Operation Christmas Child

This is the Truth Network. Oh, I love this time of year. I just love this time of year, especially on Kingdom Bar-Shoots, because we get to talk about Christmas stuff. And so today we are more than excited to have with us Alex Simjimbana—I hope I got that right—with Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child, and their collection dates are coming up, aren't they, Alex?

That's correct. Yes, it is coming up quick. A national collection week is coming up November 18th through the 25th, so we're excited. Yeah, because obviously you get there a month away from Christmas.

It's just kind of around the corner. And so if you're not familiar with Operation Christmas Child, Alex, kind of give folks an understanding of what that is. Yeah, so Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan's Purse, and we collect shoebox gifts with fan toys and school supplies and personal care items, and these shoeboxes are delivered to children in need around the world. And it's a way to demonstrate God's love in a very simple and tangible way and in partnership with the local church. And so when children receive Operation Christmas Child, they get to hear the gospel.

And this has been going on. Samaritan's Purse took on the project in 1993. So in the last over 30 years, over 220 million shoeboxes have been delivered to more than 170 countries. And this year alone, we have a goal of packing 12 million shoeboxes, and that is 12 million children who are going to get an opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in partnership with the local church. And it's a fun way. Anybody can get involved. And when I was a little boy, this ministry made a difference in my life in such a deep way.

Wow. Well, we're going to hear about that for sure. And the neat thing is, as you listen to today's show, we're going to hear Alex's story. But as he talks about those millions of children, not only get, obviously, gifts, but they get a chance to hear the gospel. And it all starts at the church. Like, there's churches all over. And even in my church, I can see the shoeboxes in my mind right now. They're all sitting on the front pew as people are getting ready to get them ready and get the—there's a whole list of things, which obviously is there at Samaritan's Purse's website.

If you go to KingdomPursuits.com, we have the link right there for you as well, on what to pack, you know, the items that they need. Obviously, the supplies are out there. It's an easy thing to do. And if your church is not aware of it, oh, what an opportunity. It really, really is, because that's where most of it gets done, right, Alex?

That's correct, yeah. Operation Christmas, our partners with the local church here in the United States and 11 other countries altogether that pack shoeboxes. And when church—and churches can pack shoeboxes—actually, anybody can pack shoeboxes, but we collect the shoeboxes in partnership with the local church. Like, the drop-off locations are all made of churches around the country and around the world. And when people drop off those boxes, they get to be loved on in their local community.

And many, some people may be looking for a place to worship, and they get to find out that. And on that website, Samaritan's Purse.org slash OCC, you get a chance to put in your zip code, and you find the nearest location. In about 10 days, 9 days or so, over 4,000 drop-off locations around the country are going to be open. Churches are going to be open for you to drop off your box. It could be a mile away from you, and you could bless a child by packing a shoebox gift this year.

It's such a fun way to do it. I did not know that. So I didn't realize that you guys had that at the website, plus, you know, all sorts of different ways that you can do shoeboxes online, right?

Yeah, that's right. And if you're not able to pack a physical shoebox gift, you can also do that online. Samaritan's Purse.org slash OCC, you get to drag and drop the items. Or you can even go and you pack a shoebox online.

You can even say, hey, you know what? Build that shoebox for me, and that shoebox will be built for you. But it's a $25 donation to build that shoebox online. And that shoebox gift goes to some of the hard-to-reach places.

These items are already pre-selected and pre-veided. And so some of the places where the shoeboxes go, they are hard to reach, either by location or by religion situations or different circumstances. But when the shoebox is, again, partnered with local ministries, even in those hard-to-reach places, so that through their local ministry, through their local churches, kids are still getting discipled, kids are still getting to learn about who God is by receiving that Operation Christmas Child Shoebox gift that was packed by a specific person here in this country and around 10 other countries that pack shoeboxes all together. That is awesome. And so, Alex, you've got a story of your own. Yeah.

Yeah. God really made a difference in my life when I received that Operation Christmas Child Shoebox gift as a little boy. I was born and raised in a small country called Rwanda, nested in central east of Africa, where in the north you have Uganda, in the south you have Burundi, on the east you have Tanzania, and in the west you have Democratic Republic of Congo. During the colonial time, back in 1800s, the people of Rwanda were divided in tribes. It was during the division of the tribes that many people hated one another. One tribe was told to hate the other tribe. And because of this hatred, a neighbor would kill a neighbor and a friend would kill a friend.

