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Hoopla: News and Entertainment for Parker County Residents 55+
December 2019
Operation Christmas Child “You must have a lot of grandchildren,” said the cashier as she rang up dozens of toys, school supplies and clothing items. “I do,” said Shirley Riebe, “but these are gifts for the shoeboxes I am packing for Operation Christmas Child.” Tears filled the cashier’s eyes, as she recalled two times when, as a child in the Philippines, she had been the recipient of a Christmas shoebox. Prayer and miracles are part of each box packed for Operation Christmas Child, and Shirley and Al Riebe have heard many heartwarming stories over the years. In 1997, the Riebes, along with Florene and Glenn Westenhover, were the original Santa’s elves who began packing shoeboxes at North Side Baptist Church for Operation Christmas Child. The OCC is an off-shoot of Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational organization run by Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, which delivers the boxes to children around the world who have no
expectation of receiving a gift at Christmas or any other time. The Riebes and the Westenhovers led the project for 11 years, but after Florene’s death, Glenn and the Riebes handed over the reins of a growing ministry to others. Today, Sandra Moss coordinates the program that has grown enormously over the last 22 years. She has worked with Operation Christmas Child for about ten years. This year, the church collected 2,443 boxes from North Side and processed a grand total of 11,799 from the community as a whole. The boxes will be sent to Coppell, one of several distribution centers for Samaritan’s Purse. Founded in 1993, Operation Christmas Child delivers shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, hygiene articles, sports equipment and a book about Jesus Christ in their own language to children who live in areas that have suffered war, famine, or natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods. By 2013, OCC had delivered 100 million Christmas boxes to children in over 100 countries.
COURTESY
Sandra and the Riebes are three members of North Side Baptist Church who not only pack individual boxes each year, but help organize the local collection center out of the church facilities. After the deadline to return boxes on Nov. 25, they are packed into large trailer trucks that will take the Weatherford area donations to a processing and collection center in the Metroplex from where the boxes will continue their journey. Weatherford is one of thousands of collection centers working with
Operation Christmas Child. Each year the number of shoeboxes grows. But North Side is not the only donor in this endeavor. Other churches and organizations in the area send their shoeboxes to the collection center at North Side. There are also collection centers all over the world. Many lives are touched by a filled shoebox, especially those lives that originally pack the little cartons. Shirley Riebe says, “Working for Operation Christmas Child has been the most memorable time of my life.”
This Christmas, unwrap the beautiful gift of peace For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~ Isaiah 9:6 Peace on earth. Peace seems to be a universal desire; something everyone can relate to no matter where they are. We talk a lot about peace this time of year,
Life in Grace
by Lara Cook North Side Baptist Church
but what about peace in us? With all the hustle and bustle, peace might be the first thing crowded out of the Christmas season.
Through the birth of Jesus, God gave us a beautiful gift - the gift of peace in the Prince of Peace. It is one of the key themes of Christmas as we sing about it in carols, light an advent candle for it, and a heavenly host proclaimed it in the Christmas story in Luke - Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! Luke 2:14
Christmas is the dramatic reminder that Christ came into this world to redeem us and to bring peace to our troubled souls. Christmas Brings Us Peace with God Christmas is all about Jesus. Jesus Christ came into this world to set us right with God. He came to save us and to bring us back to
See GRACE, P. 9
