By Angela Rice
Do you ever wonder what happens when our missionaries receive Everlasting Smiles Shoeboxes? Let me share this exciting news with you:
The first shipment of shoeboxes arrived in El Salvador to Pastor Rigoberto Cruz on December 18. The very next day, Pastor Rigoberto and his team began loading trucks and distributing boxes to the different mission churches in their areas of ministry.
Then the churches hold special children’s events for the community where they give them out. Although the shoeboxes bring people to the programs, the pastors focus on the plan of salvation for the children families that come.
December 22, Pastor Rigoberto gathered together his own community of Montelimar for a children’s event to give out shoeboxes. With over 1,200 people in attendance, there was standing room only. The event included clowns, fun games, music, and a drama portraying the life and death of Jesus. The finale was a message of the good news of Christ, and several people accepted Jesus. A fireworks display ended the evening.
While I was celebrating Christmas with family and traditions, Pastor Rigoberto and his team were out in the community each day of the holiday season spreading the love of Christ with the shoeboxes you sent.
Police and delivery truck drivers were given gifts for their children. Gifts were given to children on the streets and to more than 300 children who spent Christmas in the children’s hospital. Nurses and doctors there received gifts for their children and the team spent time in prayer with families of the patients. Gifts were given in mission churches and areas where churches are in the process of being planted.
Every day I received a report of how the ministry was going and how God was blessing the people of El Salvador through your generosity.
5“We are reaching places where the children have never been blessed in such a great way as today” is how Christmas Day was described. “The smiles of the children are priceless.” Our pastors and leadership team in El Salvador spent time in a small village that most would consider poor. They walked from house to house to deliver gifts to the children and to spend time getting to know families in the community better.
Pastor Rigoberto said, “We do not have a church in this area, but we have had professions of faith because we have been visiting for a few months. We want to use the toy boxes and the medical brigade (BMMI) to establish the mission.”
So what happens for our missionaries as a result of giving out boxes? On the Sunday following shoebox distribution, Pastor Rigoberto’s church in Montelimar was packed with people sitting in chairs outside the church. Many new relationships were made, and with each box containing the plan of salvation, people were pointed to Christ and to our churches.
Whether from our friends who packed them in the States or the ministry team that delivered them in El Salvador, each shoebox was given with love and showed the love of Christ to others. Please pray for the pastors in El Salvador as they continue to serve the people in their communities and follow up with those who have begun attending their churches.
