Operation Christmas Child volunteer Deborah Warner evangelizes as she spearheads the project at Florida Christian School.
Deborah Warner serves as chaplain—as well as school nurse and music teacher for third and fourth graders—at Florida Christian School (FCS) in Miami. In addition to serving as the Operation Christmas Child project leader at her school, she also volunteers year-round as a prayer mobilization coordinator.
As the 1,100 students of FCS packed 1,331 shoeboxes in 2017, many were recovering from the effects of Hurricane Irma. Some lost roofs, others had trees fall on their homes, and most were without power for a week or more. Still, they committed to send gifts to children in need around the world.
Not only that, but they also raised the necessary funds for the $9 donation per shoebox to cover collecting, processing, and shipping as well as other ministry costs. In addition, they donated the offerings from their elementary chapel services last year to supply materials for The Greatest Journey, the discipleship course for shoebox recipients.
Deborah with several of her students who helped pack shoebox gifts at Florida Christian School in Miami, Florida.
“My heart is the Gospel. Evangelism is what I’m interested in.”
All of this delights Deborah: “My heart is the Gospel. Evangelism is what I’m interested in.
“To me, kids are the foundation of the church. If you reach the kids, you can get the mommies and daddies and the community. That’s why shoeboxes are so important.”
Children Saved at Both Ends of the Box
In 2015, Deborah became a year-round volunteer on the prayer mobilization team, and last year became its coordinator. She thinks it’s the best role to serve in because she can have a hand in all the other aspects of the ministry. By praying for shoebox recipients as well as community relations, church relations, and logistics, she has a part in their work and offers to serve these teams where they need it.
Deborah transports shoebox gifts by golf cart before they go by plane, boat, donkey, or camel to children in need around the world.
About 60 percent of students at Florida Christian School come from unbelieving families. Their parents simply want them to have a private education. But the Lord has used Deborah and Operation Christmas Child—both the project and its promotional resources—to encourage, motivate, and even lead children at FCS to salvation.
As chaplain, Deborah often shows Operation Christmas Child videos and she cries through them every time. She tells her students, “It’s not just to put together a box, it’s about your heart, too. God wants your heart as much as he wants the heart of the child who receives it.”
After the videos, her students often say, “We really like that man at the end.” Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham explains the Gospel in a way that is easy for them to understand.
“As a result,” Deborah said, “kids have said, ‘I want to give Jesus my heart. I want Him to be my Lord and Savior.’”
“It’s working on both ends. Recipients of these boxes are getting saved, and at my school at least, kids are getting saved.”
Interested? Learn more about becoming a year-round volunteer.