This hatred was so deep to the point where in 1994, it resulted into a genocide against the Tutsi tribe. And from April to July of the same year, in April, a million people in a small country were killed and over 400,000 orphans were left in the country. So as a little boy, me and my brother and my sister were living in a small little village being raised by our grandmother. And when the genocide started, we were among the first people that they came in looking for. It was such a difficult time because as a six-year-old boy, I could not fathom that my own neighbor would all of a sudden attack our family.

My grandmother and one of my uncles would be killed during this genocide. And so me and my brother and my sister, we started to run from place to place, from family to family. But along the way, God was doing so many miracles to protect us.

And so when we were running, for example, one of the miracles was that a man's gun didn't work when he went to put the trigger. And those moments where I didn't see them as God's presence with us, but it was years later that I saw that God was protecting me. So then after those three months altogether running, I was put in an orphanage. And while I was in this orphanage, this is when Samaritan's Purse came and brought Operation Christmas Shoe Boxes. And for the very first time in my life, I got to receive a gift, and it was that Operation Christmas Shoe Box gift, and it was such a special day. Wow. And so how did that kind of affect—or obviously you received the Christmas gift, but how did it share the gospel with you?

Yeah. When I received that Operation Christmas Shoe Box gift, we were—all of us kids were in this orphanage, and we were told to line up in the yard, and they hand out the Shoe Box gift. And then they said, don't open your gift until all of them have been handed out. So some of us had to hold our presents for about five long minutes, and there was such a moment for a seven-year-old at that time was difficult five minutes. But we got to open our shoeboxes together, and all of us were screaming of excitement. And as we screamed of excitement, it was such a fun moment. And I looked through my shoebox gift, and I saw the school supplies.

I saw the hygiene items and the toys. Then the orphanage director used that opportunity to share with us about Jesus Christ. At that time, my faith had been shattered because my faith was my grandmother's faith. So when my grandmother and my uncle both killed right in front of me, that faith had been shattered, and that faith was gone. And so when I got to receive that shoebox gift, and as the orphanage director shared with us, it was such a special moment that my faith continued to grow deeper. Oh, that's so beautiful, so beautiful.

Okay, so we've got to go to a break. When we come back, more, of course, we're going to get to a little Robbie's Riddles action when we come back, and a lot more with Operation Christmas Child, Samaritan's Purse. Alex, so excited to have you on and hear more of your story when we come back.

You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom today. We're so blessed to have with us Alex Sigmana. Did I say it right that time, Alex? Yeah, yeah, you're good. Yeah, thank you, Ray. That's good. He's with Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child, and their national collection dates coming right up November 18th through the 25th.

And how fun is that? Again, you can go to KingdomPursuits.com and see the link there, or you can just go to Samaritan's Purse or Operation Christmas Child. It's pretty easy to find on the internet.

And even find where your drop-off point might be by just entering your address there at their website. How cool is that? It's just going to be right around the corner. And you know that Alex may never have heard this part of Kingdom Pursuits, but Robbie has to do a little segment here called Robbie's Riddles. And so speaking of Christmas, you know, you're going to get a chance to answer some questions, Alex. All right, let's do it. And of course, we get to involve our producer, Nick, who is my expert in Robbie's Riddles.

And of course, you'll get a chance to call and win here in a minute. But to begin with, and by all means, Alex, jump in here if you think you know. Okay. What should you get your wife for Christmas if she said she wants a necklace and you said, do you want a necklace?

And she says, oh, nothing would please me more. What should you get her, Nick? I don't know, Robbie.

I'm so single. I have no idea. Did you catch it, Alex? That's a toughie. Yeah.

Yeah, well, you would get her nothing because she said nothing would please me more. Okay. Hey, listen to your wife. Listen to your wife.

You got to pay close attention. Okay. And this is my personal favorite Christmas joke. I tell it every year. So, Nick, you've heard it before. Okay. So I'll let you give me the punchline.

But of course, I have to because it always makes me laugh. So what was the name of Santa's 10th reindeer? Of course, you got Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. And of course, a lot of folks forget Rudolph, but that makes nine. But there was a 10th. What was the name of the 10th reindeer? The 10th reindeer, Nick. I can see him.

He's grimacing because he's forgotten from last year. I heard this joke before and I... Oh, man. I know it. Have you got it, Alex? Do you know? No, I don't got this one.

