Christmas Box for a Mexican Child

Slide show from Christmas Box Distribution 2009

Many of you have written in the past month asking about the Christmas Box Ministry this year. For those of you who are interested in sending a box this year, this post is for you! :)
For two Christmases now, we have been able to bless a number of children in our town with a special gift from many of you. What a joy it has been to not only give these children a shoe box or bag filled with wonderful treats, but to see many of these children faithfully come to church each week to learn more about the One who gave us the greatest gift of all! A poor family of 5 children began faithfully attending our services after receiving their Christmas boxes last year. One of the little girls came up to Daniel a couple months ago and said, "Hno. Daniel, I still have the stuffed animal that you gave me last Christmas." :)
This Christmas, we would again like to reach out to the families of our town by giving their children a shoebox full of special treats. Our hope is that these gifts will not only bring happiness to each one that receives them, but that they will give us an opportunity to share with them where true joy come from...knowing the Savior Jesus Christ!
Each time we have done this, it has been a tremendous blessing to the people as we've been able to give out over 200 boxes/bags each year.
I remember, as a child, putting together a shoebox to send to children for Christmas in another country as it was a ministry through our local church. What fun we all had saving our money and then going to the store to pick out the perfect treats. We always prayed for the child who would be receiving our box, and only eternity will tell how those small gifts may have been used to soften a child’s heart towards Christ.
So this year again, we would like to do this for the children of our town. We will pass out whatever boxes we receive and the more the better! And we would love to have your help! It is truly more blessed to give than receive! If this is something in which you would like to have a part, here are some guidelines:


*Boxes should be shoebox size (you could either send a real shoebox or send a plastic container with a lid that is approximately the same size; the advantage of the plastic container is that the child/family can use it for something later)
*For Shipping Purposes, some people prefer to send a bag. Last year we handed out backpacks, paper gift bags (which were protected by being wrapped in plastic wrap so they wouldn't break open in shipping), and cloth hand bags as well. When we were up north, our girls were given some cloth hand bags for their birthdays that were purchased at the dollar store.
*Last year we had some people send a large quantity of an item to be handed out with or in addition to the boxes (we received Spanish New Testaments, Spanish Christmas Coloring Books, Stuffed Animals, Blankets/quilts, hats). If you are interested in sending something like that, just email us and let us know! :)
*Boxes should be sent to Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood at the field address on the bottom right side bar of this blog; please write “Christmas Shoebox” on the box somewhere as well
*We would like to have all the boxes ready to give out by the beginning of December. Since it takes at least 2 weeks for mail to arrive here, we ask that all boxes be mailed no later than November 23rd.
*To make it easier in the distribution, we ask that the boxes contain items that can be used by either a boy or a girl (for example, no pink hair ribbons as a boy would not use those :) ).

Now for the fun part! Ideas of what to include in the boxes:

*Toys: a small stuffed animal, a ball, a yo-yo, whistle, picture book, a puzzle, a game, play dough, coloring book

*School Supplies: pencils, pencil box, crayons, felt markers, stickers, notebook, erasers, pencil sharpener

*Other: American Candy, scarf, a personal letter* or picture drawn for the child, comb or brush, toothbrush

Here are things to NOT include:
*Chocolate or any other food that could melt, make a mess or spoil
*Medicine
*Items that could easily break
*Books or music (other than a note book or coloring book)
*Anything liquid that could spill (bubbles, shampoo, ect...)
*Anything that could be dangerous for a small child (marbles, sharp items ect...)
*Clothing other than maybe a scarf or hat as you don’t know what size the child is that will receive your box

If you have any further questions, feel free to email us (email address at the very bottom of the right side bar). Of course, we plan on taking lots of pictures of the children opening their boxes and will post some on the blog. Wouldn’t it be fun to see a picture of a child opening the box that YOU sent? :)

*Spanish phrases that you could include in a personal note if you would like:

Dios le bendiga– God Bless you
Jesus te ama– Jesus loves you
Feliz Navidad– Merry Christmas
Dios te ama– God love you
Estoy orando por ti– I am praying for you
Con amor de - With love from