Welcome to Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child Launch 2012 

Welcome too to this year’s Operation Christmas Child Blog,

Yes 2012 - a year where Great Britain stood tall and proud on the world stage, a year where we were proud to be British, a year where we celebrated and partied, dressed our towns, villages, home and even ourselves in red, white and blue, a year which we won’t forget. We were all inspired in one way or another by others around us.


On September 24th this inspiration continued as this year’s campaign was launched by Carolyn Gercke at St Saviour’s Church in Guildford. The large and supportive audience gathered and met up with friends from previous years as well as bringing along new friends to join the growing number of volunteers willing to give their time to ensure shoeboxes are received, checked and sent to those children in areas of critical need.

It's a powerful gift, we call our shoe boxes “love in a box” as each box is destined for a child who is not only in need but may never in their life have received a gift before. This box is sent with no strings attached and is given freely to any race, religion or creed, it comes with the simple message that God loves them and they have not been forgotten.

 Carolyn told us of the number of boxes sent out by the GU postcode area, 16,326 last year and 1.1 million throughout the U.K.. This year we hope, with your help, to do more…….

Our second speaker was Christine Cottrell-Smith who is one of our GU area registered volunteers and in March went on a trip to Kyrgyzstan to help distribute some of the shoeboxes. She told us about people she met and schools, families and orphanages she visited. It is hard to believe the need of others and visualize how hard their lives are. However Christine gave us an insight into this and into how vital it is for us to carry on our work for them.


Our third speaker was Simon Corlett the Pastor of Harvest Church Alton. Simon travelled to Swaziland  and witnessed the work of Samaritan’s Purse there. He explained how his church had done shoeboxes for years but he didn’t have a full understanding of the effect of this on the recipients of the boxes.  Having now experienced an area of critical need he now totally understands the need of those living there. He has become passionate about the work of Samaritan’s Purse and sending out shoeboxes. Whilst Simon spoke with humour it was clear he was shocked by the conditions children not only live in but of their lonely lives without parental love and care and where children as young as eight are bring up their siblings.

Our last speaker was Simon Barrington, Chief Executive of Samaritan’s Purse UK. Simon has a wealth of knowledge and experience of many countries and has made many trips to various countries. He told of some of his experiences which left us with a tear in our eye and a lump in our throat, he also told us of the worldwide figures of the boxes sent abroad, the 100 millionth box will be sent this year.

Apart from the speakers we enjoyed seeing what people had been up to all year. There were numerous craft tables, of knitting, dolls’ clothes, wooden toys of all descriptions, pencil cases, games and stationery. You will be seeing plenty of examples of these when the warehouse is in full swing from the 12th November. The address is yet to be confirmed.

So the 2012 inspiration lives on in the GU postcode area and will do so until every box is lovingly checked, sealed, packed and sent on its way to those children who live in places we find it hard to even imagine, children who for the first time in their life will get a gift and know that someone somewhere in the world cares for them enough to put some love in a box, just for them.

See you at the warehouse……………