By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Children throughout the world who might otherwise go without could get a shoebox for Christmas filled with toys, school supplies, and personal care items.
Operation Christmas Child sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse is underway in St. Joseph, preparing for national collection week the middle of next month.
Ekaterina Haselden received one of the shoeboxes as a resident of a Soviet Union orphanage and recently visited St. Joseph to promote the program. Of all the gifts inside, Haselden cherished a bar of soap, so different from how she bathed at the orphanage.
“And we were given brown lye soap that smelled terrible,” Haselden tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post about her experience in the orphanage. “So, that beautiful bar soap brought a lot of joy to me.”
Many area churches are participating in Operation Christmas Child, putting together shoeboxes to be delivered to children throughout the world.
Haselden says it was a special day when she received the shoebox during her time in the orphanage.
“What it meant to me is that someone out there loves me and it just made me feel loved and that somebody cared,” Haselden says.
Haselden’s mother disappeared, never to return, forcing her and her sister into an orphanage in the former Soviet Union.
Haselden says the gift didn’t just encourage her, it changed her life.
“They’re not only those shoeboxes,” Haselden explains. “When a child receives a shoebox, they also are invited to be a part of a 12-lessons program, which is called The Greatest Journey. So, it goes beyond the box.”
Haselden became a Christian after receiving the box. That day was a special day, according to Haselden.
“Each shoebox is an opportunity to touch a child and reach them with the love of Jesus,” Haselden says.
Operation Christmas Child is underway at many area churches. Collections will be made November 17th through the 24th.
Samaritan’s Purse says the program began in 1993 and has delivered shoeboxes to millions of children throughout the world. It reports more than 232 million shoeboxes have been collected for children in 170 counties. Samaritan’s Purse hopes to distribute 12 million shoeboxes this year.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ
