YISS 8th Grade Offers a Helping Hand

Arriving at King’s Cross Church on a cool December morning, around fifty eighth grade students and staff members set out to help Operation Christmas Child (OCC). In the past two years, South Korean residents have gone from donating ten thousand OCC shoeboxes to over thirty-five thousand OCC shoeboxes. Compassionate and committed hearts are needed in the donating, sorting, and shipping of these boxes. Hearing this call, our eighth grade students took charge.

Over the course of two days, all eighth graders had the opportunity to volunteer. The first group sorted and packed 3,080 boxes, and the second group added another 2,000 boxes. Each day, our students would divide into small groups of four with staff members supervising. Students would then grab packed shoeboxes off the assembly line, make sure they were packed appropriately, add toys when needed, and send them off with care. 

After a hard day’s work, the students were treated to a quick trip to Lotte Tower where they could grab lunch. All-in-all they sorted through over five-thousand shoe boxes that were sent to either the Philippines or Ukraine. These boxes arrived in the Philippines in mid-January and are set to arrive in Ukraine in early February. Let us as a community continue to pray over these boxes to arrive safely to the children in need with messages of His love.