I want to get to know it. It's Olive, the other reindeer. Olive.

Olive. You know the song, it says, all of the other reindeer. Yes. Yes.

Good one. I'm going to share that one. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. This is always a big one at parties. Anyway, you're going to like this one too, Nick.

I really do like this one. Why was E the only letter in the alphabet to get Christmas presents? The only alphabet letter that got Christmas presents was E. Do you know why?

I don't. All the other letters were not E. Not E. That's a good one. Yeah, I knew you'd like it. That's a good one. And, you know, from what I understand, Abacus beads are all the rage this Christmas.

Do you know why the Abacus beads are all the rage this Christmas, Nick, Alex? What do you think? No. No, tell us.

It's the little things that count. Oh. Oh, no.

And the Abacus, if you haven't seen one, it's one of those little things you slide the beads up and down. Anyway, an easy one here for the end. You may have heard this one too, but it always makes me laugh. Some of these, it's just good Christmas humor. Why did Darth Vader know what Luke got him for Christmas? Why did Darth Vader know what Luke got him for Christmas?

Oh, it makes me laugh every year. He was his father? Yeah, it was Darth Vader. What did he, why, or how did Darth Vader know what his son Luke got him for Christmas? He used the Force? He did use the Force, but specifically, he felt his presence. Okay. Yeah, you remember doing that as a kid. You shake the box, you know, that's how Darth knew he felt his presence. Okay. All right.

Last but not least, and you could call in with this by all means. So to get to the actual riddle today, and you may not have heard this one, Nick, but you know, some think that Jesus was born where he was because Joseph asked to speak to the manger. When they give him a room in the end, he goes, let me speak to the manger. But that's not what happened, okay?

That's not what happened, but it's just a little humor. Why was Jesus born where he was? That's an open-ended question. We would love to hear your answer.

You can call it an 866-348-7884. Why was Jesus, and this is no joke, by the way, why was Jesus born where he was? And if you can answer that, Nick, tell them what they'll win.

Absolutely. Yes, you'll be winning two tickets to Wake Forest Men's Basketball Game, November 13th, Wednesday at 7 o'clock, as they go up against the USC Upstate Spartans. If you know the answer to Robbie's riddle, give us a call at 866-348-7884. Go Deeps.

Why was Jesus born where he was? If you know the answer to that, there's actually many, and I'm hoping a lot of you will call in and win. We'll see how many fans we can get in the Deacon's Land. How many tickets have we got, Nick? One pair of tickets, so basically two tickets, two tickets.

We have two tickets, but we'll get you more to later games or something. Now, by all means, you call in, and why was Jesus born where he was? So getting back to the real Christmas issue at hand is Operation Christmas Child, and again, we want to remind you that, again, a lot of you, I know, are going to churches that already take part in that, and that the collection date's coming up November 18th to the 25th. If you're not, if you're not, by all means, get your church involved, and really cool, you can just go to Samaritan's Purse or Kingdom Pursuits or however you want to get to Operation Christmas Child. You can put in your location.

It'll show you drop-off points, and again, we've taken part of that for years and years and years. If you want to, as we used to do, you can even drive to Boone, right, and help deliver those presents up there and see some amazing stuff that happens. So Alex, where are you now these days? I currently live actually in Boone, North Carolina, and yeah, I work with the ministry. I have the privilege of serving alongside the ministry at the headquarters in Boone, and it's such a privilege and a joy to be able to be the ambassador of so many other kids who have yet to receive that Operation Christmas Child Schubert's gift, and it's wonderful. Yeah, and I hope that, you know, maybe you have a child that you could relate Alex's story of what that meant because, you know, from my standpoint, some of the most meaningful Christmastimes I had with my own children were packing these boxes and talking about how these kids would be impacted, and, you know, other things where we show that we give at Christmas because God gave to us, and, you know, clearly here is this impact that now we have Alex here, and so I'm curious. You went from the orphanage there, and at some point in time, you get a chance to work for Samaritan's Purse. How did that happen?

Yeah. After receiving the Operation Christmas Child Schubert's gift, a seed of the gospel was planted in my life, and I remember starting to struggle because a year later after the Schubert's gift, I joined a choir, and I left Rwanda, and I was in Uganda, and while I was in Uganda, this is when the Lord really started to get a hold of my life. At this time, I was blaming God, and I was pointing fingers at Him and asking, does He care about me?

