Christmas comes early to CIU with Operation Christmas Child

The annual packing of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes at Columbia International University this year included more graduate students and their families as the event was moved to the Pine View Apartments Community Center on campus. 

CIU’s Operation Christmas Child student representative, sophomore Joshua Kirkpatrick, added to the festivities with a coffee and donut incentive on the rainy and cool October day.  

Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, demonstrates God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Through this project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with the local church worldwide to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations. The shoeboxes are packed with small gifts and literature explaining the gospel.

“Packing these shoeboxes is all about showing love to children whose families are in need,” Kirkpatrick said. “And we may never know how far some of these simple gifts go until we get to heaven. But one thing we do know is that once they receive these gifts, their hearts fill with love and they desire to show this love to those around them.”  

Then he added with a laugh, “It’s contagious.”

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