Penn State Christian Fellowships Gather for Operation Christmas Child
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For some people, the start of November marks the beginning of the holiday season. For many of the Christian fellowships on campus, this rang true for them.
On Friday, Nov. 1, 12 Christian fellowships, including DiscipleMakers Christian Fellowship, the Salt Company and Alliance Christian Fellowship, gathered to participate in Operation Christmas Child at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center at 7 p.m.
“Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, which is an international relief organization,” said Rudy Hartmann, director of the Salt Company, “The mission is to provide local partners around the world with shoeboxes, and these shoeboxes get filled up with toys, hygiene items and school supplies, as a means of reaching out to children in those communities with the good news of Jesus Christ.”
Through Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child, 10.7 million boxes have been distributed to 112 countries, including Mexico, Tanzania, Peru and the Philippines.
The shoeboxes, packed by the students, were geared towards girls from ages 5 to 9. The children will receive a spiral notebook, colored pencils, hygiene supplies, jewelry and a “Frozen”-themed headband.
The night began with dinner and time to meet new people from other Christian fellowships. After a welcome from student leaders and a demonstration from Samaritan’s Purse on how to pack the boxes, the students eagerly lined up throughout the aisles of the worship hall.
The goal was to pack 3,000 boxes for 3,000 different children around the globe. That goal was achieved in just two hours. The night ended with a recap video as well as a few worship songs.
Danny Caban, a junior studying civil engineering, participated in Operation Christmas Child last year and was excited to volunteer again.
“My favorite memory of Operation Christmas Child was seeing all 12 Christian ministries on campus come together for a great cause,” said Caban.
Shelby Lincoln is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email sml5796@psu.edu.