Does He love me? In those moments when I was struggling, whether He loves me or whether He cares, this is when I was being discipled, and God had sent me people to water the seed of the gospel that had been planted by that Operation Christmas Child Schubert's gift. So I said to read the Bible, and I remember coming to Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 11, where it says, that's why I know the plans I have for you, declare the Lord. Plans of welfare and art of evil, plans to give you a future and a hope. Then you call upon me and come and pray to me.

You seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. As a nine-year-old, at that time, I did not know what God was doing or who God was talking to, but I started to realize that He had to have a plan for my life. So then I came to the United States, and I wanted to be discipled, and one of my mentors challenged me one day and said, Alex, what if you would sit with the person who has caused you the most pain in your life?

What would you do? It was during this time that I started to pray that, Lord, help me to heal, because I realized, that question helped me realize how deep, the deep anger that I had in my life. Even though I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I was still living in bondage of bitterness and anger. And so I continued to pray, and I prayed this prayer for over 12 years. So we traveled the United States for two years, and then we went back to Rwanda in 2003. Guys, I got adopted into a family in the United States, and God had a sense of humor.

He sent me to the coldest part of the country, called Minnesota. I grew up in Minnesota, and while I was in high school, that's when I got to connect with Operation Christmas Child, because the student council wanted to do a project, and they decided to do Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. And so I passed boxes in high school, and in college, I was, in my college, I was what we called a project leader. So the person who leads Operation Christmas Child in their churches, in their schools, or in their community, we considered them a project leader.

But I didn't catch the vision of the ministry until 2009. In 2009, I went to a processing center, kind of like the one you're talking about, you can, there's one in Boone, where the shoeboxes are collected, inspected, and thousands of volunteers come to help with this process. And I got to learn the intentionality of Operation Christmas Child, they're sharing the gospel with each and every box. So I went back to my school, went up with a number of shoeboxes. I hate to jump in on you, Alex, we got to go to a break. What a story, so amazing and so wonderful. When we come back, we're going to have more of Alex. We got some Riddlers on the line, and we got to hear from you.

866-348-7884, 866-34-TRUTH. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the Kingdom, and how fun to have a passion for Christmas, I'm just saying.

I've always had that, and I love it. And how about Operation Christmas Child? Samaritan Purse, it's going on, the collection dates are, this is November 18th through the 25th. You know, the shoeboxes that we all take part in in so many different ways. I hope you know about it.

Certainly it's all there at Samaritan's Purse's website or Operation Christmas Child or even Kingdom Pursuits today. And so we got Alex, it's Sin Jim Mana, and he's with us. I got it. And we have Jennifer is in Ohio, who we know is going to tell us why was Jesus born where he was.

Jennifer, I'm so excited you called in today. I don't know if I'll get it right or not. You got it right, I can assure you. I've never had a wrong answer on this show. So I never have, it just doesn't happen.

So what are you thinking? Because that's where Beth Latham, Beth Latham? I have never, oh write that down Alex, I mean write that down Nick, we're going to use it next year. I did not see that coming, Jennifer.

Because of Matthew and Luke's prophecy. Yeah, that's true. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. That's really, really, really amazing. Do you know what Beth Latham means, Jennifer?

No. Well, this is really neat. In fact, it was one of the first things that intrigued me about the Hebrew language was that word Beth Latham. And the word Beth in Hebrew, like she laid Beth, you know, that word means house. So if you, you know, you hear Bathsheba or whatever, it's Sheba's house. But when you hear the word Beth, that's what that means. And then when you hear the L'hem means bread.

And so it is the house of bread. Oh, that's beautiful. Yeah, isn't that amazing? And so when you think about that he was born in a manger, and so what do the animals do in a manger?

They actually eat, right? Yeah. And when we take communion, when you think about it, we're going to eat bread. Right? And this just, there are actually probably, oh, there's got to be thousands of reasons that we'll understand when we get to heaven. But for me, that's always been really fun. But you're right.

I mean, as far as, we wrote it down. I absolutely love it. So thank you, Jennifer. And Nick, you got her information? She obviously, I don't think she's going to drive here to go to Wake Forest tickets.

You probably aren't going to go to the basketball game, are you, Jennifer? No, I might. Yeah. Oh, really? I might. Okay, well, you got them.

If that's what you want, we're going to get you the tickets. But if not, we have a whole prize vault of stuff that we would love to give because this is literally the best Robbie Riddle answer that I've had as far as making me laugh in a long time. Thank you so much. God bless you, Jennifer.

