All she wanted in the whole world was hair clips. It was her highest priority. Livia Satterfield did not imagine she could ever have a family. Growing up in an orphanage in Romania took away any hope of that dream years ago. But, hair clips became her obsession.
One day volunteers from Samaritan’s Purse showed up with Shoebox gifts for all the children. Connie, one of the volunteers, handed a box to Livia of her very own. She could not contain her excitement when she opened the gift and sitting on the top of the box was hair clips in every color.
Livia later went on to accept the love and forgiveness of Jesus into her heart and two years later, Connie came back to her orphanage and adopted her into a forever family.
I heard this story last Saturday night at Operation Christmas Child’s 100 Million Shoebox Celebration. I was completely undone over hair clips. A box loving packed by an unknown family who prayed and put hair clips in a box and sent it across the world. God directed that box right into the hands of Livia. God had seen her and He knew the desires of her heart. He broke her heart wide open over hair clips.
100 million shoe boxes is an extraordinary number. But, one box sent in Jesus name is a powerful gift.
“With 100 million shoe boxes, we’ve had 100 million opportunities to share with an otherwise forgotten child about that gift of forgiveness [when Jesus died for our sins] that has changed our lives, and that is what we celebrate tonight,” Matthew West, Grammy Nominated Christian Artist.
“It’s something God has done and we want to give Him the glory,” Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse.
What has God done through a simple gift like a shoe box?
- 100 Million Shoe Boxes
- 100 Million Presentations of the Gospel
- 127+ Countries
- Thousands of Volunteers
- Churches All Over the World have participated
What could He do with yours?
Watch this:
*images taken by Mike Thacker
P.S. For more information on how you can be involved, go to Samaritan’s Purse. Evelyn did. She is 12 and has packed over 2,500 shoe boxes in four years. Yeah, I threw that in to remind you of how easy this mission project can be. Even a child can do it!
Great post! My hubby and I have been packing shoeboxes for years, it’s such a blessing! For the last 2 years I have gone to Charlotte for the processing center and helped to inspect, add a few items, tape and cartonize boxes. It’s amazing! So many people there to do the Lords work and it always seems to run so smoothly. If you ever have the opportunity to go, you should!