PebbleCreek residents Edna DeFord and Inge Chapman deliver Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes to the local collection center in 2021.
Edna DeFord
Christmas is in the air at PebbleCreek Community Church (PCCC)! The church is once again participating in Operation Christmas Child (OCC), a mission of Samaritan’s Purse, which delivers colorful shoe boxes filled with toys, school supplies, and other items to needy children around the world. PCCC is distributing the shoe boxes for members to fill with useful and fun items for the children. The filled shoe boxes will be collected on Sunday, Nov. 20 at our Sunday morning worship service, dedicated with prayers, and driven to an OCC Collection Center to start their journey around the world. Last year the members of PCCC filled 755 shoe boxes, which went to children in the Philippines, Peru, Ecuador, and Ukraine, among others.
Two churches PCCC supports in Kenya were designated to receive OCC boxes last year. The minister who pastors both churches let PCCC know that the shoe boxes had arrived in Kenya, but the churches lacked the funds to have them delivered to their remote locations. PCCC was pleased to be able to provide the financial support for the boxes to be delivered to the churches. Soon thereafter, PCCC received photos of the children receiving OCC shoe boxes. As an additional part of the program, the Kenyan children received a series of classes to learn about the Gospel from their own leaders.
Operation Christmas Child has set up a website that anyone can access: build-a-shoebox.samaritanspurse.org and, for a $25 donation, can fill their own box by choosing individual items for a selected age group. These shoe boxes will physically be filled by volunteers at Operation Christmas Child in Charlotte, N.C., and sent to children in need.
PebbleCreek Community Church is a non-denominational church with a strong emphasis on mission work. We welcome you to join us in worship each Sunday at 9 a.m., in the Eagle’s Nest Ballroom. You may also see our worship service on the church website at www.churchpcc.org after 4 p.m. each Sunday. Please join us in person or online.