Years ago, a second grade girl in Honduras sat in the classroom of her orphanage and received a brown shoebox from Operation Christmas Child (OCC), a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. On top of toys, a notebook, toothbrush and other items, lay a photograph of an American girl, along with a letter that simply said, “Jesus loves you, and I do too.”

Yuri Lopez as a child in Honduras.

This was the first gift Yuri Lopez ever received.

Several years later, that same girl, now a teenager, ran to the mountains to escape her life, filled with disappointment and lost hope.

“I had a shoebox with me,” Lopez noted. “In that box were letters from volunteers and missionaries that came to the orphanage and gave us notes of encouragement. All those years I’d been collecting them because they were really meaningful for me.”

In her anger, she began to question God. Why did You do this to me? Why am I an orphan? If You would not have left me orphaned I would not be suffering the way that I am. After hours of crying and pouring out her heart, she said to Him, “If You really exist, show it to me, because I cannot see You here.”

Looking down at the box in her lap, she opened it. The first thing she saw was the photo of the American girl who had given her the shoebox seven years ago. There she felt God, there she found what she was longing for. Lopez headed back down the mountain and three months later, Lopez let Jesus into her heart.

“From that day, I knew that God did care for me,” she said. “Without me knowing where America was or her knowing my story- that girl took the time to pack a shoebox for me. It meant a lot.”

She soon had the opportunity to move from the orphanage into the Eternal Family Project, a ministry for girls wanting to continue their education. In 2005 Lopez met her [would-be] adoptive parents from Tennessee, the Hollands. Two years later she graduated high school and came to America to go to college in Tennessee and play soccer at Bryant College.

Now on staff with FCA Gwinnett in Georgia, Lopez packs shoeboxes for children on her own, as well as involving local Huddles to pack boxes as ministry projects to send toys, school supplies and other essentials to children in impoverished countries. Lopez suggests packing parties, setting a date to get students together to share a meal before gathering and assembling the collected items. “A few weeks before, we say we’re going to be packing shoeboxes in November and ask them to bring one item every time we meet for FCA,” she said.

An FCA Huddle in Georgia showing off their packed OCC shoeboxes.

Collection week is November 17-24 at participating churches and businesses. But the point of giving is not only to provide tangible proof of love, but spiritual soundness that leads to a lasting relationship with Christ.

“It’s not just about the shoebox,” Lopez explained. “It’s also about sharing the Gospel, the love of Jesus Christ.”

OCC gives children the opportunity to participate in a 12-week discipleship program called The Greatest Journey, obtaining additional resources and continuing to learn about Jesus. Lopez explained the children receive the shoebox and later get resources for discovering Jesus and hear more Bible stories.

“There are so many of these kids who don’t get an opportunity to hear about the Gospel and are in a situation where they feel there is no hope in their life,” she said. “With a shoebox they will have hope, because they know that there’s somebody from far away who cares for them.

“When I received a shoebox, what impacted me the most was the picture of the little girl who sent it to me, and her note,” revealed Lopez. “Send a letter. Let these kids know there is hope in their lives.”

And, perhaps most importantly, pray for the child who is receiving the shoebox, as God already knows him or her and assigned that child to the giver.

He knew just the little girl in Honduras who would need a box with a photograph of a little American girl, and who would need the truth and love of a Savior.

To learn how to get involved individually or with a Huddle, watch an FCA/OCC video, and find a drop-off location, visit Operation Christmas Child’s website.

Originally published 2014