After an unexpected illness changed her life, Marika Chasse decided to start an Operation Christmas Child packing party in her neighborhood.
Marika and Michael Chasse had unloaded a 26-foot box truck full of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts and were headed home when Marika insisted that they make a stop.
“Honey, we gotta pull over. We’ve got an empty truck—we can go buy more shoebox items,” she told her husband.
This was on a Monday morning, the first day of National Collection Week, and the couple had already devoted their weekend to hosting a packing party out of their home for hundreds of neighbors, friends, and community members. But after delivering the gift-filled shoeboxes to a drop-off location near their home in Johns Creek, Georgia, they weren’t thinking about going home to finally get some rest—their focus had already shifted to shopping and preparing for the next year.
Michael and Marika host a neighborhood Operation Christmas Child packing party in their home every year.
“Each year we’re so exhausted and we don’t think we can do it again,” Marika said. “But God gives us that energy back, and we can’t wait for next year.”
Marika is passionate about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Operation Christmas Child. She is known by family and friends as a go-getter who works hard and pours her absolute best into everything that she does. She shops and plans year-round for the neighborhood packing party.
But there was a time when Marika wasn’t sure she would ever pack another shoebox gift. A time when an unexpected medical diagnosis threatened to steal the things she held dear.
Enduring a Season of Loss
“My whole life flipped upside down. I went from being able to do everything to being able to do nothing,” Marika said. “I was heartbroken at the loss of my old life.”
About 15 years ago, the initial symptoms of her neurological movement disorder began subtly. Marika ignored the headaches and slight tremors, assuming it was just stress-related and would go away. Yet, before long, the pain was debilitating.
Marika tapes arrows on the floor to help participants know the path to take through her home when packing their shoeboxes.
“It got to the point where I would lay down and try to sleep and my head would move constantly. I would cry myself to sleep because I was in so much pain,” she said.
The disorder had suddenly taken over Marika’s body. She couldn’t see normally and often lost her balance. “I was pretty much in bed. If I took a shower, I would be crumpled in so much pain that I would take a four-hour nap to recover,” she said.
Her downward spiral was heartbreaking for her family. She could no longer babysit her infant granddaughter, because she didn’t have the strength to even pick her up.
Michael struggled to watch his wife of 47 years in so much agony. “She could barely get around the house,” he said. “I’d go to work and come back, and she was in the same place that I left her. That was hard to see.”
Packers prayerfully make their shoeboxes fun, full, and personalized with the array of items Marika’s gathered.
During the darkest days of her initial diagnosis, Marika mourned and grieved all that she had lost. Yet, her faith in Jesus Christ never wavered. “I would sing the hymn ‘It Is Well With My Soul’ over and over until I could feel it in every part of my body.”
Bringing Neighbors Together
Although Michael knew his wife’s health might never be completely restored, Michael believed that God had a plan to continue using Marika for His glory. So, a few years after her health decline began, he encouraged her to resume participating in Operation Christmas Child, because he knew how much packing shoebox gifts had once meant to her in the years before her illness struck.
Marika decided to host a small packing party in her home and invited friends and neighbors. They packed 130 shoeboxes, and because everyone enjoyed it so much, Marika and Michael agreed to do it again the next year.
Now, 11 years later, the packing party has swelled to hundreds of people who come to the Chasse home the Saturday and Sunday before National Collection Week. In total, they have packed 14,853 shoeboxes, with this year’s number the highest in 11 years: 3,139.
“The packing party has grown because people are inviting other people. It’s all been word of mouth,” Marika said. “I don’t even know probably half the people who will come. We have an open door—the more the merrier.”
In the weeks leading up to the packing party, Marika and Michael’s home transforms into a warehouse chock-full of clothes, school supplies, hygiene items, toys, dolls, and stuffed animals. They set up packing stations organized by gender and age throughout the house.
“I’m thankful for every person who is part of our village and who helps make this ministry happen.”
“I’m thankful for every person who is part of our village and who helps make this ministry happen,” Marika said. Her health condition has slowly improved over time, but she still struggles daily with pain. Nonetheless, she is energized each year by the Operation Christmas Child season.
