Shoebox Stories #1: Nella's Shoeboxes Plus

Have you or your children ever filled a shoebox at Christmas?  And have you ever wondered what happened to that shoebox? Here are a few stories of those who do . . . and do not . . . distribute shoeboxes.

My friend Nella gives out lots and lots of shoeboxes--plus. She is Romanian and has regularly visited a Romany village for a number of years. She has questioned shoeboxes but Remus, a member of the church there, pointed out that this was the one Christmas gift that some of those children would ever receive. 

Last year she and Remus distributed shoeboxes to the children who attended the Christmas program. This year, Nella went around the village to get the names and ages of all the Romany children. She also visited the social worker in the town hall to get the names and ages of the neediest in the village.

Then she started to work and to pray. Children in her home church used to receive shoeboxes. Now they make them for Nella. Another charity in her hometown receives shoeboxes from Scotland to go to the needy and gave almost 200 to Nella. The church in the village also received 50 from Samaritan’s Purse. In all, they were able to put together over 350 packages. 

Nella added warmly-lined clogs (€2 a piece) plus socks for each child old enough to walk. Packages for families included non-perishable food items as well as soap and other necessities. In addition, each package contained Scripture booklet or New Testament, depending on the recipient's age.

The Lord provided a small truck to carry all these things the 6-hour drive to the village. Two Romany believers helped sort everything by family and child’s name. These two actually delivered all 350 packages.

“It was like a marathon,” Nella told me. “But everyone was so content. If you could see their faces. There were children who literally jumped for joy. And seeing barefoot children wearing the shoes I put in the bags was a real joy. The most they rejoiced for the socks. That’s what most of the children told me. Of course, the sweets. The parents told us they appreciated the shampoo, the hygiene items.”

This was not a give-and-run shoebox operation. Nella had personal contact with each household ahead of time. She will have personal contact again, in the coming months. She worked with and through local believers. Romany who lived in the village, not wealthier-looking outsiders, were the ones who physically brought each package to each household. 

There were lots of plusses to Nella's shoeboxes. The plusses which added the most and will continue to multiply are larger and last longer than any shoebox.