Dallas TX Operation Christmas Child (OCC) Processing Center processed THE.LAST.OCC.BOX – in the US – on it’s way to Niger- last night. A pastor from Rwanda had met the final packers 10 years previously through an OCC box received in his town because they had included their email address in a note in the box. And as they were packing, in the only quiet moment of the evening, someone began to softly sing….”Silent Night. Holy Night. All is calm. All is quiet”..and the entire packing group joined in acapella… It was a goose bump moment. One small OCC box moving down the line in the near-silent warehouse, scanned with a “Follow Me” tag to track it’s journey.

It was our third night this season to volunteer at the Dallas Center. The first night was almost accidental…hey wanna go? Sure. Every night after that…and next year…was because we wanted to be there.

Fred @ OCC

We had so much fun!

OCC is Or-ga-nized! From online volunteer registering to the short instructional video of why the station you’re working is important, to the amazing staff there to answer any question in an amazing amount of time, to the almost magical way empty boxes disappear and another full box is ready and waiting to be processed.

Dallas had over 20,000 volunteers from Nov 20 to Dec 15 working from 9am to 10pm. Many were repeaters. Lots came from out of town. They processed over 640,000 boxes. OCC nationwide will send out more than 7 million boxes…and still some children will go without.

We were told that these 3 things were basic to every box: a toothbrush of the child’s own so they didn’t have to share (and thus helping to stop the spread of HIV in some areas) -um, they had me at “share”, a pencil – 1 pencil allows the child to do basic school work (education), and lastly a small toy – any toy – because predators use these types of items to lure children to unimaginable lives and when the child has their own toy, they are less likely to be lured.

My boxes will be packed differently next year. First, a t-shirt, a box of pencils, a toothbrush and a toy will go in. But there will also be a picture of my family and a note to the child. And there will be more of my heart packed in.

Some of the most precious notes. One of the first ones I saw, had a simple handwritten note, “God loves you and we do too”. Or the one that began, “Dear Princess, You are the daughter of the Most High King”…and the one from 3 men from Texas, grown men who took the time to take a picture and make i-dont-know-how-many-boxes-but-a-lot that says, “Hello from Texas, Bo, Daniel and Mike”. Or the child’s handprint note that read, “when you put your hand on my handprint, I’ll be praying for you”.

If your season is a little bah-humbug, a night at the OCC Processing Center will change that. You’ll walk away so grateful for the abundance you have that you don’t even think about. One pencil and I’m picky about the pen I use! One toothbrush – my family each have our own favorite toothpaste not just an unshared toothbrush! And a Dollar Tree toy. These can change the life of a child.

So, why was going and standing on concrete for 4 hours fun? I’m not sure. Maybe it was because it’s all fast paced. Maybe it was the music – from Christmas to worship to Randy Travis. Maybe it was the guys when they got one of the boxes packed shouting like banshees, “We got another box!!!” IDK. But every night we were there, we walked away excited and ready to go do it again. Maybe it was just doing something for the greater good. I really. dont. know. But we’re already planning to go again next year. To take a little bit of time out of the hustle and bustle of the American Christmas season and spend a few nights doing something that left us feeling ……blessed.