The Journey Continues

Millions of shoe boxes have been collected and have been delivered to the next leg of their long journeys to Processing Centers in Atlanta, Charlotte, Boone, Denver, Minnesota, and California, along with the other countries who have joined in the efforts to be a part of the sending process.



The boxes are filled with special gifts that were picked out for children all over the world to share the love of Jesus. This may be the first gift most of these children have ever received, yet, it isn't the contents of the box that will fill their hearts with joy; it is the love of Jesus that goes with each box that will impact them the most. The greatest gift of all...the love of God! What an incredible gift so many have been willing to share with those whom have never heard of our Lord and Savior.



Please continue to pray for all the hundreds of thousands of volunteers who have given of their time to help throughout the process; pray for the people driving the trucks that will take the gifts to their next mode of transportation for delivery all around the world. Pray for the dedicated individuals who have labored in setting up the receipt and distribution of the boxes and safety in delivering all of these precious shoe boxes. Pray that all packages will be received into the various countries without trouble from the government officials; and pray for the precious children whom God so dearly loves, that each one will feel the love of the Lord when they receive their box and the Word of God that is delivered through a simple story book in their language.



The following is a link that shares a little more about Operation Christmas Child--enjoy!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1315753475/bctid1318915792



I head to Atlanta tomorrow to help in the Processing Center for a couple of days and my heart is filled with excitement as I am allowed the opportunity to be a part of this tremendous ministry. My prayer for each of you is that this year, you will take time to fully experience the greatest gift of all...the love and forgiveness of our blessed Lord, Jesus Christ.

Prayer Requests

We are in the middle of Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child and there are many areas where prayer is needed:

1. Pray for the hurting children and their families whose lives are impacted through OCC, especially that many hearts will be opened to God's love and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
2. Most of the children receiving shoe boxes live in desperate circumstances, suffering from poverty, sickness, war, or natural disaster. Pray that God will meet their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
3. Pray for the OCC ministry partners in countries around the world, especially that the shoe boxes will be effective evangelism tools. Pray also for their follow-up with the discipleship programs.
4. Pray for individuals, families, churches, and groups who will be filling shoe boxes, especially for the children. Pray that they will see that it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.
5. Pray for everyone involved in collecting, processing, transporting, and delivering shoe box gifts, including tens of thousands of volunteers. Pray especially for the timely delivery of the gifts.
6. Pray for Samaritan's Purse staff and volunteers in the US, Canada,, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia, as they deal with the logistical challenges of OCC.

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving" Col. 4:2

Amazing Freedom

Tomorrow I head off with my closest female friend to attend the Women of Faith Conference in Tampa, Florida. It should be a time of relaxation and renewal as we listen to renowned speakers who will encourage and uplift us. In some instances the speakers will also challenge us to reevaluate our walk with the Lord....that's a good thing. It is so easy to become complacent in our faith in a country where we are allowed to worship as we so choose (for the most part, especially when compared to other countries), where we can attend church services without fear, pray openly (again...for the most part) and choose each day to be the light and salt for unbelievers.

I always desire a closer walk with my Savior. I know there is a great deal of work to be done on me...."Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6) For me, it is comforting to know that God is on my side, helping me to become the "Woman of Faith" He desires me to be.

My prayer for all Women is that we will continually seek to fulfill God's will in our lives and by so doing, we can experience "Amazing Freedom!"

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. "(Rms. 15:13)

Ripe for the Harvest

Having just completed a National conference call with Operation Christmas Child staff and volunteers from the USA, Canada and Ecuador...I am in awe of the mighty power of God! It never ceases to amaze me how tremendously more He can accomplish than I can EVER imagine!



This year, there are 11 counties who will be sending the shoe boxes out to children all over the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan , Mongolia, Vietnam, China and Nepal! The goal is to send eight million boxes...Just imagine that!!! 8 million children who have never heard the name of Jesus will be introduced to our Lord and Savior! It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it!!!



This year, there are 121 Area Teams in the US; 373 Collection Centers, 1,850 Relay Centers; and more than 117,000 volunteer visits scheduled to assist at the Processing Centers!


Please keep Operation Christmas Child in your prayers. Pray for the staff and volunteers who will be working to receive the boxes in and redistribute them; pray for the logistics of coordinating all of the Relay, Collection, and Processing Centers; pray for favorable review by the media and for certain, pray for the children receiving the boxes and their families that their lives will be blessed and they will truly receive the GREATEST gift of all, Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Choose to Make A Difference

Participating in Operation Christmas Child is rewarding for the ones receiving the boxes AND the ones filling them. It is a simple, inexpensive way to share love with children who have likely never received a gift of any kind before. Just imagine...this special gift of a shoe box has simple treasures for them in physical form, but most importantly, they also receive the message of God's love for them...the greatest gift of all.

Shoe Box Ministry

What is Operation Christmas Child?

Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God's love. This program of Samaritan's Purse provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple, hands—on missions project while focusing on the true meaning of Christmas—Jesus Christ.

National Collection Week is November 12-19.

To find out more about this incredible ministry go to: http://www.samaritanspurse.org
There is information on how to pack a shoe box, where to drop off a filled box, and information about conducting a collection at your organization.

This is an awesome way to bring the joy of the Lord to His most precious children! Please join in this special project and help spread the gospel to all the lands!

What's up with that?!

I love the Lord! It's just that simple....Not just when it's convenient or when everything in my life is going as I believe it should, but deep down in my heart...at all times. Many people in today's society would respond, "What's up with that?!" We are encouraged from all angles to be self-sufficient and not to believe in anything we can't prove, see or touch and "love" is just a word used so casually it hardly holds any true meaning even when shared between husband and wife.

Over the years, I have learned the hard way that society is wrong and the Word of God--the Bible is right. Unlike the world, God accepts me just as I am, a sinner in need of forgiveness, striving to to produce the fruit I was intended to, yet often failing. The exciting news is that God loves me anyway! How awesome is that?! He loves me so much that He sent His Son to the cross to endure the pain for my sins so that I can live eternity in Heaven with Him! What's even more incredible is that He loves each and every one just the same and the blood shed for my sins is the same blood that covers the sins of us all!

This awesome love is the real "love." The love that never fails (1 Corinthians 13) and He gives it freely. All it takes is a sincere repentance for the sins we've committed and asking Him into our lives to be our Lord and Savior! WOW---it just doesn't get any better than that!

My goal is to share openly the love of my Lord; to witness to all who will listen and to be able to stand before my Savior and hear those blessed words: "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

I pray that "mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance." (Jude 1:2)