It’s not even Thanksgiving, yet a local church group has already completed Christmas shopping for an international program. First United Methodist Church in Boothbay Harbor has participated in Operation Christmas Child since 2015. The program is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse and the Rev. Franklin Graham is the foundation's chairman.

In 1993, Graham founded Samaritan’s Purse after an Englishman asked if he’d be willing to fill shoe boxes full of gifts for children in war-torn Bosnia. Graham asked his friend, the late Pastor Ross Rhoads of Calvary Church of Charlotte, North Carolina, if he would assist in the project. Within weeks,  Rhoads’ congregation filled 11,000 shoe boxes. Every year since, Samaritan’s Purse has collected shoe box gifts filled with toys, games, school supplies and hygiene items for children around the world. Since 1993, more than 178 million children in more than 150 countries have received an Operation Christmas Child shoe box, according to Samaritan Purse’s website. “Every box is an opportunity to reach a child with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” wrote Graham on the website.

In 2015, First United Methodist Church  joined thousands of churches world-wide assembling Christmas gift packages for children ages 2-14 who would not normally receive a Christmas present. Tammy Judkins has participated in the church’s Operation Christmas Child all five years. This year, she assembled five containers with gifts. “This is an important week for the project. It’s when we assemble the shoe boxes and send them out to international distribution,” she said.

In past years, the volunteers would collect small gifts throughout the year. The group would hold a party to assemble the shoe box-sized containers for shipment around the world. But this year, COVID-19 prevented a party, and participants packed them in their homes. 

Member Maggie Tourtillotte has participated in the project for five years. This year, she sought expert opinions in assembling five gift boxes. Tourtillotte enlisted her three grandsons and adult daughter in finding the right gifts. For boys, Tourtillotte packed shoe boxes with a note pad with a special message with her grandsons’ name which indicated from whom and where the gifts originated. Other gifts included a toy which sticks to objects after being thrown, Hot Wheels car, coloring book, crayons and hygiene products. “We  had a great time putting these articles together, but the best part is the joy of giving to someone who may not receive anything.”

A couple weeks ago, Operation Christmas Child sent a video showing international youths opening presents from last year. Participant Betty Lou Townsend enjoyed watching the video and seeing how much her church’s efforts brightened the lives of impoverished children. “I loved watching the smiles on those kids’ faces opening their gifts,” Townsend said. She assembled two shoe boxes. One for a girl and one for a boy. “I sent coloring books and crayons and a stuffed animal for a 2-4 year old boy. I sent a doll and fancy glittering shoes for a 5-8 year old girl,” she said. 

Judkins reports this was a record year for the Boothbay Harbor church in assembling 35 boxes. “We are a small church, but we are mighty in our mission. We work good together and accomplish great things,” she said. She will take the assembled boxes to Damariscotta Baptist Church for distribution to a central location.

According to the Samaritan’s Purse website, each shoe box collected travels to one of eight processing centers for inspection and preparation for international shipment by over 90,000 volunteers. All of this is supported by the 27,000 volunteers in Graham’s prayer network. In 2019, more than 10.5 million Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts were collected throughout Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“It’s very rewarding. It makes you think about kids around the world, and what they want and what they may need. It gives you a good feeling, and a rewarding experience,” said Boothbay Harbor participant Doris Welch.