OCC delivery in Cambodia

10-14 Ibrahim

God's love shared with 14 year old Ibrahim who sports a new cap from his shoebox! It was great to be at the distribution on Saturday which took place at Cotton Tree evangelical church in a village outside Monrovia, Liberia. Ibrahim, whose father works on a local rubber plantation, hopes to be a farmer when he finishes school!

Mark Datson shared this on the OCC UK fb page.

Don't forget to pack 10-14 girls boxes.

This girl has a priceless reaction!  She has the biggest smile on her face.  Every box makes a difference. Consider packing an extra 10-14 box today.

Sewing Kits

Dollarama has new sewing kits for $2.00.  I thought they were well worth the $2.00.  I did a few more buttons and safety pins. 

No Sew Crayon Wrap

While searching thru pinterest I found another pattern for a no sew crayon wrap.  Love how they included the paper.  You can find step by step instructions on Small and Friendly's Blog

Matchbox cars

I found this lone Matchbox car with the extra 50% off at Superstore today.  Anyone else luck out finding any? 

More from Ecuador.

Follow Meredith, as she is also in Ecuador with Operation Christmas Child this week.  Read her loaves and fishes moment!

Impact Stories- A Special Gift

OCC Canada just posted this story on it's fb page.  It brought tears to my eyes.
I have had the privilege to meet Ben Silcox.  His love for God is so evident in talking to him.  And he has a huge heart for this ministry! Thank-you Ben for sharing this story.

“We brought you a special gift,” Ben said to Mario. “We give it to you in Jesus’ name and we want you to know that we love you.”  He handed the boy a shoe box that had been filled with gifts by a special group thousands of miles away.
Mario opened the box and saw a photo of a group of smiling people.  He and his mother stared at the faces.  “This picture will be placed in the most special place in our home,” said Mario’s mother, Carolina. “This is a precious item.”
A few months earlier, the group in the photo was hard at work at the Samaritan’s Purse warehouse in Calgary, cutting out labels, stacking brochures, and volunteering their time for the Operation Christmas Child shoe box gift project.
The group of about 20 adults with special needs, along with their caregivers, faithfully volunteers year-round to help the project run smoothly. “They love coming and being part of the group,” says caregiver Sandra.  “The shoe boxes can change even one family.”
When the group heard that Ben would be traveling to Chile to distribute shoe boxes with Operation Christmas Child, they packed their own shoe box for him to give to a 5-to-9 year-old boy.  “They each chose items to include,” Ben says. “And they made sure to include their group photo so the recipient could see who loved him enough to send the box.”
A few months later and a continent away, Ben saved the special shoe box for the final distribution event of his trip, hoping to find the perfect child to receive it. “I had the box in my backpack, but before we got on the bus I removed the box to find my camera and forgot to put it back in.  We got to the distribution event and I felt terrible that I’d missed my opportunity to deliver this special box.”
Ben and the distribution team began to pray, trusting that God had a plan for that shoe box.
The next day, the group traveled to a poor mining village called Santa Rosa and Ben set off with an interpreter. “We just prayed while we walked,” he says. “We knew that God had chosen a special child for this box and we needed God’s guidance to find him.”
The dirt roads were deserted and no children were in sight. They veered onto a dusty side trail and came upon a young boy, Mario, who took them to his home. Coming over a hill, Silcox encountered a demolished house with a partially rebuilt structure beside it – this was Mario’s home.
Mario’s father had been murdered by burglars three years earlier and his mother, Carolina, had been forced to send her older son away to live with relatives because she could not afford to feed him and Mario. Their home had been flattened in the 2010 Chile earthquake, and Carolina was slowly rebuilding it out of salvaged materials.
Ben handed Mario the shoe box packed by the special needs adults in Calgary. Carolina cried as Mario discovered a stuffed dog, candy, school supplies, and soap. Ben and his group prayed with the mother and son as Carolina hugged them, saying, “I know that God sent you to give that gift to Mario.  God sent you for us, to remind us that He hasn’t forgotten us.”
Ben returned to Calgary to share the story of God’s amazing plan with the special needs adults. “They were very moved and excited,” he said. “We know it wasn’t a coincidence. God had this group pack that shoe box to remind Mario and his mother that despite the troubles in their lives, He is still taking care of them.”

 94 million

boxes have been packed by individuals like you and I since it first started in 1993.

God uses normal people to do extraordinary things!

  Everybox is used for his Glory. 

So if you feel down that you can only pack one box. 

Don't!! 

Every box counts. 

Your one box can transform the life of a child, a family, a community, somewhere in this wonderful world God created.

Damira's story

Desertion and illness have ruined Damira’s childhood.   Her father deserted the family years ago; his daughter has no idea how to contact him.  Then, only three months ago, her mother fell desperately ill, and so the only solution was for the orphanage to give Damira a home. 

