Operation Christmas Child

10.21.2003

It’s time for “Operation Christmas Child” Once again this year we at
ARBC are providing you with a unique opportunity to share the love of
Jesus with a needy child by using a simple shoe box! Your shoe box gift
will reach a child in a troubled country with the Gospel message. We are
taking part in Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse,
the Christian relief and evangelism ministry led by Franklin Graham. People
across the country are filling shoe boxes with small toys, school supplies,
and other gifts. A needy child overseas can receive your shoe box gift,
hand delivered, along with Christian literature in his or her own language.
What an opportunity to reach these children with a clear presentation
of the Gospel! Complete details are in the Operation Christmas Child brochure,
available on the bulletin board. I hope you will be a part of this opportunity
to share God’s love with a needy child.

Our CHURCH GOAL IS 50 BOXES. Please bring them to the church by NOVEMBER
16th. *Suggestion: If you do not have any shoe boxes, they are available
by checking in the church office. Or you might want to buy a “shoebox
size” plastic box.

Did You Know? •Operation Christmas Child generates about 48 miles
of smiles for each 1 million children who receive shoe boxes (based on
3 inches per smile). •Each 1 million show box gifts collected, if stacked
one on top of another, would be more than 230 times taller than the Empire
State Building •Shoe box gifts have been transported on the world’s largest
airplane, the Antonov 225. The plane is so big that the Wright brother’s
first flight could have tkaen place inside the cargo hold. •”The Greatest
Gift of All”, the Gospel storybook offered by Operation Christmas Child,
has been translated into more than 50 languages. •Every U.S. President
since Ronald Reagan has packed a shoe box gift for Operation Christmas
Child. •If 4 million children who receive the shoe box gifts stood hand-in-hand,
they would make a line 2,770 miles long - enough to reach from Los Angeles
to New York. •Operation Christmas Child has delivered shoe box gifts to
some of the world’s most remote regions. In Panama, for example, helicopters
have been used to reach children in isolated regions. In Jordan and Afghanistan,
cartons of gifts have been carried by camels. In the Solomon Islands,
thousands of shoe box gifts have been delivered by small boats. In Hoduras,
donkeys have been used to reach the children in isolated regions not accessible
by trucks.

Suggested Gifts for Operation: Christmas Child •Toys: small cars, balls,
dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, small Etch A Sketch,
toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky, etc.
•School Supplies: pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or maerkers, stamps
and ink pad sets, coloring books, chalk, writing pads or paper, solar
calculators, etc. •Hygiene items: toothbrush, toothpaste, bar soap, comb,
washcloth, etc. •Other: hard candy, lollipops, mints, gum, sunglasses,
flashlights with extra batteries, ball caps, socks, T-shirts, toy jewelry,
hair-clips, watches, small picture books, etc. ****Please DO NOT INCLUDE
the following items: •Used items •Toy guns, knives, or other war-related
items •Chocolate or perishable food items (Tootsie Rolls, cookies, M&M’s,
etc.) •Liquids of any kind (shampoo, lotion, bubbles, etc.) •Medicines
of any kind (vitamins, cough drops, etc.) •Breakable items (china dolls,
snow globes, etc)

Posted by at 01:09 PM