Follow our shoe boxes on a flightpath to Belarus

TRISH CONDER helped pack the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes in Chelmsford and followed the gifts to their destination in Belarus.

JUST before Christmas I was privileged to join a group of 14 others as we flew off to Belarus.

We were representatives of the charity Samaritan's Purse, and were taking part in distributing Shoe Boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Within an hour of landing in Minsk we were at our first appointment, a church that had suffered an arson attack last February. It had been completely destroyed but was in the process of rebuilding. Wooden walls and roof were up, but lack of funds makes for slow progress.

We were taken into their present accommodation, a large army tent. No heating, sub-zero temperatures, and snow all around. Old Samaritan's Purse cardboard cartons were being used for
storage purposes.

In the face of all these difficulties the congregation has grown from 50 to over 100, plus 50 in the Sunday school, in the last six months. What an inspiring way to start our visit!

Next stop an orphanage for children aged 0 to 3 years. A small boy hugging me round my legs greeted me, and that was before we gave out any shoe boxes!

The children were delighted with the gifts; toothbrushes were out-and-out winners! All the children were dressed up for the occasion, and the obvious love that their carers showed for them shone
through. We played with them for about half an hour before leaving for our hotel and a meal. End of a long but satisfying day. The remainder of our six-day visit rushed past. We gave out at least 800
shoe boxes, leaving many more to be distributed by the Samaritan's Purse partners. We visited several orphanages (alcoholism and other problems produce thousands of social and real orphans), social shelters, churches, a centre for handicapped children, schools and private homes. We came home (tired!) with a welter of emotions. Knowing that we had been privileged to share in the
moment when a child opened a box containing probably the only presents they would ever get. God's Love was truly in those boxes.

If anyone would like to see our photos, I would be very willing to talk to groups about my experiences. Please start collecting for the 2008 campaign!

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