Operation Christmas Child Distribution - Pader, Northern Uganda

Yesterday (Saturday), I flew a team, including a camera crew, from Samaritan's Purse, a US Charity. They were going to do a distribution of Operation Christmas Child gifts.
For those of you who don't know what Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is - it's where kids (usually in the States) put together a shoe box of stuff for a child in Africa and other developing areas. Usually, the box contains some toys, sweets (candy), some had toothbrushes and toothpaste and other miscellaneous items.
Anyhow - in Pader, the main town in the district, the local members of OCC had got together 200 local children from 11 schools to distribute the parcels. I was told that some of the children had walked 11km (almost 7 miles) that day just to take part.
As we arrived all the kids were singing their welcome to us - a great noise! Once everyone had gone inside (it was too hot to stay outside!) and the kids were sitting in their age group rows we had more entertainment - lots of drumming, singing and dancing from some of the children.
Then members of the team got up (and didn't dance) and explained to the children about where these packages had come from and who had sent them. They also told the children about how much God loves them and also that the children who had packed the boxes did too.

All the kids then came up in their lines, and collected a package and a book about Jesus and his life on earth. They then sat down and waited for everyone to get theirs.

Once everyone had their shoe-box, the kids all thanked Jesus for them and then they counted down from 3 to 1. Then mayhem!
Some of the kids needed help to open their boxes - too well sealed! Others showed us what they had got - people had sent lots of pencils, crayons, colouring books and school supplies. I was called upon to try to explain what you do with play-dough! I thought it was easier to show them so made a quick snake. In some of the boxes, the children who had packed them had written postcards, letters and Christmas Cards. I read a couple of them and was deeply moved by the love that came from them to these kids that they will most likely never meet. It really was Jesus' love that came across with the packages. So if you sent one, be encouraged - they really are making a difference in children's lives.

After the distribution was over, the children were sent home - it was great to see them laughing and shouting and carrying their boxes on their heads.

While the camera crew I had brought were doing some interviews with some of the kids, I just hung out with the rest of the team and we talked with some of the local volunteers. They all had stories to tell. A couple of them had been abducted by the LRA in previous years, some had lost family members to AIDS and other diseases. They told me of one boy who had been in the distribution - his parents had died of AIDS and now he was the head of the household looking after one sibling and the grandparents as well. He was 9 years old. It breaks your heart to hear this kind of story and many others like it - and makes me realise that by bringing this team I can make a difference and bring some joy into these kids lives.