Why We Go To BooneAs I talk to groups and individuals about Pack and Pray, it seems
like I assume too much about general knowledge of Samaritan’s
Purse and how the Shoe Box Project works.
So, let me explain a little further.
Breaking the Shoe Box project down to two broad functions: there is church
level participation and then there is international distribution.
Although Pack and Pray prays for and tries in limited ways to help the
church level activity associated with Operation Christmas Child (the
Shoe Box project), our primary objective is to help on the international
distribution level.
Meaning what?
Last year, over 12 million boxes were collected at the church level. First in area churches,then on to regional centers located around the country. The largest distribution center is in Charlotte, NC.
Samaritan’s Purse, the ministry founded by Franklin Graham that
oversees Operation Christmas Child, is located in Boone, NC along with
a large distribution center.
A distribution center is what?
Due to efforts to ship into a very diverse group of countries in the
world; each having its own customs regulations, requires amazing
logistics. Each and every box that winds up in a distribution center
must be hand-inspected before it begins its journey into the hands
of a child somewhere in the world. Different master crates are designed
to go to specific countries to alleviate costs and customs downtime.
So, in the distribution phase, teams of thirteen people perform the
inspection process: unpacking master pack cartons, scouring for ineligible
items, sometimes adding certain items, retrieving shipping and tracking
donations from the box, repacking, re-taping, and re-master packing
each box to make it ready to ship to its designated country.
That, in a nutshell, is the PACK part of Pack and Pray. Last year, our team
inspected and packed close to 3000 boxes.
How about the PRAY part of Pack and Pray?
Our prayer retreat is a very special time of bonding, ministering, and giving
thanks to the all-loving God that we serve as best as we can.
In a nutshell, that is what PACK AND PRAY is all about, and why we do it.
You can find this at
www.packandpray.comas well.
May God richly bless you and yours,
Carolyn and Ben Pittman
Questions: 843 455 6875 any time