Every year, as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, Heidi and Sam Bracken’s basement fills with hundreds of toys, socks, dolls, stuffed animals, sports equipment, school supplies, toiletries and much more. Their home’s lower level looks like a makeshift warehouse as an assembly line is created, and individual shoeboxes are assembled for Operation Christmas Child’s annual drive.
“It kind of consumes our basement,” she laughs. “It’s like a big factory. I can barely move around down there.”
Since 2002, the Brackens have been devoted donors to the Samaritan’s Purse outreach project to benefit kids in need around the world. That first year they filled three shoeboxes, and the numbers have grown ever since.
“It’s just a passion of mine,” Heidi said. “It’s a way to spread the love of Jesus.”
In 2018, when Heidi retired, the couple from St. Bonifacius kicked their efforts into overdrive and packed 143 shoeboxes, loaded them into their van and dropped them off at a central collection hub to be shipped to the Operation Christmas Child (OCC) processing center in Illinois.
Then last year, the Brackens donated a personal record of 451 boxes to the cause. This year, Heidi reports, they miss-counted on their quest to donate 400 filled shoeboxes — they ended up dropping off 397 boxes in Chaska.
“Over the past 20 years, I’ve packed more than 2,200 shoeboxes,” she reported. “It’s my project, my mission … and I love doing it.”
The Brackens spend the entire year buying small items that will eventually fill the shoeboxes. Sam usually waits in the car while Heidi power shops. Heidi also has joined several OCC Facebook groups, where members share information about upcoming sales for gifts that will work for shoebox contents.
“I love to look for deals all year long,” she said. “No matter what store I go into, my radar is constantly up for things that will fit in the boxes.”
Included with the gifts piled into each shoebox is a colorful booklet titled “The Greatest Gift,” translated into the child’s native language, telling the story of Jesus and about the gift of salvation. The children in the villages are eventually invited to participate in a 12-lesson discipleship class to learn more.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to share the Gospel with children all over the world,” Heidi said.
Heidi said she thinks often about the children who receive one of her boxes each year. She knows that many of her donated boxes have ended up in the hands of kids in Central America, South America, Africa and elsewhere.
“I pray for them all the time,” she said.
She even drops a personal note inside each box introducing herself to the recipient. Heidi includes her email address in case the child or a family has access to email.
“What’s exciting is I’ll get responses,” Heidi noted. “I’ve received sweet messages from caregivers of these kids and sometimes I receive pictures of the kids with their box. That touches your heart.”
Southwest Metro Coordinators
For the past four years, Joyce and Bob Oatley of Victoria have served as area coordinators in the southwest Twin Cities area for OCC. Their team of local volunteers and donors contribute approximately 14,000 shoeboxes to the approximately 12 million boxes gathered worldwide annually.
“We praise God for this ministry to bring good news and great joy to children throughout the world,” Joyce Oatley said.
The Oatleys work with local churches, Scout troops, AWANA Clubs, Athletes in Action groups, schools and others to promote Operation Christmas Child and to coordinate the collection of shoeboxes. On Nov. 24, they worked with Kevin and Kim Heenie, owners of the Winchester & Rye restaurant in Victoria, to hold a Friendsgiving night where employees packed dozens of shoeboxes for the area OCC drive.
The Oatleys even work with their own neighbors to gather items and together fill 100 shoeboxes each year.
“It’s an amazing ministry,” Joyce said. “It brings me great joy.”
National Collection Week for OCC was Nov. 17-24, where shoeboxes were dropped off at 4,700 central locations in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
According to its website, since 1970 the Samaritan’s Purse organization has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Operation Christmas Child was launched in 1993 to ship shoebox gifts to children in war-torn Bosnia. Over the past 30 years, more than 232 million children in 170 countries have received a shoebox through the ever-expanding program. Each year, local churches in these countries hand out Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts at festive, child-friendly outreach events.
Even though collection week has passed, Joyce noted, people wanting to participate in OCC this holiday season can still build a shoebox online.
