National Collection week for Operation Christmas Child is November 12-19, 2012.  Operation Christmas Child is a ministry program from Samaritan’s Purse whose mission is to demonstrate God’s love to needy children throughout the world, in a very tangible way, on Christmas Day.

This year our family is participating in Operation Christmas Child. I can think of no better ministry program for them to participate in to prepare their hearts for the upcoming holiday season.  Their enthusiasm has been wonderful to watch but even more wonderful for us, has been witnessing them begin to grasp that they can make a difference in someone’s life, right now.  They don’t have to wait until they grow up.  They can impact a life NOW…and that has been powerful.

It’s surprisingly easy to teach your children to consider others before themselves.  All you have to do is give them an opportunity to do so, and they will most likely surprise you.  Much thought went into every item we selected for our boxes and that lead to another gift- the realization that these unknown children they were shopping for, were not really that different from them.  They just didn’t have the same blessings.

How to participate in Operation Christmas Child:

Decide who your box (or boxes) are for:  Boy/Girl 2-5, 6-9, or 10-14.

Please read,  what to pack in your box and then make a list of items you would like to purchase.  Ideally each box should include items from all 4 categories: Toys, educational items, hygiene and other (sweets, clothing, accessories).

Print How to pack a shoebox forms and labels.  Place form in your box along with $7 donation (per box) to cover shipping costs. If you make your donation online, you will be given a special label to copy which will allow you to receive an email letting you know which country (or countries) your box(es) went to, along with more information about the program offered there.

Determine nearest Drop Off Location and deliver your box(es) during National Collection week: November 12-19, 2012.

Pray for the child(ren) who will receive your box and their families.

Spread the word (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Word of Mouth, Tell a friend, involve your church) so that more children may be blessed through Operation Christmas Child and hear about the Good News of Jesus Christ!

How to involve your children in Operation Christmas Child

Tell your children about Operation Christmas Child and watch, the Journey of a shoebox in 3 minutes video together.

Involve them in selecting who your box(es) will be for.  Ask them what you think you should include in the box.  If possible, involve them in the shopping trip.

Consider purchasing a white Shoebox so that your child can decorate the box with markers, stickers or paint.

Make a Follow your box donation so that your family will receive notice on where your box (or boxes) went.  Read more about that country and the program offered there with your child.

How to help spread the word:

I’d like to invite you in not only participating in Operation Christmas Child (OCC) but to also help spread the word.  How can you do that? If you are a blogger you can share your own experience and link your post below.  You can Tweet about the program using #OCCboxes as the hashtag.  Tell your friends on Facebook or at Church, involve your neighborhood or encourage your extended family to participate.

As a member of iHomeschool Network’s Samaritan’s Purse Blogger Team, I write about the ministry on a volunteer basis. All posts are my own thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the views of Samaritan’s Purse. I am not an employee, agent, or contractor of Samaritan’s Purse. For official information, please see the Samaritan’s Purse website.

Canstruction is a unique food charity that hosts design/build competitions. Teams of architects, engineers, and students mentored by these professionals, compete to design and build giant structures made entirely from full cans of food. It takes 8-12 weeks and thousands of cans of food to create each structure.

The results are displayed to the public as magnificent sculpture exhibits in each city where a competition is held. The public is invited to donate canned food at the time of the exhibition. At the close of the exhibitions all of the canned food used in the structures is donated to local food banks for distribution to emergency feeding programs that include pantries, soup kitchens, elderly and day care centers. It’s amazing what these artists have come up with, isn’t it?

Thanks to Of Mice & Ramen for posting about this on your blog. I would have never heard of this otherwise. I cannot wait to take my kids!

Please go here to see if Canstruction is coming to your city. Palm Beach county residents should go here for local exhibit information.

Compassion Bloggers is looking for Bloggers who would like to go to India April 26-May 2nd to see what Compassion International is doing there and to blog about their experiences.

If you have a blog and are interested in going you can apply here.
After reading the experiences of the Bloggers who went to the Dominican Republic, I can think of no better wish than to be chosen.

Are you feeling in the spirit now?
You can visit Rethinking Christmas for more ideas.

How will you celebrate this year? Are you making any changes to the way you celebrate this year versus holidays past? Our family is. Tomorrow I will share our story with you. Today you can share yours with me by leaving a comment.