For Iglesia Bautista Northside, located in the heart of Hialeah, Operation Christmas Child is a labor of love the 1,000-member church enthusiastically embraces each year.
Every September members are encouraged to bring a shoebox packed with gifts for needy children across the globe.
This year, as the designated drop-off location for the northwest part of Miami-Dade County, volunteers knew they were facing a big job, as other churches, hospitals and community members would be dropping off additional shoeboxes.
The pastor, Alberto Ocaña, and other church leaders encouraged the church and their community to donate shoeboxes packed with age-specific gifts, like simple craft supplies, personal care items and toys for underprivileged children around the world.
Dairis and German Pulido, who head up the event at Northside, consider it a great privilege to be a part of the shoebox collection.
The Pulidos said 212 boxes were collected last year, but this year the church challenged members to pack 500 boxes.
Dairis said volunteers must be careful to check that each box meets transportation requirements and has been securely packed. Boxes are ultimately loaded onto trucks for transport to the distribution center in Atlanta. Despite the size of the job, Dairis said she has seen the “hand of the Lord providing volunteers and resources.”
“There were times when the volunteers could not make it to church or were not available at the agreed time, but God brought replacement volunteers that appeared, as they say ‘out of the blue’, so I never felt alone and that gives me a lot of joy,” she said.
By Nov. 21, the church had collected 430 boxes, not quite reaching their goal but more than doubling the boxes collected last year. In all, the collection center at Iglesia Bautista Northside collected 9,680 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.
Un Mensaje de Amor en esta Navidad – Operación Niño de la Navidad
Kenia Gregorich, Communicator at Iglesia Bautista Northside, December 8, 2017