Damira longs to see her mother again, and spends many anxious hours wondering what will become of her if she cannot return to her mother in a few months time.    She is very homesick and worried about the future.  She was deeply touched to think that someone somewhere had cared enough to send her something.   It reminded her that the local Christians are also caring.   The shoebox has helped build Damira’s confidence in the local church.  A relationship of trust and goodwill is being strengthened.

Story by Anne Coomes
Photo by James Fletcher
Source OCC UK

Equador team

Check out Kelly from Faithful Provisions and Christy from Southern Plate as they are in Equador with Operation Christmas Child this week.

DIY Project- Felt Kangaroo

Kangaroo pattern and tutorial here.

They'd be a cute addition to any shoe box.

DIY Projects- Felt pencil case

Love this pencil case!   Martha Stewart  posted instructions.

DIY Project- Felt Owl

A neat pattern to make a felt Owl from here.

Eyes for the Blind

LOVE this story that Jessica from Clip With Purpose Posted..

Visiting an Operation Christmas Child shoe box distribution in Fiji last Christmas, Judy, a Samaritan’s Purse Australia volunteer, found herself in the middle of a church filled with hundreds of young children – all eagerly awaiting their own shoe box.
It was quite a scene as each child ripped open their box to discover the treasures inside. That is, each child except a little boy named Ajay, who sat at the end of one pew with his head down and his hands in his lap. Judy soon learned that Ajay was almost blind, and not only that, his mum had recently died. Ajay had a lot to be sad about.
When Judy sat down beside Ajay and helped him open his shoe box, tears filled her eyes. Right on the top was a perspex magnifying glass. Judy knew that God had guided the gift-giver when they packed their box months before.
Judy took the magnifying glass out of the box and held it up in front of The Greatest Gift booklet that was under the shoe box.

Felt!

I've been loving felt!

There is so much you can do with it.  And so easy to work with.

I had been praying that I would find felt at my thrift store.

And today was the day.

I picked up all this felt for $2.00 at my local thrift store.

Woohoo.

I was happy with my 4 small pieces of felt for $2.00 yesterday.

But this is icing on the cake!

I also found 5 brand new toothbrushes in the package for .25 cents each.

A bunch of other goodies.

God is Good!

Michaels has 70% off Valentine's Day goodies

This weekend we went into the city.  And was happy to have some time at Michaels.  I didn't find too much.  But all their Valentine's goodies were 70% off.  So I found a few things.  The rubber ducks were .45 cents for a package of 2.  And the cute notepads were .45 cents each.  I also picked up a few pieces of felt.  Since they are cheaper than where I live.  They were .49 cents each.  And I loved all the colors.
Anyone still finding Valentine's Goodies on clearance?

Bouncy Balls

I love adding bouncy balls to my boxes.  I try to add one or 2 to each box.  One of my favorite places to pick up balls is Old Navy.  .25 cents in their vending machine. No tax.  You can't go wrong. 
And this weekend when as I was searching for quarters a man walked up to my boys and asked if they each wanted a ball.  The machine had dispensed 3 of the exact same ball.  And they wanted all different styles.  So we scored 2 free balls!  I just smiled and thanked Jesus.  And then found a few quarters and bought some more:)

Crayon Wallets

Remember these great Crayon Wallets? 

Well I had to try my hand at them.

I said I would post them by the end of the week.  And well it's the end of the week, and they're not quite done  But here is as far as I have gotten.  I chose to sew mine.  My boys had fun picking colors of thread.  This one has blue on this side and green shows on the other.  In the small pocket we've added an eraser and since we still have room we'll add a pencil sharpener.  Or maybe I'll cut down some paper to fit.

I used my crayons from the thrift store.

I love that they have a nice home now.

I'll post the finished product once it's all nicely decorated.

Anyone planning on crafting this weekend?

UK Samaritans Purse Blog.

Do you love seeing pictures and seeing stories how shoe boxes impact children, their families and entire villages.  Then check out the UK Samaritans Purse Blog.

Valentine's Day goodies.

My boys love little containers to put things in.  So when I saw Dollarama was selling these out I picked  up a few pkgs and thought they'd be the perfect addition to my boxes. 3 pkgs for $1.00.  I think there are 4 per pkg.   They contain jelly beans but I'll take those out and see what God places in my path to fill them with:)

I did find a few other things this morning, erasers, notebook some cute valentine's tape to either add to a box or decorate a box with.

Anyone else find some neat Valentine's day goodies.

