After sharing the Good Samaritan story, Jesus Christ instructed His followers to “Go and do likewise.”
That’s the mission of Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization whose outreach project, Operation Christmas Child, is popular among churches this time of year.
Operation Christmas Child Coordinator Carol Morgan of Temple Baptist Church said it’s the 17th year her church family have participated.
“We’ve been doing this since 2005,” Morgan said. “The reason I do it is because I enjoy serving Operation Christmas Child and the prayer associated with the program.
“It’s a great tangible way to realize God’s love,” she noted. “A tangible gift of God’s love.”
Morgan became coordinator in 2013 and has enjoyed that role ever since, she said.
“I make sure the pamphlets and materials are out for the people in church to access,” Morgan said. “We set up a table in church with all the materials, like shoe boxes, envelopes for donations, booklets and instructions.”
Planning for the project begins in summer with a Christmas in July party at the church, Morgan said.
“We set up a tree with ornaments,” she noted. “The ornaments have suggestions printed on them for items most needed or most popular to fill the boxes.”
Those items include notebooks, coloring books, crayons, markers, colored pens and pencils, school supplies, hygiene supplies, socks, underwear, and special gifts, Morgan said.
“Soccer balls and fishing kits for boys are very popular,” she said. “Jump ropes and so forth for girls are appreciated.
“When we get finished the boxes go to Hope International at Bernie where they’re loaded on tractor trailers,” Morgan added. “From there the boxes are delivered to a Colorado processing center, one of eight such facilities in the U.S., where they’re inspected for glass, liquids, candy and war related items to name a few.”
Those items are prohibited, Morgan noted. Once inspected, boxes are sent overseas to more than 100 countries and territories, she added.
Each box is marked with barcodes for tracking purposes, Morgan commented.
“Donors can scan the barcodes on the boxes and track them online by a ‘follow your box’ function,” the coordinator said. “And donors are notified by accessing that link where their boxes went.”
Morgan explained she tracked gift boxes to Mexico and Ukraine, among other destinations.
Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week is the third week in November, Morgan noted. Two “drop-off points” at Poplar Bluff are the Temple Baptist Church corner building at 2608 Charlton Lane and at Second Baptist Church, 503 W. Pine Blvd., she said.
“Second Baptist’s annual Packing Party last Sunday collected more than 750 boxes,” Morgan explained. “This is the perfect opportunity to go and tell people about Jesus Christ, like the Great Commission tells us to do.”
Folks at SEMO can help children enjoy Christmas and Christ’s teachings for less than the price of a daily cup of coffee.
“Each recipient is gifted with a 12-week discipleship program,” Morgan said. “You can fill a really nice box for $25 to $30, less in most cases.”
For more information about donating, please contact Morgan by email at cm020306@gmail.com, or by calling Temple Baptist Church at 573-785-1250.
Further information about Samaritan’s Purse is available atsamaritanspurse.org.