Simpson Creek Baptist Church Again Serves as Collection Center for Operation Christmas Child
By Julie Perine on November 20, 2019
It’s surprising how many gift items can fit inside a shoebox. Open a lid and you might find coloring books, crayons, toy cars and balls, Play Dough, books, stuffed animals, dolls and flip-flops, among many other items. Each box is labeled boy or girl and designated age group. People put much thought into gift items selected, hoping the child receiving them will delight in his or her gifts – many times the only gifts they have received.
Thousands of filled boxes are pouring into Simpson Creek Baptist Family Life Center, which again this year is serving as a collection center for the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child project.
"We have been really busy," said Debbie Mount, OCC volunteer and Simpson Creek Baptist Church member. "We collected over 2,300 in the first two days."
Staffed by a host of volunteers, the church’s family life center is a Santa’s workshop, of sorts, as shoeboxes full of toys, novelties, school supplies and personal care items are dropped off and thereafter packed in semis to be delivered to a processing center in Charlotte, NC and eventually distributed to children in need throughout the globe.
The headquarters was set up Saturday. In the days to follow, churches, schools, organizations and individuals throughout Harrison, Taylor and Lewis counties have stopped by with their filled shoeboxes. Some deliveries include several hundred boxes.
The filled shoeboxes are packed 15 to 18 per box to ship to the processing center in Charlotte. They thereafter are on their way to 100 different countries.
The Bridgeport High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been volunteering daily, doing heavy lifting and serving a great need. It’s all a work of faith, Mount said. Year after year, volunteers are blessed through the project.
The center is open 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. today and Thursday and 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, hours will be 12-4 p.m.
“Sunday is kind of an exciting day here because there are big collection centers from Salem, Weston, Buckhannon and Shinnston, which will bring cartons and cartons and we’ll load them directly into the trailer,” Mount said.
Also on Sunday, a dedication will be held. Church members will circle the trailers and pray over the boxes inside. As is proven over and over, the filled boxes are not only a happy surprise to children who receive them, but also serve to lead those children and their families to Christ, organizers said. Sometimes, a box may contain an unusual item, but as is documented through OCC, that item usually winds up in the hands of someone who needs or really wants it.
Last year, more than 10,000 filled shoeboxes left Simpson Creek Baptist Church, reaching children across the globe.
Volunteers are also filling additional shoeboxes with loose items brought in. Individuals who don’t have the time or resources to fill an entire box are welcome to drop off little toys, pencils, stickers or any other items on the wish list.
Specific instructions on how to pack a shoebox can be found at the Samaritan's Purse Web site HERE. Each box should be accompanied with $9 for shipping.