Oh, I'm glad I could make you laugh. Thank you. All right, getting back to Alex, who from Minnesota. You don't have a Minnesota accent. It's there.

I put it out when moments arise. You know, a lot of people don't realize this, but Nikita Kolov, the Russian nightmare. He's also from Minnesota, so he got his ice training early. But anyway, so Alex, we made it the story to where you got to be your first drop-off point, and then what happened? When I went to that drop-off location at that time in Minneapolis, I got to learn the intentionality of how Operation Christmas Child partners with the local church. So at that time, from 2003 to 2009, I was packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, and I knew that shoeboxes make an impact in the kids' lives.

But when I went to that processing center, I learned about the greatest journey. Now, the greatest journey is a 12-week discipleship lesson that many of the kids go through once they receive Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. So they get excited to receive the gift, and then they're invited back to go through the 12 weeks. In one of those lessons, 12 weeks as they go through, it encourages them to respond to the gospel. And since 2009, over 20 million children have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

And that goes back to communities, individuals packing shoeboxes, and they're visiting the local church. And so I learned about that, and that's actually really what drove me so deep into being part of the ministry. So then in 2013, I finished school, and I moved to North Carolina. And when I moved to North Carolina, right before I moved to North Carolina, though, I had the privilege of traveling back to Rwanda with Operation Christmas Child to deliver shoeboxes in the same orphanage I grew up in.

Oh, wow. Yeah, and that was very special for me. It was such a deep moment to be able to stand in the same place that I stood as a little boy, this time in 2013, this time handing out a shoebox gift.

It was so special. But I want to share with you something deeper that actually God did. Remember the prayer that I had been praying for God to help me heal?

Right. That I could be able to meet the people who caused me pain? Because of my faith wanting to grow deeper, I pursued the opportunity to meet the people who had caused me pain, and that didn't happen. Two times it didn't happen. I wanted to be part of what the government of Rwanda was doing, bringing reconciliation among the people who did the killing and the victims. In 2008, it didn't happen. In 2010, in 2013, a divine appointment while we were in Rwanda on that trip, this is actually when God decided to grant me that opportunity to meet the people who had caused me pain, and I got to meet one of the men who had killed my uncle.

Wow. And it was such a deep moment for me to be able to stand with him and ask him, and do you remember me? I don't remember it specifically, but I remember three children being there. In those moments, God took my healing process at a different level, and in those moments, I looked back and saw, where did my faith start? When that shoebox gift, planned that message of the gospel, in 1995, when I was seven years old, and God sent me people to order that seed.

And so this is the type of impact, the gospel, that is changing lives, one child at a time, and over 220 million children have been received shoeboxes, and we hope to reach with 12 million more children this year. And I'm grateful for what God has done and continues to do through this ministry. Oh, man, as I think about that, you know, Alex, you can't help but think that there was a child, right, back there that was praying for you, you know, because the prayers of a child are just spectacular, you know?

And I can't help but think that, you know, clearly you had the prayer, and God answered it in amazing ways that you could have a chance to meet that man and experience forgiveness in a way most of us will never be able to. But you know, it's just beyond cool to me that I'm just going to guess there was a child on the other end of that that was also praying. And that's a big part of, you know, what I think Samaritan's Purse does not only in reaching all the children that receive the—but all the children that take part in loading the boxes.

Yes, yes, it's incredible. On this side of the story, you have so many children around the country packing shoeboxes, packing them, responding to the gospel in their own lives, and then being so passionate to share that gospel. It is so beautiful to—when I'm traveling and I go to a school and I see young children from pre-K all the way to high school to college students packing shoeboxes. This past month, I was up at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, students coming together to pack Operation Christmas Chart shoeboxes.

You go to South Carolina, there's that Charlton Southern University packing shoeboxes, to Tennessee, Lee University packing shoeboxes. Everyone around the country getting ready for this big week of National Collection Week so that we can have an opportunity to make an impact in more children's lives. Yeah, we've got to go to another break. But you know, how cool all those people got to meet Alex and see, wow, you know, you could impact generations and generations in so many different ways. We'll be right back with more. Stay tuned.

You're listening to The Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom. And so honored today, really, really honored to have on with us Alex Sinjimana. What a story.

Amazing. I was just telling Nick that, you know, I just have to pinch myself sometime that I get to hear what God does in so many amazing ways. You know, I've been connected with Operation Christmas Child, I think, for 20 years or 30 years.

