Big Island couple leads effort to collect shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child

Jeannette Vater was mesmerized as she watched joy overtake the children’s faces as they opened green and red shoeboxes filled with toys, notebooks, pencils and stuffed animals at a Christian church in Ecuador.

As area coordinators for West Hawai‘i’s Operation Christmas Child, an international project run by the nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse, Jeannette Vater and her husband Ray traveled to Quito in May to help local churches pass out the shoeboxes to the children at three different events.

For the third year in a row, the Vaters are leading the effort in West Hawai‘i to collect boxes for the nondenominational evangelical Christian organization, which aims to provide spiritual and physical aid to “hurting people around the world.”

Shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child are being collected from now until Nov. 25. Dropoff locations are located islandwide. Click here for a list of dropoff location sites.

The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, according to the nonprofit’s website. Through this project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with local churches worldwide to “share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations.”

At one of the church events in Ecuador, there were 400 kids ranging in age from 2 to 14 years old. After being handed boxes, Jeannette Vater captured video of the kids drum-rolling the lids as they waited for permission to open them.

“It was wonderful,” she said of the experience, recalling how the children looked at the boxes’ contents as treasures.

Along with the tangible gifts, each box also comes with a booklet that shares the message of Christ and an opportunity to attend a 12-week Bible study class.

Since 1993, more than 220 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

Over the past three years, the Vaters have seen an increase in the number of boxes collected. In 2023, almost 3,100 boxes were collected. Ray Vater said he hopes to increase that number this year by 10%.

The approximate 14-by-8-inch boxes can be filled with a variety of items, from school supplies to toys. There are restrictions to what can be included in the box depending on the country. Click here for a list of appropriate shoebox items.

During this year’s collection, Jeannette Vater said somebody wadded up a baseball glove to fit in a box along with chalk, crayons and paper.

Another item she has seen in boxes in past collection events is a deflated soccer ball with a small pump. Common items packed include matchbox cars, dolls and stuffed animals.

“The thing is each shoebox, so they tell us, touches at least 12 lives: the child, the grandparents, the parents, the siblings and friends,” Jeannette Vater said.

While it’s nice to give different gifts to children in need, she said the end product of the shoebox is a child knowing who Jesus is and knowing his story.

“People don’t care what you know until they know you care. And the shoebox lets them know that you care,” Jeannette Vater said.

People interested in participating in Operation Christmas Child can pick up a shoebox at Wisteria Lane, at 74-5483 Kaiwi St. #100 in Kailua-Kona.

Or you can click here to fill a shoebox online.

There also are boxes available at Living Stones Church, 76-6224 Ali‘i Dr., on Sunday.

During their trip, the Vaters encountered people who also were impacted by Operation Christmas Child. Ray Vater said their tour guide to the upper Amazon related that his son received a box four years ago. The Big Island couple also met a missionary who has participated in passing out shoeboxes for several years.

For the Vaters, the experience solidified in their hearts and minds that the shoeboxes were making a difference and bringing people to Christ.

The boxes, packed in a Matson shipping container, will go to California, where volunteers will check the boxes and ensure they are equally filled. If there are boxes on the lighter side, those volunteers will pad them with additional items. Boxes are divided up by age and gender.

From California, the shoeboxes are shipped all over the world and delivered at different times throughout the year.

Jeannette Vater said Hawai‘i’s boxes normally go to South America and all over the Pacific, although it depends on where the need is most great.

Some countries won’t accept shoeboxes because of the Christian message that is included within them. However, Jeannette Vater said some countries are accepting the boxes, minus the pamphlet, as a gift for the children.