Operation Christmas Child comes to Toledo District

For years our family has participated in Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child's shoebox program. Devon would even write letters to the children, and in all but one case, he received a letter in return. We think this is a great way to share the joy of Christmas and the love of Jesus with children who so desperately need it.

Well, imagine my surprise when missionary Bob Farley asks us to deliver around 500 shoe boxes in the district in which we live! I never dreamed we would have the privilege of seeing the children receive their gifts. Right now the boxes are sitting in my living room. :-)

We have 5 different groups to deliver the boxes to. Here's how it works. The children will be gathered and given the good news of Jesus' birth and why He came, and then they'll be given their boxes. Most of these children go home to share their gifts with the rest of their families.

I hope to visit with many of these children and take lots of pictures, too! What an awesome opportunity to be goodwill ambassadors for Jesus Christ!

Devon helping to deliver shoeboxes to CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) missionaries

Kekchi Indian

Today, while Devon and I were mowing the lawn, a Kekchi man walked up to us and spoke in Spanish. He explained that he was Kekchi and wanted to know if we understood Spanish, because he didn't know English. We said, "yes" and he asked if we had any work he could do. Well, Charlie wasn't here (he was visiting a village named Hicatee with other health care workers) so I told him that I didn't have any work, but I would give him lunch.

While I was making a sandwich, I remembered the Bible Charlie had just bought in the Kekchi language. I had looked at it, but couldn't make any sense of it. So, I had the idea to give the man a small job.

I asked him to read me verses so I could hear how to pronounce the words. I chose John 3:16, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23. I tried to record him with my flip so I could practice later, but I didn't push the right button. Hopefully, he'll come back, and we can go over some more verses. Next time, I'll add Romans 5:8!

It was awesome hearing him read verses I know in English, in Kekchi, and then discuss them in Spanish. I was on a high for several hours after that. Please take a moment and pray for him and his people. He lives in a remote village on the Guatemalan border.