'Operation Christmas Child' Reflective Story

Lucy Moore

You will need a gift-wrapped shoebox, two copper coins and two pound coins, a bread roll and a bag of sweets, a small bottle of oil, one of wine and a bandage and a bar of soap, plus other suitable presents for the shoebox as described on the Samaritan’s Purse website.

Hold out the shoebox.

I wonder what’s in the box? It looks like a present, doesn’t it? I wonder if it’s a present for me… Or for you…? Or for someone else we can’t even see? Perhaps someone far away? Or perhaps it’s a present for God? I wonder if a present can be for me and you and them and him, all at the same time?

Let’s see what’s inside.

(Take out two copper coins and hold them out.)

Look! Here are two tiny copper coins! That’s not very much money at all!

There was a lady who had two tiny coins. They weren’t very much money. They couldn’t make much difference in the world. But they were all she had. And she wanted to give a present to God. So she took the two little coins in her hand and dropped them into the collecting box at the Temple. And Jesus saw her and do you know, her present made him really happy. He knew how big her present was, because it was all she had.

(Place the coins in front of the group.)

I wonder what else is inside?

(Take out a bread roll.)

Look! A bread roll. It’s not very big! It wouldn’t stop us feeling hungry if we all had some!

There was a boy who had five rolls and two fish. It wasn’t a very big packed lunch. It couldn’t feed many people. But it was all he had. And he wanted to give a present to Jesus. So he took his packed lunch and he gave it to one of Jesus’ friends. And do you know what Jesus did? He thanked God for the present, and he made that packed lunch big enough to feed thousands and thousands of hungry people.

(Place the bread roll in front of the group.)

I wonder what else is inside?

(Take out a bandage, some wine and oil in small bottles.)

Here are some things from a first-aid kit from thousands of years ago. They wouldn’t help many people.

Jesus told a story about a man who was travelling down a dangerous road. He found someone lying in the road. This person was from a different country, an enemy country. But he was lying in the road because he was hurt. He had been attacked by robbers. So the traveller cleaned up the injured man’s hurts with the oil and the wine and bandaged him up and took him to somewhere safe and looked after him. It was all he could do for him.

(Touch the coins, the roll and the first aid kit.)

Three very small presents.

I wonder what else is inside?
(Bring out two pound coins and place them next to the copper coins.)

Here are two pound coins. It’s not very much money. If we shared it out between us, we wouldn’t have very much each.

(Take out a bag of sweets and place them next to the bread roll.)

Look! Here is a bag of sweets. It’s not very big. There aren’t even enough for all of us to have one.

(Take out a bar of soap and place it next to the first-aid kit.)

Look! Here’s a bar of soap. It’s not very big. It wouldn’t make many people clean and help keep them healthy.

(Bring out other presents suitable for shoeboxes, naming each one.)

Look! Here is a ball, some felt tips, some pencils, a cuddly toy…

(Place the presents near the three original ones.)

These are all presents to go in a shoebox like this.
We can decorate a shoebox and pack the presents inside.

(Pack the ball, the felt tips, the pencils, the cuddly toy away in the shoebox, holding it at an angle so everyone can see what’s on the inside.)

Then the shoeboxes will be sent to a child who won’t get many presents this Christmas.
Perhaps this child’s family has lost everything like the man who was attacked by robbers. Maybe there was a war, or an illness, or an earthquake or a flood and there is no money for buying presents.
So many children won’t get presents this Christmas! Thousands and thousands of children! The problem is big… So big!
And this is such a small box! Can it really make a difference?

But when we fill a box like this with presents like this, we are doing what we can for those children from other countries.

(Place the soap in the shoebox and touch the first aid kit just in front of it.)

When we all give what we can, that won’t just be one shoebox; it will be thousands and thousands of shoeboxes going to children at Christmas time.

(Place the sweets in the shoebox and touch the bread roll just in front of it.)

When we give what we can, Jesus sees our present and he knows just how big that present is.

(Place the two pound coins in the shoebox and touch the two copper coins in front of it.)

I wonder why we give presents to children we don’t know?

I wonder what the children think about us when they open their shoeboxes?

I wonder what the children think about God when they open their shoeboxes?

I wonder if these shoeboxes we’re making today can really make a difference?

I wonder how Jesus feels when we give presents to these children?

I wonder who is really giving this present?

I wonder who is really getting the best present?