Then these boxes spread to isolated, war torn regions around the world and bring a smile to thousands of faces. Last year 60,000 refugee children in Northern Iraq received this gift of love.
Jennifer Sylvester of First Baptist Church, working with Emily Reece and Donna McGillicuddy, organized this project and on Sunday, Nov. 8, members of the church family packed 110 boxes full of goodies to join the millions travelling around the world bringing the Christmas story to children hungry for something to lift their spirits.
On Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, all 110 boxes were dedicated and blessed on their journey of hope and love during the morning worship. The children shouted out the number 110 as this was the most ever and they were very excited. The boxes were then driven to Caribou to join with hundreds of others to be shipped to North Carolina in preparation for their long journey around the world. The boxes travel by jumbo jets, sampans, rickshaws, panga boats, bicycles and on foot. A booklet telling the story of Jesus is included with each box.
“There is something very satisfying about the tangible task of filling a box with goodies to delight a child,” said Sylvester. “Money is always needed for critical missions around the world but the simple shoebox allows the giver the opportunity to “almost” touch another directly through their effort.”
Sylvester reported that she went online and paid her $7 so that she received a bar code enabling the organization to track her box. She also enclosed a letter inside so she just might hear from the recipient and learn how far her box travelled. All these things keep the church doing this year after year, she says.
