Moose Jaw packs over 1,800 boxes for Operation Christmas Child (OCC)

Proverbs 11:24

One Christmas we received a

Christmas gift from my brother and wife in a mail envelope.

It looked like a Christmas card but was much more. On our behalf, they made a donation to World Vision for chickens to be gifted in a third world country; a gift that would continue to give…

We live in such an affluent society that, for most of us, we have more than enough in all aspects of material wealth. Do we really need more stuff?

We were really blessed that they had a heart for the less fortunate and used their financial wealth to bless someone else in our name at Christmas time. That is the true meaning of Christmas! Giving to those who are unable to give back – no strings attached. This brought great joy to my heart!

I’m not sure we would have the same response to waking up on Christmas Day to chickens pecking around the house, but for many around the world, this gift means food - eggs on their plate for many months to come. A chicken can lay up to 250 eggs per year.

In the World Vision catalogue, there are many gifts to choose from, like goats, pigs or chickens, access to clean water, and education supplies. An alpaca can produce up to 5 kilos of wool annually over a 15-20 year span; a cow can produce up to 20 glasses of milk daily, as well can provide income to a household and could also breed a herd of calves over a lifetime; and a beekeeper who would be equipped with a kit and hives could produce up to 50 kilos of honey in a year to sell or trade. Beautiful hand-crafted gifts are also available and will help support artisans around the world and are unique gifts to put under the tree. These gifts will continue to make a difference in the lives of children well after the Christmas season is done.

If this is something you would like to consider, visit worldvision.ca/gifts for more information.

On a local vein, we don’t have to look far to see need in our own community. There are many less fortunate that would greatly appreciate generosity at Christmas and there is no better charitable organization to donate to than the Salvation Army. Presently, the Moose Jaw Express is accepting financial donations to the Salvation Army in the Stocking Fund. All you have to do is drop by the office and make your cheque out to the Salvation Army in the amount you would like to donate. You will receive a tax receipt and your name will also be mentioned in the Express as a contributor to the Salvation Army Stocking Fund this Christmas. As well, the Salvation Army Kettle Campaign is now underway so give generously as your heart leads you; every little bit helps! It has been a record year for Operation Christmas Child (OCC) in Moose Jaw. The community came together to pack and donate 1,850 shoeboxes filled with gifts to send to children in different parts of the world, through the Samaritans Purse’s Operation Christmas Child program.

Operation Christmas Child is a hands-on project that brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoeboxes packed by Canadians. Samaritan’s Purse says this is one way to remind children suffering as a result of war, poverty, famine, disease, and disaster that they are loved and not forgotten. Each year, millions of shoeboxes are packed with gifts by people in Canada and nine other “sending” countries and given to children in more than 100 “receiving” countries. Operation Christmas Child volunteers in Moose Jaw were able to pack up the boxes and send them onto the collection warehouse in Calgary. From there they are distributed to various countries to reach the children, bringing joy and happiness to their hearts. OCC volunteer Mary Ellen Willis says volunteers work all year long to promote this program and collect shoeboxes. “We had an awesome week with all kinds of groups and individuals of all ages bringing in shoeboxes of joy to the collection center at the Alliance Church in Moose Jaw. Gail Fenwick collected, cleaned, sanitized and repaired over 800 stuffed toys to be sent as fillers. These will be sent to Operation Christmas Child processing center in Calgary to help fill a less than full shoebox. In fact, all our shoeboxes now go to Calgary to the processing center to be checked and processed to go into shipping containers before they head off to one of the 100 countries and into a child’s open arms,” said an excited Willis.

She said many volunteers turned out to help this year, having record numbers of boxes packed. “There was a packing party held at the Victory Church on November 2 and a large number of the packers from church as well as the community packed 737 shoeboxes in three hours. This is a record breaker for them. Who knows how many children will be blessed in future packing parties?” Willis added. “There are always a few late coming in and then there are the shoeboxes that are packed online, so our grand total will go even higher!”

She says a team of volunteers will be heading to Calgary to assist in sorting boxes. “There is a team going from Moose Jaw and area to the Calgary processing center to help sort the boxes on November 28 to 30. If anyone wishes to come for an awesome adventure, please contact Mary Ellen at 306-6934861. There are a few spots open.” ________________________________________

Our Mayor, in an interview with a local media on June 18-2018, said, among other things, that he wanted to address things like better engagement from residents because he said residents have been pushing back against items that City Hall has been trying to implement in recent years like the LIP program, the curb-side recycling, and High St W.

This part of his interview is where I believe our Mayor got out of order, so-to-speak. He should apologize to the 8000 taxpayers who rejected by vote the LIP program, and apologize to all those citizens with back lanes who didn’t want to move their garbage bin into our beautiful streets (and to those affected by High Street West road drama).

I will not get into all the good reasons why the great majority of the taxpayers of this city rejected those ideas presented; many already know them. For those who may not know about all the good reasons why the citizens have rejected those ideas could learn about them by looking at the city council video archive of those times and find out why the ideas were rejected.

The citizen, co-owner of a corporation who stood up for what they wanted should be given an award for their wisdom instead of being judged negatively by our own Mayor.

I do appreciate the Mayor for his desire to revitalize our City in many ways, but branding our city has bad people pushing back against what they don’t like. It may not be one of the 13 best way to care for the health of our community.

Best Regards. Michel Labonte