Faith Spinks works in the OCC International department in our U.K. office. She blogs about a recent trip to Swaziland and Mozambique.

We got up early while it was still very cool (it is winter in Africa at the moment!) and drove out of the city to visit a school where the children had received shoe boxes last year. As we left behind the main roads and drove along the dusty tracks it was exciting to think of the boxes that had taken this journey before me.

It was a long way out to this school and we were finding some of the roads difficult even in the dusty dry season. How much more challenging to be in a big truck driving through the rainy season mud! I was shown the spot where the shoe box lorry had got stuck in the rainy season mud. Then the bridge that had been impassable, forcing him to do a tight turn and retrace his route to find a new way through.

As we drove, there were many children walking to school. Often these children can walk as far as 3 miles to get to school each day for an 8 a.m. start, some without shoes or breakfast before they leave because their homes have no money for these things.

As the children spotted our truck they stopped by the roadside, and then they recognized and remembered, and their faces broke into smiles of joy and they gave us animated waves. With their reactions to us I began to feel a bit like royalty. As we got closer to the school we were visiting we made several stops gathering children in the back of the truck. They got a break from their walk to school this morning.

At the school the morning bell rang and the children all gathered, standing in lines in the playground for their assembly. The school prefects led the singing and it was a beautiful sound as they all joined in praising God for this new day.

As we talked to the children they remembered their precious boxes, which were still kept safe and loved at home a year on. They told me of their excitement as they had opened the boxes and discovered all the treasure that was inside them, listing to me the contents with their faces shining in gratitude.

I could tell that the children were grateful that the lorry driver found a way through the mud to them, and that they were especially grateful to those who loved them without ever meeting them and sent them such wonderful gifts.

When I asked the children if they had a message for those who had sent the boxes they said simply:

“We want to thank you. We ask the Lord to bless you and we love you very much.”

Then they sang a song in Siswati for all those who had sent shoe boxes which said:

“What shall I say unto the Lord.
All I want to say is thank you.
Thank you Lord, thank you Lord.
All I want to say is thank you Lord.”

Dr. Erin Meier began serving at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea in the Samaritan's Purse Post-Residency Program. She now serves there full-time, and blogs about her experiences of showing the love of God to her patients.

With her cute little waddle walk, Brenda, a 12-year-old girl who only came up to my waist, made her way into my exam room with her mom.

Before I got into the room, she had already showed off her huge smile and hugged the nursing and medical students who were waiting patiently for me to return. As I entered, she looked up at me, smiled, and walked with her arms outstretched toward me for a hug.

She stole my heart right there.

She doesn't talk, but understands what is being said. Although she may seem handicapped or disadvantaged in some way because she doesn't talk, she actually sees the world in such a beautiful simple way that is quite refreshing.

She has no reservations about skin color, age, or position in society. None of that matters to her, she just gives hugs and smiles to everyone.

I was telling Bill about her, and he wanted to meet her. So we went outside to find her and she turned, smiled, and put her arms out and walked right to Bill to give him a hug.

The joy and love that she demonstrated reminded me of God’s love for each of us. He loves us no matter who we are, what color our skin is, how much money we make, how we dress, or what we have done in our lives.

He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to a cross to die for our sins. May we all love others as Brenda and our Lord loves us.

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV).

Samaritan’s Purse volunteer teams are continuing to work on the renovation and construction of camp facilities in Port Alsworth, Alaska, that will be used as a retreat for ministering to wounded veterans and their families. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

We have volunteers scheduled through the end of the project, but we need help at another site in Alaska. Samaritan’s Purse is looking for skilled construction workers to assist in rebuilding homes in Crooked Creek that were destroyed by ice jam flooding from the Kuskokwim River.

Click here for information about Crooked Creek, and our other volunteer opportunities.

On July 30, residents of Henry County in McDonough, Georgia, will come together for the “Cruisin’ for Christmas in July.” Families will participate in a 5K Reindeer Run, 1-mile Santa Shuffle, or Elf Trot for children under 7. All of the money raised will go towards buying toys and other supplies for Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts.

Lighthouse Community Baptist Church is putting on the event. The church has supported Operation Christmas Child for years by providing about 1,000 gift-filled shoe boxes every season. They wanted to pack even more this year.

“Getting gifts is not a known way of life for many of the children,” Sandy Bryan, OCC coordinator for Lighthouse Church, told the Henry Daily Herald. “But the main reason for it is that the Gospel is taken with the boxes. The Gospel is introduced to the children and the families through those presents.

“Another reason is to share the joy of Christmas, and the reason of Christmas, for children who may have never heard the story of Christ and His love for them.”

Event organizer Cindy Kirkland said the event was inspired by the memory of her step-daughter, Crystal Kirkland Clark.

The 26-year-old died two days before Christmas last year, when her vehicle collided with another along Georgia Highway 155 in McDonough. Kirkland noted that this month, on July 23, her step-daughter would have turned 27.

“It’s just a way to keep Crystal’s memory going,” Kirkland said. “She really, really loved Christmas, and loved kids.”