Most people don’t like to pack and repack boxes. However, if you had been in the classroom of the Lubbock Junior Academy during the week of November 22-26, you would have seen students happily packing toothbrushes, stuffed toys, washcloths, hard candy, bar soap and numerous other items into shoeboxes wrapped in Christmas paper. Our students were participating in Operation Christmas Child sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse http://www.samaritanspurse.org/.

Students, parents, church members and teachers bought an array of toys, school supplies, hygiene items and a Christmas greeting which included the name of our school, our address and a picture of us preparing these special shoebox gifts.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Last year we packed 14 boxes and this year we prepared 26 boxes for needy children around the world. The teachers took these precious bundles to Mardels’, a Christian bookstore, for inspection and shipment to regional processing centers who will in turn mail them to different areas of the world for distribution to children ages 2 to 14.

A shoebox that once held only one pair of shoes was filled with hope, love and joy from the caring students of Lubbock Junior Academy.