 News “When we need God, He always rescues us. God sent Jesus to save us from our sin and shame. What do you all see here?” Janeysi asks, directing the room full of children to an illustrated presentation of the Gospel. The children attentively watch and respond as they learn about Jesus Christ during an Operation Christmas Child outreach event in their community.
Today is a special day for Janeysi and her church here in Belize because these children not only receive their Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, but they are also hearing about the greatest gift ever given—Jesus Himself.
After Janeysi finishes sharing with the group, she joins other team members in joyfully giving each child a shoebox gift. Soon the room is buzzing with laughter, whistles, and chatter as boxes are opened and children discover the contents of their box. They pull out toys, school supplies, and hygiene items lovingly packed by families and individuals from far away.
“The soccer ball is my favorite item,” a little boy named Edward says. “I love playing soccer with my friends.”
For Edward and many of the children around him, this may be the first time they have received a gift of their own. For some of those same children, it may be the first time they’ve heard the Good News of Jesus Christ.
“Today, I learned how God takes care of us, and how He gave His only Son to die for us to protect us from sin,” Edward says. It is evident he is leaving the event with more than a new soccer ball.
One in Millions
The Central American country of Belize, bordered by Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea, is a country of immense beauty with tropical jungles, Mayan ruins, and coastal villages. Sadly, many of its communities are gripped by intense poverty, gangs, and drug trafficking.
Around half of the children in Belize find themselves caught in the middle of this multidimensional poverty and uncertain of what their futures hold or where to place their security.
“A lot of the kids come from single parent homes. One of the major issues I've seen is that their parents aren't telling them anything about who Jesus is, so they're growing up just believing whatever the world has to say,” Shinell, a local partner with Operations Christmas Child, explains. “I'm glad that the Lord led me here to pray for them and to be an example.”
This is why Shinell and many others are grateful to stand in the gap, working to bring hope to communities and their country by the transforming power of God’s Word.
Edward is one of more than 12.2 million children this year who will receive a shoebox gift, and each gift serves as an invitation to know God’s love for them. We praise God that He uses the ministry of Operation Christmas Child to remind each child they are seen and loved by Him.
We pray that each child might hear the Gospel, believe, and become a part of God’s work of transforming their family and community.
God’s Full Circle Story
Moneque was 12 years old when she experienced this transformation. She received a shoebox gift, received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and now she is teaching her son and other children in the Operation Christmas Child discipleship course called The Greatest Journey.
Each child who attends an outreach event is invited back to go through this 12-lesson discipleship class to learn more about Jesus and how to have a personal relationship with him.
“I remember opening my shoebox. I got a ball, a teddy bear, and a letter. It was a pen pal letter, and I was excited,” Moneque shares, recounting the day she received her shoebox gift. “I wrote to my pen pal who was a little girl from Texas, and she wrote back to me. It was life-changing for me.”
The shoebox gift and the letter came at just the right time in Moneque’s life. Through it, God provided her with the comfort she needed to face her parent’s separation as well as the affirmation she longed for in her identity during precarious teenage years.
“It's just amazing how God works. He started off with a little box and someone writing to tell me it's going to be okay,” Moneque says. “I accepted Jesus at a very young age and I'm glad that through all of that, His love surrounded me.”
Just as the Lord used a simple shoebox gift and a pen pal, He is using Moneque to speaking into this new generation of children, teaching them that they are not only known by God, but called to live differently through His Son.
“I want to say to the little girl (Moneque’s pen pal) thank you. To all the donors, all the people who sacrifice, all the volunteers: ‘Thank you for your support,’” Moneque says. “You are touching people.”
Central to the Mission
Operation Christmas Child has been working in Belize since 1999, and this year, over 7,000 children in Belize will receive shoebox gifts.
“The country of Belize is doing a fantastic job in reaching their children for Christ,” Jonatan says. Jonatan is the assistant director of the partnerships and promotions team at Operation Christmas Child.
“What Jesus did is that He showed us that God doesn't treat children as a distraction from the mission, but as central to the mission,” Jonatan explains.
And this is part of what excites teachers like Janeysi, who sees each outreach event and lesson in The Greatest Journey as an opportunity for growing God’s Kingdom locally and transforming Belize as a whole.
“We always say that the kids are the future of the church; they are the future of the whole country,” she says.
We are grateful for the many churches in Belize who have faithfully partnered with Operation Christmas Child for decades to see see families turn to Christ and reach the farthest corners of Belize with the Gospel.
Please continue to pray for churches in Belize as they continue to reach their communities and for the local and national Operation Christmas Child teams as they work to reach each child with the hope of the Gospel.
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