Billy Graham and I probably have more in common than you would think at first glance. We both believe in Christ and His work. We both seem to be conservative. We both have sent a child we don't know a shoe box full of candies and treats. That is my favorite commonality.
Operation Christmas Child is a project administered by the Graham ministry called Samaritin's Purse.
Regular people like you and me make the project go. I heard about in SLC probably 15 years ago. Mr. Fun and I were new college grads with a baby. Money was tight, but I found a dollar store and filled the box to the brim with treasures like pencils, candy, small toys which were gender specific. I added a couple dollars to help pay for the postage, a simple note from our family and dropped it at a local non-LDS church site. There were boxes everywhere! All shapes and sizes. Samaritan's Purse takes them around the world, and actually gives them with a small write-up about Jesus Christ.
I did this every year for years, until the post got to expensive and the local church was not a collection site anymore.
It was a sad day for me when I could no longer find a local site that participated.
But the other day, when we ate at Mr. Fun's Beloved Chick Filet, there were fliers everywhere regarding the project. I am so happy!
One year, we actually got a response from the box that we sent. Her name was Sveta and she was a young girl from the Ukraine. We pen paled with her for about a year, and then one day the letters stopped and we never heard from her again. I don't know what happened to Sveta, but I do know that Billy Graham and his family kept their word and delivered our dollar store treasure box to her for us. :)
