Copied from Samaritan's Purse

Oxana Prohorova received a shoe box gift from Samaritan’s Purse when she was a teenager in Belarus. She now lives in the United States, and participates in Operation Christmas Child by packing boxes and encouraging others to do the same. She wrote about receiving her shoe box in a recent blog post.

One day my classmates and I were instructed to go to our classroom. The bright and beautifully wrapped shoe boxes, sponsored by the Samaritan's Purse, were all piled in the corner of the classroom.

The joy of receiving a gift from overseas made us all very happy. We could not wait to pick out our own box and see what goodies we received. For the next day, week, and what felt like a month we all asked each other, “What did you get? And what did you get?”

More than any toy or school supply, every single child wanted to receive a letter in his or her shoe box. Unfortunately only 1 or 2 children in my class received a letter and we were all so jealous that we could not write and thank the family for the gift.

I am sure you are all wondering what I have received in my shoe box! Drum roll please …

Well. I hate to disappoint you, but I cannot remember. My mom remembers toys, colorful pens and pencils, but all the contents of my box have been completely wiped out from my memory.

I joke that if I knew that God was going to use me 10 years later to share my testimony, I would have written it down.

I wondered why didn’t God allow me to retain in my memory all the goodies that I received, and one day He revealed to me as I was sharing my testimony with a congregation in a small town in Arkansas.

The reason that I do not remember all the items is because they were not that important.

Now let me explain to you why the toys, candy, and school supplies were not important before you quit reading.

Candy won’t fill up a tummy of a hungry child in Africa for years; toys may comfort a broken heart of a child in Russia for only days. Pens will be lost and broken.

BUT the message of Jesus Christ that the shoe box carries gives the eternal hope that is found in my Savior to a child! God is so much bigger than any shoe box and He uses a simple shoe box to answer some children's prayers and to remind others that He loves them so much.

As I look back in my life and wonder what the shoe box meant to me, the Lord brings me to Joshua 1:5, “ I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The days that I prayed as a child and wondered if God was listening, He gently reminded me through a stranger’s kindness. He was there when I wept and He was there when I rejoiced. He did not leave my side. This makes me want to SHOUT and praise His name!!! I don’t know the family who packed my shoe box, but I sure am thankful for their obedience of giving me the gift.