Every year as a family we put together shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child (an outreach of Samaritan’s Purse), and Hannah always loved picking out just the right items for each box. The first time we put these boxes together with Hannah was about a month before she turned two and we were attending Hudson Community Chapel in Ohio. I remember her excitement looking at all the “goodies” going into the boxes. Each year following we would have so much fun shopping for items and packing the boxes just right, then wrapping them and sending them on their way to a child across the world.
Last year was the first year that Hannah didn’t get to pack a box herself, so many others packed boxes in her memory. Lot’s of friends packed shoeboxes and made donations to Samaritan’s Purse in Hannah’s name. Our church put up a Christmas tree in the lobby with Hannah’s picture and collected “A Shoebox for Hannah”. Our homeschool co-op also put together several boxes in Hannah’s memory. The donations to Samaritan’s Purse went into the thousands, which is so awesome!
This year we are getting our boxes packed up and will be sending out more Shoeboxes for Hannah. If you pack a box in Memory of Hannah we would love to hear about it, and if you get a chance please send us a picture. It may seem like such a “little” thing to do, but it can make a huge impact on a child who has never received a gift…or who has not yet learned of the greatest gift of all JESUS. I look forward to one day in Heaven seeing people of all nationalities walking up to Hannah and saying I recieved a shoebox when I was little with your picture in it and that is when I first heard about Jesus.
To learn more go to: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/occ/
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