Scotta Couch, a friend who helped with the first neighborhood packing party, donated a storage unit a few years ago when Marika realized that she was running out of closets and nooks and crannies to store all the shoebox items.
Scotta (left) donated a storage unit to Marika when she ran out of nooks and crannies in her home to keep the shoebox items until packing time.
“Marika’s heart for this ministry is what pushed my heart to get more involved,” Scotta said. “She loves with abandon; she just pours out love on people.”
Missy Grace lives a few houses down the street and has helped with the packing party since the beginning. She brings her daughter with her to pack shoeboxes in Jesus’ Name. She said that nothing brings the neighbors together like Operation Christmas Child.
Missy (left) says nothing brings neighbors together like Operation Christmas Child.
“Everyone in the neighborhood, no matter what they have going on, will clear their schedule and be there for the packing party. I’m so grateful that Michael and Marika have provided their home for all of us to pack boxes. Every box is filled with so much love.”
Susan Tanguary has also been involved in the neighborhood effort for many years. Her favorite thing is shopping year-round for the best deals on shoebox items—and then seeing the smile on Marika’s face when she drops off all the goodies.
“Marika is in her element packing boxes,” Susan said. “It puts a light on her face and the love of Jesus in her eyes.”
Susan helps another shoebox packer fill a box with some of the items she’s shopped for year-round.
Supporting Family
God is also using the neighborhood packing party to transform the lives of Marika’s own family. Her granddaughter, Kaylie, was just a toddler when she started helping pack. Now, 14-year-old Kaylie and her younger sisters, Savannah and Claire, are seasoned volunteers who help show the newbie packers how to fill their boxes with fun and personalized items.
Kristina (left), Kaylie, Marika, Savannah, and Claire are a family shoebox-packing team.
“We all help organize and get everything set up for the packing party,” Kaylie said. “We love to give people tours and show them what to do.”
One of Savannah’s favorite parts of packing is writing a note to place inside the boxes. In addition, every box packed at Marika’s party includes a letter that helps explain the Gospel and introduce a child to Jesus.
A child fills out a “Let’s Be Friends!” worksheet supplied by Samaritan’s Purse to provide a personal element in the shoebox packed.
The girls’ mother, Kristina Gaines, said that serving alongside her daughters has been a unique and special experience. “It’s so rewarding to watch their hearts grow for other kids,” she said.
Kristina and her daughters also do year-round packing party prep, such as removing dolls and toys from the packaging so that they are easier to fit into a shoebox. They also go shopping with Marika and Michael, store items at their own home, and help transport items from the storage unit.
“It’s definitely brought us closer as a family,” Kristina said. “It binds us all together; we’re a team.”
A shoebox packer pauses to write a personal note to include with their gift, which often becomes the child’s favorite item.
Creating Gospel Opportunities at Home and Abroad
The neighborhood packing party has become such a hit that it draws people who may have never heard about Operation Christmas Child.
“We have a lot of people come to our packing party who don’t go to church. They come because they’re excited to do something for a child,” Michael said. “But then we have the chance to tell them about the ministry and to share the Gospel.”
Michael and Marika are thrilled that the event is reaching people from different religious backgrounds who need to know about Jesus Christ. “We can change hearts here in the U.S. and in our neighborhood,” Michael said.
Just as they pray for the Gospel to transform the lives of those who come to the packing party, they’re also praying for every child who receives a shoebox gift.
“The thing I love most about Operation Christmas Child is the missional intent. You get to have fun, and you get to be a missionary right from your own home,” Marika said. “ My prayer for the children who receive shoeboxes is that they know God’s love and live for Jesus.”
A $10 donation per shoebox helps cover collection, shipping, ministry partner training, and Gospel materials.
Marika is grateful to the Lord for using Operation Christmas Child in the lives of boys and girls around the world—and in her own life.
“Our neighborhood packing party has helped to heal me. It’s gotten me to push my limits, and I discovered that when you push yourself, you can do more,” she said.
“I found purpose, and in that purpose, I found joy. And, I found joy sharing my joy with others.”