Story from Belrus

Photo from Belrus home visit. Vania and her husband Uli live in a small flat with their 5 children.  While Jon (9) Sergei (8) Mali (6) and their sister Ana (6) opened their shoeboxes in great delight she stood holding their baby brother watching her children enjoy their discoveries.  After some time like this each child settled to enjoy one or two of their favorite gifts and mom sat down on the bed to look at the rest of the contents.  As she pulled different items from the box she let out quietly spoke "wows" to herself.  She was so touched by all that her children had received knowing that she herself was unable to give them even half as much and so grateful that someone remembered her chidlren.

Source OCC UK

DIY Projects- Bows

I posted about these super easy DIY bows a while back.
Last week I made my own.  And they are super easy!
I had felt sitting in my closet.  And I had found the red ribbon a while back for .30 cents a meter.  And knew it would come in handy some time.  The glittery purple I found at Fabric land.  3 meters for $1.39. And I couldn't pass it up.  The all felt bows are super easy and fast.  The ones with ribbon were a bit harder, only because I sewed the ribbon on and it was quite thick.  I added bobby pins.  And I think they'll be a cute addition to my boxes.

I also made my own version of Crayon Wallets.  Which I'll post in the next few days.
And this afternoon I cut out fabric for pencil cases.  Now to sew them.

Anyone else working on OCC projects these days?

DIY Project- Tic-Tac-Toe in a zippered pouch

Step by step instructions to make this great tic-tac-toe game and pouch here

DIY Projects- Hairpins

Check out these easy to make Hairpins on I Am Momma Hear Me Roar blog.

Pinterest

Anyone loving Pinterest these days?  I definetly have to limit my time on there;)
But I just saw that Operation Christmas Child is on Pinterest!    They have different boards with Distribution Pictures, The Greatest Journey Pictures, Shoe Box Ideas and a few other boards. 

I just saw this great idea.  Add some fun to flip flops by double knotting 10 waterballoon to each sandal.  Love how bright and cheery they are!

Did anyone...

wake up early to watch the distribution live?  I had good intentions, but forgot to set my alarm.
You can watch it here.

LIVE DISTRIBUTION- Early Wed morning.

Just a reminder that you can watch a LIVE DISTRIBUTION, (early) tomorrow morning. 

12 lunch Swaziland time, 10 am UK time, and 4 am Manitoba time. 

You can click here to watch.

They expect it will be 30-40 minutes long. 

They will also be showing it after.

DIY Projects- Crayon Wallets

Check out Clip With Purpose's instructions on how to make these crayon wallets.
She's starting..

And looking for fellow bloggers to join in.

Printable Nativity Friends

Why not print out these adorable Nativity Friends.  Add  crayons, pencil crayons or markers, sissor and glue to the box. And they can color they can share the story of Jesus birth.  Other characters are availbe at this site as well. 

Prayer

Did you miss the OCC International Day of Prayer?
It's not too late! Check out the OCC Canada fb page.  They posted many prayer requests through out the day.  These are things you can write down and pray for through out the year.

Like this one...
Pray that the shoe boxes will continue to open doors for Samaritan's Purse to connect with, and support, communities through education, medical care, safe water, feeding programs, and livelihood projects.

Continue to Pray for Operation Christmas Child year round.

Distribution in Haiti

Paper Dolls/Animals. Characters

I remember playing paper dolls when I was younger.  There are lots of great sites with paper dolls/animals, characters that you can print out.

This site even has The Berenstain Bears to print out and pick out different clothes for them.

Beth Lauderman Weber posted this link of a Valentine's Cutout Book on the Clip with Purpose, a while back.  Anyone have a favorite paper doll site?

How do you do it?

Are you a person who shops all year round?
Do you pack a box or 2 or 3 or 30 a month?
Do you save a specific amount of money a month to go towards filling boxes?
Wait until November and shop?
Pack OCC boxes online?

There is no right or wrong answer.  I am just curious how other fellow OCC'ers do it.
Be sure to answer the poll on my fb page.

DIY Projects- Winter crafting time.

Well I don't know about your area.  But we are having an unusually warm winter!  I for one am not complaining.  But I am not getting too much crafting done.
I did finally work on these.  I found these sewn and cut at a thrift store way back in Novemeber.  All I had to do was add the eyes. Well it was more time consuming than I thought, as they are made for smaller hands, and getting a needle in and out of there proved to be a challenge.  But all 16 are done. And well worth the time!  And considering I had all the buttons and all 16 only cost $1.00.  It was very worth it!  And that's one thing to cross off my to do list. 
Now onto making these felt bows.  I'm going to add them to bobby pins.  I found a big section of felt for $1.00.
Anyone else crafting these days?

Impact Videos- Philippians

A powerful video made in 2010 from the Philippians.

Today is International Day of Prayer for OCC

Photo source: OCC Canada

Take a few minutes to pray for Operation Christmas Child today.

 Click here for more details.