   
Conway pastor sees impact of Operation Christmas Child
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 Ken Wilson, pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Conway, has experienced the impact of Operation Christmas Child not only in his community, but in communities thousands of miles away. Although his wife, Dawn Wilson, has been coordinating the project with their church for years, it was not until he went on a mission trip this past winter that Wilson saw first-hand the power a single shoe box can have.
Wilson traveled to Poland, Ukraine and Afghanistan in January 2007 to encourage the missionaries supported by his congregation. Unexpectedly, he was the one who left encouraged.
While in Poland, Wilson met with missionaries Greg and Heidi Carlson who reach out to Eastern European youth. He soon discovered that the missionaries were involved in Operation Christmas Child. The Polish church serves as distributors of the shoe boxes, working to personally deliver gifts to hundreds of hurting kids in their area.
"The local churches love the shoe boxes because it gives them an opportunity to reach their city," said Wilson. "The boxes open the doors to many with whom they can develop relationships."
As Wilson traveled east, signs of the project continued to emerge. In L'viv, Ukraine, Wilson stayed with a family whose children had received boxes. While in Afghanistan, Wilson witnessed kids walking the streets holding their shoe box gifts, and two of the homes where he stayed had Operation Christmas Child posters hanging on the walls.
"After collecting boxes in our church over the past four years, it was a soul-moving blessing to see the impact of Operation Christmas Child on the other side of the world," said Wilson.
After the rewarding journey overseas, Wilson and his wife are eager to see how many shoe boxes Conway community members can collect this year to send to children around the world- children like so many of these that Wilson encountered on his journey.
Local Collection Sites:
Fellowship Bible Church 1051 Hogan Lane Road, Conway, AR 72034, 327-3444
Southwest Christian Academy, 11301 Geyer Springs Road, Little Rock, AR 72209, 565-3276
Immanuel Baptist Church, 501 N. Shackleford Road, Little Rock, AR 72211, 376-3071
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, has hand-delivered more than 54 million gift-filled shoe boxes to needy children in some 120 countries.
For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call (615) 309-6013 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org. National Collection Week is Nov. 12-19. Gift-filled shoe boxes can also be mailed year-round to Samaritan's Purse Headquarters, 801 Bamboo Road, Boone, N.C. 2860
User Comments:
Andrea Subblett -- 20:48 Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007
The operation Christmas child is great, Do you go to our neighbors in Central America? lets love our beighbors first
Guy -- 22:09 Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007
Yes, boxes go to Cental America. Last year 7.6 million boxes went to over 100 countries.
Great! -- 9:48 Monday, Oct. 22, 2007
We knew for years about Operation Christmas Child and the shoe box ministry and would like to participate. I'd like to get my friends to join hands with you in this outreach. How is the shipping expense handled? Do you require a dollar amount per box? What's the deadline for the shoe boxes and where do we bring them? Is there a suggested list for contents? Thanks.
Greg Reddin -- 13:52 Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007
Here's all the information you'd ever want to know about OCC.
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC.asp?MPGID=1
In a nutshell, they ask for (but don't require) a $7 donation to cover shipping expenses. You can drop off your boxes at Fellowship Bible Church. Call them or visit the church website at http://www.fellowshipconway.org/ and click on the OCC icon near the middle of the page to find out drop-off details.
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