As this year’s Operation Christmas Child season begins, a former recipient of the shoeboxes will speak at a Recipient Event held by the Operation Christmas Child team on Sunday, September 19, 2021.
Each year, Operation Christmas Child, a resource of Samaritan’s Purse, gifts millions of shoeboxes- filled with necessities and toys- to needy children living in more than 170 counties.
Sunday’s speaker, Alex Nsengimana, received a shoebox gift when he lived in a Rwandan orphanage.
Growing up in the midst of an unstable Rwandan government, Nsengimana experienced first-hand the travesties of his nation’s genocide. After losing his grandmother and his uncle, he was forced to flee for his life and escape gunmen, eventually ending up in an orphanage, which became his home for the next several years.
In 1995, one year after Nsengimana arrived at the orphanage, he received a shoebox that sowed the seeds of hope and love that he desperately needed, making him realize that God had a specific plan for his life. He was only seven years old.
At 15, he was adopted by a family in the United States. While in high school, he was introduced to the organization that had changed his life. Nsengimana soon began to serve with Operation Christmas Child by packing boxes.
Today, he continues to serve the organization by sharing his story with others.
On Sunday, September 19, Nsengimana will detail his past to those at the First Baptist Church of Fairlea in Ronceverte at 11 a.m., as well as Johnston Chapel Baptist Church in Princeton at 6 p.m.
Nsengimana says he is happy to tell others how Operation Christmas Child has greatly affected his life.
“I share my story to give God the glory for how he used a shoebox gift from Operation Christmas Child to impact my life,” Nsengimana said. “I share my story to encourage people to pack shoeboxes. Every shoebox represents a child like me who will know that God loves them and that the person who packed that gift is praying for them.”
“When I received an Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes gift, I was reminded that God loves me. Seeds of hope and love were planted in my life. At a time when I had lost hope, the shoebox brought me that hope. The shoebox was one of the many miracles God used [to] build my faith in Jesus Christ.”
Lisa Belcher, area coordinator for Operation Christmas Child’s SE West Virginia team, spoke of the impact Nsengimana’s story has on all those who hear it.
I have heard his story once before, and it is incredible! Alex is one of the most sought-after speakers within the ministry of Operation Christmas Child…”
For more information on Operation Christmas Child, how to pack a shoebox or how to become a volunteer, visit samaritanspurse.org.