Chapter 2

Operation Christmas Child

Chapter 2



So now that I have I shared with you how a simple red and green box can change the way a child looks at life. How something as simple as a doll or a stuffed dog, stickers or pencils and paper, tooth brushes or soap, socks and underwear can open up a window for a child to feel good about themselves, the door to a future, and a gateway to a world where their imaginations run free. That these little boxes can encourage a child to dream for a better tomorrow.

Ok, I need to stop there for just a moment and tell you about two little girls I got to meet while I was in Guatemala. Maybe after I tell you about them you will see why this year this project has become a little (understatement) personal.

Kimberly, she is the spitting image of my daughter Avery. Their birthdays are just weeks apart, they are in the same grade, enjoy the same things, and the both love soccer and their momma’s. Kimberly is the youngest of 4 kids. Through Compassion International her 3 brothers are sponsored and receive an education, meals, and just general help with things that are very much needed. Kimberly however is over looked by the organization because you can not have more then three kids sponsored. Without people personally sponsoring her, she would be unable to go to school because her parents wouldn’t be able to pay for her uniform. I went to Kimberly’s house during my second visit to Guatemala, and to be completely transparent with you. I wanted to just take her. I wanted to bring her home and love on her, buy her the things I think she should have. I wanted her to have a toilet that flushed, a room filled with toys to play with, crayons and paint to illustrate her creativity. Her parents are loving and hard working parents that give her, and her bothers everything they can. Her momma Anna is a beautiful woman and I could only pray to become Godly woman like her. This is not a family looking for a hand out, but a family that is living with what they have.

Katrina aka Katty, is an amazing young girl whose love for all things that are simple and “tom boy” toughness reminds me a lot of myself. I met her on my first trip to Guatemala. I can tell you that this little girl personal dragged me back to the Lord. She is the oldest of three children of a single mom who works in the Guatemala City dump. She goes to school, but when things get tough she helps her mom, and looks through the dump to find glass or metal so that her baby brother and little sister can have dinner. Her house is smaller then most people’s bathroom. There are no toys for her or her siblings to play with. Katty is not playing house she is the second parent and sometimes she has to be the primary parent. Again not because she feels like she ‘has too’, but because she knows that’s just the way it is for right now. She doesn’t begrudge her mother, be rejoices that she is able to help. This little girl loves blindly without reason; she looked at me one day and reminded me that I didn’t have to do anything for God to love me. He loved me just the way I was…..and so did she.

These two girls and so many more kids (300+) and their families receive clean water from a church/community center/after school center/medical center that Northview Church out of Georgia built and funded. But is pains me beyond belief that there are still children out there that have NO access to clean water or medical care.

When Sumatran’s Purse deliver the Christmas boxes the workers themselves go in and talk to the villagers see what they need. If its medical care or water filters they want to see kids and adults to be given a chance to survive the harshness of their world. They don’t just go in drop off boxes and run.

This year one on the many countries that will receive boxes from Canada will be Guatemala. This country holds a piece of me that I will never be able to explain. It’s a place that I found myself, I found the woman that God had intended me to be. I pray that you give this country and many others a fighting chance this Christmas. Remember is so much more then a box.