shoebox collections was set in 2016.

Clinton County OCC coordinator Kathy Conner announced that a total of 2,040 shoeboxes filled with toys, hygiene products and other gifts were collected from the local area and forwarded to children in impoverished counties around the world. That total is not only a record, but exceeded last year’s total by 55 boxes (1,985 in 2015) and even the lofty goal of 2,106 boxes set for this year.

As of late last week, Conner said she didn’t know where the local shoeboxes would be going to this year, but last year the local boxes went to five different countries in three different continents, the Ukraine, Rwanda, Guyana, Ethiopia and Columbia in South America.

Albany First Baptist Church has now been the local Relay Center for Operation Christmas Child collections for the past four years and collects boxes from both Clinton and Cumberland counties. Prior to First Baptist becoming the local Relay Center, local boxes were first taken to Monticello for distribution.

A “send-off” and prayer service for the shoeboxes was held last Sunday night, November 20 and boxes from individuals, churches and other organizations were collected the week leading up to the send-off.

The boxes were transported by truck to Beacon Hill in Somerset, where they were loaded onto semi-trailers and from there to the processing center in Boone, North Carolina. There they will be sorted, re-boxed and shipped to waiting countries.

The kick-off for Operation Christmas Child was held in August with collections beginning in September, but Conner noted some groups, churches and individuals continue gathering items for the boxes year-round.

All shoeboxes will be processed and shipped by December 15. However, due to the time it takes to get them from the United States to their final destinations–due to customs and laws in other countries that receive the gifts– shoeboxes may not actually get to a particular location until the middle of next year–which is no where near our normal Christmas holiday but still makes it Christmas for the millions of deprived children who receive them.

Operation Christmas Child is a Christian ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, spear-headed by Franklin Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham. Samaritan’s Purse, said Conner, determines the countries and points of destination of the shoeboxes a year in advance.

The shoeboxes are delivered to villages, schools, orphanages and so forth and the Samaritan’s Purse program determines what to give to each particular area.

A specific child will only receive one shoebox in a lifetime, Conner said.

Conner said participation among churches and other organizations was also up this year, with a total of 27 participating, 22 of those being from local churches. Other participating groups included the Albany Woman’s Club and Clinton County Extension Homemakers.

In such a venture, many volunteers are needed during the course of a year and Conner said hundreds of people helped in some way.

During the actual collection week and on Sunday night, November 20, when the boxes were loaded, there were 14 volunteers and over 120 volunteer hours put in over the course of the week. “Forty people helped load the truck with 115 cartons on Sunday night,” Conner said, noting that over 50 people attended the prayer service–which was a good number of people considering the Community Thanksgiving Service was going on the same night.

The shoeboxes are filled with such items as soap, wash cloths, bowls and cups, a small toy or toys, hygiene items and according to Conner’s husband Paul, who helps in the effort year-round, even things such as small tools, fishing equipment and so forth for the older male youths and sewing kits for the older females, not to mention school supplies–where in some countries, may be the only school supplies a child would ever have.

Paul Conner noted that, not only are the shoeboxes a way of providing gifts to children, but the most important aspect was “providing a vehicle to open the door to spread the Gospel to these kids.”

Once the children receive the shoeboxes, they also complete a book entitled “Greatest Journey” and are then invited to accept Jesus Christ. Conner noted that for every child who accepts Christ, at least five other people are touched.

Albany First Baptist Pastor Jeff Brown said about OCC, “This allows many people, young and old, to be embarked on a mission project. They may not go on a (mission) trip, but they can be on a mission (for Christ) through the shoeboxes.”

Pastor Brown and the Conners also thanked Roger and Sherry Owens, operators of Days of Grace Food Pantry, for the use of their large truck to load and transport the boxes to Beacon Hill.

They also noted that now shoeboxes that are collected can be registered and shipping paid online.

Kathy Conner noted that the now-annual OCC has become both a church and community project and says she welcomes more participation in the future. She added the shoebox collection drive would be a great community-service project for school groups and other organizations and clubs. Anyone, individual, church or group, who would like to learn more about Operation Christmas Child or how to participate should contact Conner at any time.

To sum up the Operation Christmas Child project, it was included in the Albany First Baptist Church bulletin on Sunday, November 20 under information from Samaritan’s Purse:

“If you take the number of 2015 Greatest Journey reported decisions for Christ from Operation Christmas Child international: 1,053,564 and divided it by 365 days, you get an average of 2,886 children who have accepted Christ per day through the Shoebox Program! The 2,886 per day translates to 120 children per hour, or two (2) children every minute! This is a MIGHTY return for the simple shoebox gift!”