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Operation Christmas Child shoe box time has come around again and the First Baptist Church of Rockingham at 201 N. Randolph St. will be an area collection site and will be taking up shoe boxes on Nov. 12-17 and 19.

Drop off times are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the fellowship hall.

Use an empty shoe box (standard size) or a small plastic container. You can wrap the box (lid separately), but wrapping is not required. “Most importantly, pray for the child who will receive your gift,” the Samaritan’s Purse website suggests. Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the child’s age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Print out the appropriate boy/girl label by downloading the artwork (on the website www.samaritanspurse.org). Mark the correct age category on the label, and tape the label to the top of your box. Fill the box with a variety of gifts that will bring delight to a child.

Donate $7 or more for each shoe box you prepare to help cover shipping and other project costs. You can give online by using the “Follow Your Box Donation” option, or you can write a check to Samaritan’s Purse (note “OCC” on memo line) and place it in an envelope on top of the gift items inside your box. If you or your family are preparing more than one shoe box, please make one combined donation. Place a rubber band around each closed box and take it to the drop off site.

Since 1993, more than 95 million shoe box gifts have been delivered to children in over 130 countries, according to Samaritan’s Purse.

Take Ralph for example. The 9-year-old boy from the Philippines, who spends his days collecting garbage with his family, had his life changed by his simple gift.

“Not only did I receive a gift, but I also prayed to receive Christ as my Lord,” Ralph said. “Knowing God will always love me means everything to me.”

By making your donation online using a credit or debit card you will receive a special shoe box label included in your e-mail receipt. Print or copy the label as many times as you need to attach to each of your boxes.

Your specific barcode is connected to your e-mail address, so it’s important to use the same label on each of your boxes. The barcode on the label enables the Samaritan’s Purse to track each shoe box gift. You will receive an e-mail telling you the destination of your gift, along with information about Operation Christmas Child in that country. If your boxes go to more than one country, you will receive more than one e-mail.

“The unique barcode on the label is scanned during the shipment process,” explained the website. “Covering it with tape or damaging it could affect scanning. In the event that your label is ripped or separated from the gift in the process of shipping, it may prevent us from tracking the gift.”

— Staff Writer Dawn M. Kurry can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 15, or by email at dkurry@heartlandpublications.com.