A Real Difference
My family has done Operation Christmas Child for years. Operation Christmas Child (in case you're unfamiliar with it) is an organization that distributes shoe boxes filled with toys and gifts to children around the world who don't have much (if anything). All over the USA, people pack shoe boxes to send to children. Many times, the toys inside the shoebox are the only toys a child has.
I've always included a letter and picture in my Operation Christmas Child box. When I was younger, a friend of ours got a letter back. I thought it would be so cool to get a letter from a child across the globe.
A couple years ago, I packed and sent a shoebox to a girl aged 10-14 with a letter and picture inside. A few months later, I received a response from a girl in the Philippines named Ria! I was so overjoyed to receive the letter. In it, Ria thanked me for the gifts. I sent a letter back, but didn't hear back from her for a while.
One day a couple months ago, a letter came addressed to me from Ria. I was so excited as I opened it. Inside was a letter, and this small paper with words written on it that mean so much to me:
Many times when we help orphans and children by sending money, sending gifts, and sponsoring them, we don't really know if we're making a difference or not. Sometimes we think, Well, maybe this will feed the child and give them new clothes, but will it really impact their life? Or we may doubt that we can do anything to help orphans since we're only teenagers. The truth is: we CAN make a difference in a child's life. We shouldn't let the world's low expectations of teens hold us back. Our shoe boxes, donations, sponsoring, and prayers really do make a real difference in a child's life...a difference that will last forever.
-Talia
1 Timothy 4:12
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.
Matthew 25:40
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Love this Talia! It's so true that we really CAN make a difference. I love that you have been able to see that in your own life! :)
This is so special! I did Operation Christmas Child as a young girl but haven't done it in the past few years. I always wanted the girl who got my gift to write back to me, but I never got a letter. Nevertheless, I always looked forward to putting the boxes together and picking out the gifts. It made me so happy that I would be able to cheer someone up. It's special to be able to touch someone's life.
Blessings!
-Madi
This is so, so, so cool. (:
I'v packed a box the last 4 years and last year i got a letter back from a little girl in the Philippines! I never wrote her back but your post has made me want to write her again! Thanks for the inspiration!
In Christ
Hosanna