An Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift transformed her life as a child, and now, she leads her church to change the lives of countless other children through the same ministry.
Claudia Molina has helped pack hundreds of shoebox gifts in her time as a project leader for Operation Christmas Child, and with each box, her prayer remains the same: that God would use each gift to touch a child’s heart, just as He did hers.
As a little girl in the central neighborhood of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, a young Claudia attended an event at her local church unaware that she would leave with a pile of toys and a new heart. Below the vaulted church ceiling, the pastor uttered five words that resounded in her soul then and still echo in her life today: “God is your Heavenly Father.”
Claudia, her husband of four years, Saul, and their 8-month-old son, Christian, have found a loving home at RLA church in Los Angeles.
An incredible peace overwhelmed the 8-year-old, knowing that she had a father who would not forsake her. Claudia never met her biological father and, as an only child, often wondered why he left her family; why he left her. Claudia’s mother and grandmother worked tirelessly in his stead to provide her a normal childhood and shield her from the violence that plagued her Mexican community, yet a deep longing for a father remained.
“Listening to him say that we all had our Heavenly Father who was watching over us, and that He knew our needs, completely filled my heart with love and hope,” she recalled. When the pastor invited her to pray, Claudia embraced Jesus Christ as Lord for the first time—now adopted as a daughter of God.
Good News and Great Joy
But the joy didn’t end there. Moments later, an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift landed on her lap. Claudia eagerly tore open the box, her heart racing as she unveiled its treasures.
She took hold of a plush teddy bear squished against the lid only to find a pack of crayons and paper underneath. This was her favorite gift, she said, as drawing was often the way she escaped the tumultuous life around her. But perhaps the greatest gift concealed in the red and green box was a small card. On it was glued a photo of a girl named Madison, the one who packed her box. She flipped over the card to see a message. Although in English, Claudia could understand the words “God loves you.”
While the toys have been lost over the years, Claudia still has the note from Madison and a photo her mom took of Claudia and her cousins with their shoebox gifts.
“I saw the word ‘God’ and I knew it meant ‘Dios’,” Claudia said. “If this girl is saying that God loves me, Dios me ama, then, yes, it’s real. God sent me this shoebox as a way of letting me know and feel that He was there for me. I felt loved. I felt welcomed. I felt seen.”
The years following reflected God’s saving work in Claudia’s heart, or, as she would put it: God “painted her life with hope.” Claudia’s family became regular attendees at the local church, she was baptized, and she joined the worship band playing the piano.
“I felt loved. I felt welcomed. I felt seen.”
Claudia took it upon herself to aid her family anyway she could, so she poured everything into her schoolwork to relieve the burden her mother and grandmother carried. As a young teenager, Claudia’s mother married, and together they moved to Texas, where she started ninth grade. Inundated by a foreign culture, language, and environment, while also yearning to return back to her hometown in Mexico, Claudia still excelled and earned a scholarship to the University of Texas Arlington where she pursued a degree in Spanish. She continued her studies further west in Los Angeles, where she earned a master’s degree from UCLA, and will soon complete her Ph.D. in Hispanic and Latin American languages.
Claudia is a teaching assistant for several Spanish courses at UCLA as she pursues her Ph. D. Her studies focus primarily on the role of women in modern Mexican literature.
Identity Found in the Lord
In spite of her brilliance and success in academia, it was Claudia’s encounter with Jesus in that church years ago that solidified her identity as a child of God and equipped her to be the mother, wife, and professor that she is today. Likewise, her encounter with a shoebox that same day prepared Claudia to lead her home church, Restauración Los Angeles (RLA), to pack hundreds of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts for years to come. As a project leader in her community, Claudia tells her story for all to hear, hoping to share the eternal mission of Operation Christmas Child with everyone she sees.
Claudia leads her team of dedicated volunteers with passion, always remembering the impact a shoebox gift had on her as a child.
“When a child receives a box, they receive hope,” said Pastor René, the senior pastor of RLA church. “It tells you that you won’t always sleep on this bed, you won’t always wear these clothes, you won’t always eat this limited food. And that’s what was told to Claudia, and what it caused in Claudia, and shaped who Claudia is now as a daughter of God, as a wife, as a mother, and as the person who was impacted by this work.”
Claudia has served as the project leader for RLA the past three years, with participation growing each Christmas season. Along with her team of dedicated volunteers—Gustavo, Angel, Carla, Alby, and her husband, Saul—who are all of Latin American descent, Claudia encourages members to bring children the Good News and great joy this Christmas season.
“You have to pack with your heart,” Claudia expressed. “I was on the other end. I received one. Yes, kids are receiving these boxes, and they’re being impacted by them, so I want this for another kid because I know that it’s real.”
“You have to pack with your heart.”
Saul, Claudia, Alby, Carla, Angel, and Gustavo (left to right) exude joy as they encourage their fellow church members to pack shoebox gifts this Christmas season.
A Journey of Hope
Tucked into a small corner in her apartment, Claudia’s desk is surrounded by family photos that fill the gaps between the dozens of books she’s studying for her upcoming dissertation. A wedding photo hangs on the wall next to her dining table, baby bottles dry on a cloth in the kitchen, and more pictures stick to the fridge with magnets.
What looks like a normal apartment to many is a miracle for Claudia. From a lost little girl struggling to make sense of the brokenness within her, to a gentle mother, loving wife, brilliant professor, and bold Operation Christmas Child project leader, Claudia’s life is marked by God’s love that first arrived in the form of a small shoebox gift decades ago.
From a lonely, lost girl to a loved mother and wife, Claudia’s life is an example of the goodness of God.
The journey of a gift-filled shoebox does not end when it arrives to a child across the world. In fact, that’s when it only begins. As thousands of churches across the country are packing Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, including Claudia and her church, pray that each would find the lap of a child in desperate need of God’s love and comfort.
Remember: make it fun, full, and personalized as you pack your shoebox gift this season!