Yeah, probably 30 years myself. You know, just to hear your story, Alex, is just one opportunity we all have to advance the kingdom. When we get to heaven, just think how many billions of stories there are going to be, just like what you got to hear today.

And, you know, I can't help but think of it's a wonderful life, you know, where like, wow, I got to take part in that. I got to pray for that. You know, I got to do this. And so when you do those Operation Christmas Child things, you're not only doing that for yourself and for your children, all those kind of things. Alex, what else do you want to remind people?

You know, we only have a short segment here. Make sure we get out whatever you guys want to make sure is broadcast today. Yeah, I wanted to thank everyone who is packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes around the country and around the world. You know, each and every box is a child with a name that is praying for God to answer their prayers, for praying for a soccer ball. So when you pack your shoeboxes this year, remember to make a fun box and make it full and personalize it by writing a letter. On our website, there are some items that can go in the shoeboxes can find more information. Thing is that such as a world related items such as toy guns or knives, military figures, beads, chocolate and food related, any liquid.

So those items cannot go and more or less is found on our website. And then pray for that shoebox gift as you pack it. Pray that that child when they receive that shoebox gift that God can orchestrate and answer that child's prayer in a deep way that they come into a relationship with the Heavenly Father.

When I was seven years old, that seed of the gospel was planted in my life and it changed the trajectory of my life and encouraged me in such a deep way. And these boxes, we talked about National Collection Week so many times, but I want to mention it again. It's coming up very soon, November 18th to the 25th. And if you miss that date, you can still pack a shoebox online at SamaritanSpurs.org. Build a box online, you can get more and you can make an impact in the child's life in a very simple way.

You can do it with your family. And thank you guys for having given the opportunity to impact children's lives and telling the stories. And because when when an operation Christmas shoebox gift is packed and delivered, it's giving a child an opportunity to pursue God's kingdom. So your show is equipping the local church, helping people to pursue an opportunity to make a difference in kids' lives.

And I love your title, the name of the show, Kingdom Pursuits. It's pointing people to Jesus, reminding them that he came and died for us, but he didn't stay in the grave. He rose again and he will come back again. And we want as many children to hear that good message of the gospel. For those who have not heard the whole story today, this would be a show I would get the podcast which will come out later today of Kingdom Pursuits, because there was a point where he was sharing when he got, when he was a child in Rwanda, and unfortunately his grandmother and uncle had been murdered, when he got that box when he was seven years old, if you could hear the way he explained how they all jumped for joy. They all jumped for joy at this present, like man. And, you know, he didn't realize the joy that actually had come into his entire life, right? That he would be able to share that joy with so many more children and so many different things, right?

Now think about how much joy you could have jumped for if you knew what a difference that box would make, right? Yeah, it's incredible. It was such a powerful moment. I remember all of us in the orphanage had had lots of loved ones.

So we were starting to process the trauma that we had gone through that we had faced. And so when we get the shoebox gift and we're screaming, not because someone's chasing us or trying to kid us, and it was so special. And I remember, you know, my, when I opened that shoebox gift, I actually saw one of my favorite items. My favorite item was a hair comb.

I don't know if I mentioned that earlier. It was a hair comb that I actually kept that hair comb for the next three years. Now you might be thinking, how was a hair comb Alex's favorite? Because the hair comb was so unique. On one side it had a brush, on another side it had a little pig. So I kept that hair comb for the next reason.

That's how important those items were. All of us jumping for joy, being reminded that we were not forgotten, that someone out there was thinking about us and we were so special. And it was deeper because the orphanage director then turned it around and shared with us about the greatest gift of all, which is Jesus Christ.

I love that. I love that earlier we're talking about Bethlehem, you know, when Jesus came, when he was born, he came for us and it was special. Oh, it is, it is. And it's another reminder to put that special stuff in that box, right?

That point of love with that special hair comb was such a point of connection. Well, thank you so much, Alex. You are a gift yourself. Thank you.

It's how we do it in different ways. And you listening, you too are a gift. And believe me, we are so appreciative for you. And I got to tell you, you got some really cool stuff lined up for you. Encouraging Prayer with James Banks is coming up next.

And then The Masculine Journey and then Nikita Kolov. It's time to man up. It's all coming your way on the Truth Network. So much truth coming at you. Thanks so much for listening.