First Baptist Church Recognized For 10-Year Partnership With Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child area coordinator Linda Pitcock (right) presents a plaque to Dr. Randy Bain and Vivian Gilley recognizing First Baptist Church’s 10-year commitment to Operation Christmas Child.
WATER VALLEY – First Baptist Church of Water Valley was recognized for a 10-year partnership with Operation Christmas Child. Lead by Vivian Gilley, the volunteer team has operated a drop-off location for shoeboxes for a decade. During this time residents of the county and surrounding areas have contributed 13,534 boxes to provide Christmas joy and help spread the gospel across the world.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization. The group’s mission is to provide local partners around the world with shoeboxes filled with small toys, hygiene items and school supplies as a means of reaching out to children in their own communities with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The effort continues this year with Connie Champion taking over as the team leader after Gilley decided to slow down. The deadline to turn in shoe boxes is only six weeks away – Nov. 23 – and the First Baptist Church will again be the drop-off location.
The boxes will then be transported to Calvary Baptist Church in Batesville where volunteers sort and pack cartons to send to their next stop in Atlanta, Ga. The Atlanta warehouse has almost 10,000 volunteers from as many as 11 states each year to assist with the four-week processing season. These volunteers process 1.5 million shoebox gifts from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Puerto Rico.
For more information, contact Champion at (662) 832-0953. Also remember if you can’t get out to make up a box, you can still support this awesome work. Anyone can build a box online! Go to Samaritanspurse.org/operation-Christmas child/covid-19. Click on Shoebox packing. Select your gift items for a contribution of $25 for a girl or a boy, any age you wish.
