Find Purpose in Retirement with Operation Christmas Child
“I really feel like God brought me and Operation Christmas Child together for a purpose.”
Like many people, Marty King, quoted above, had reached retirement and wondered what the Lord had for her. She wrestled with God over loneliness and lack of direction. Then,a few years ago, He spoke. Marty shared she “distinctly heard Him say, ‘… I have work for you to do.’” And what started as packing a few shoebox gifts for children, God turned into a passion beyond her expectations!
Earlier this year, a team from our headquarters had the opportunity to sit down with Marty King and hear her story.She is now a year-round volunteer with Operation Christmas Child. Over the last few years, she has seen involvement in the ministry transform her life. It has given her purpose, deep community, and opportunities to send the Gospel to thousands of children around the world.
“You know after you retire when you’ve been working for so many years, you have a job—and that can define you,” she shared reflecting on her time before serving with Operation Christmas Child. “But when you retire, you hopefully have another twenty years to do something. I didn’t have grandchildren yet. I was doing some other things—trying to keep busy—but [Operation Christmas Child] filled a big part of me… and then kind of overtook me!”
“It’s a way to be a missionary without ever having to pack your suitcase—you just pack a shoebox!”
– Marty King
Our Mission
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, has been collecting and distributing gift-filled shoeboxes to millions of children around the world, telling them the Good News of Jesus Christ. Our mission is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children around the world, partnering with the local church. Over the years, we have sent over 220 million shoeboxes to 170 countries!
Individuals, families, churches, and other groups donate shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, and personal care items for children. These shoeboxes are then delivered in over 100 countries every year where we partner with local churches who host events. At these outreaches, children hear the Gospel and receive a shoebox gift along with a Gospel booklet, The Greatest Gift, in their own language.
At outreach events, children hear the Gospel and receive a shoebox gift!
After receiving their shoebox gifts, the children are then invited back to participate in our 12-lesson discipleship program, The Greatest Journey. The course includes Scripture memorization and Bible stories, teaching the children how to follow Jesus Christ and to share Him with their family and friends. More than 40.5 million children have enrolled in this program since 2009.
Both Sides of the Box
Whether receiving or sending shoeboxes, there are so many testimonies to the power of simple gifts given in Jesus’ Name. God has used both sides of the shoebox—here and around the globe—to change hearts and lives. Here are just a few of those stories…
Kavari is a young boy who received a shoebox at his school for deaf children in Namibia. He and his classmates had been ostracized by their families and community, but these gifts let them know they were loved by God. Along with his shoebox, Kavari received the Gospel story booklet, The Greatest Gift. Just one day after the outreach event, he was already eagerly sharing the stories in his book. These stories he read in the booklet quickly had become more to Kavari—he knew it was God's truth and that it would transform his life. During the Greatest Journey, he declared, “I decided to follow Jesus.”
Kavari enjoyed reading the Bible stories in The Greatest Gift booklet
Back in the U.S., Rhonda Moore, a year-round volunteer, witnessed her adult daughter, Sarah, dedicate her life to the Lord during National Collection Week. She had long been praying for her daughter who had turned away from her Christian upbringing. As shoebox collection time approached, other volunteers joined Rhonda in her prayers for a breakthrough for Sarah. These weeks leading up to collection are often marked by intense prayer—not only for the shoebox outreach, but also for other requests—and God answers in incredible ways. Rhonda rejoiced, “Our prayers may seem small but His answers are mighty”, and he’s answering prayers all over, even to the ends of the Earth!
Ravina Kumar, an international volunteer in Fjii, witnessed a wonderful moment of answered prayer at a remote outreach event. She shared, “Children were walking barefoot and from far they came. They were very respectful children and listened to the Gospel presentation. When the time came to open the shoeboxes, I saw a child holding his box, hugging it, and then he started to cry loudly. I asked, ‘My son, why are you crying?’ He said, ‘Auntie, I go to school barefoot. I don't have flip flops. I share with my sister a pair of shoes. When I go to school, some children come with their expensive shoes and they show off. All the time, I pray. Even today, I asked Jesus to please give me shoes as a gift.’ He opened the box and showed me a pair of brand-name shoes with fancy lights. He was so happy he was kissing the shoes. Maybe the whole of his life he'll remember it. The Lord gives more through these gift boxes than what the children ask.”
Our Partnership
We are thankful for the opportunity to come alongside Retirement Reformation in their mission to help you as retirees discover meaning and purpose. We know that if God can use a simple shoebox to reach a child with the Gospel, he can use you! Our prayer is that you will find purpose and fulfillment in this season of life. As you are looking for what’s next, we hope the Lord uses Retirement Reformation to guide your steps. And we also hope you will prayerfully consider serving with Operation Christmas Child!
Ways to Get Involved
God uses so many different giftings to reach children across the world. What skills has He given you? Leading and recruiting? Shopping or knitting items for children? Equipping people and cultivating relationships? Event planning and organizing details? Facilitating times of prayer? Consider how you could use your God-given talents in the ministry of Operation Christmas Child!
Here are a few ways you could get started…
· Pack Shoeboxes! Boxes can be packed for girls or boys ages 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. And you can pack individually or with a group, making each gift fun, full, and personalized! You can find local drop-off locations during National Collection Week the third week of November every year.
· Become a Project Leader. You might feel led to mobilize your church or other community group to pack shoeboxes—we have resources and local teams to support you! Project leaders could be involved in promoting the project, equipping their group with resources, ordering materials, organizing a packing party, raising funds, and more!
· Volunteer Year-Round. Join the over 10,000 Connect Volunteers across the U.S. who serve year-round to recruit and train participants, as well as to coordinate the collection of shoebox gifts. We need people like you—leaders and prayer warriors, people with skills in logistics and administration, and those with the gift of communicating and connecting with others. Connect with your local team through applying on our website.
· Serve Short-Term at a Processing Center! Every shoebox must go through inspection before shipping around the world. Each year, volunteers come to one of our eight processing centers around the country to facilitate this work. Teams inspect gifts, work with filler items, scan labels, and organize shoeboxes by age and gender into designated cartons.
People packing simple shoebox gifts are opening doors for the Gospel to reach the ends of the Earth—areas where there are few believers or where many have long been hostile to the Good News of Jesus Christ. And it is impossible to send these Gospel opportunities around the world without the thousands of shoebox packers and volunteers God raises up for this ministry!
You can have an eternal impact in the lives of children across the world. As Marty King pointed out to us, “It’s a way to be a missionary without ever having to pack your suitcase—you just pack a shoebox!”