Twin sisters Molly and Abby Peterson lived in a Russian orphanage until they were 11 years old. It was during that time that they received their first Christmas gifts. Both girls can clearly remember the events of that special day.
“At school, they told us we had to wait an hour or two and that some people had brought presents,” Molly says. The girls waited two hours before the teachers released them to go to the gym. When they entered, Abby remembers seeing large boxes sitting on the table. Inside the large boxes were numerous shoe boxes. After hearing the story of Jesus’ birth, each child was given a shoe box filled with gifts. Abby told Molly to take a different box than she had originally picked, because the first box had shoes in it, and “you don’t want shoes; you want the toys.” Before Molly opened the new box, she decided to pray.
“I didn’t know who God was, but I knew I should pray. So I prayed that I would get a red scarf, red gloves and a red hat. And, when I opened [my box], they were on top,” Molly explains. The God whom she had heard about for the first time in the Christmas story had answered her prayer.
What Abby found inside her box was something she equally desired—a doll. She remembers it had a blue hat and blue overalls. It was the first doll she had ever received.
Every child in the orphanage was excited to have something to call her own, something she was not forced to share with all the other children. “I felt someone loved me and that they cared for me,” Abby says.
Molly and Abby were adopted by the Peterson family four years ago. During their first Christmas with their new parents in Euless, Texas, the twins were introduced to the Peterson family tradition of packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Abby remembers going to the store with Molly and her mom, Maria, but she didn’t know why they were buying so many things.
“We had bought five or 10 bags of stuff. It was really cool,” Abby says. “We were sitting in the living room, and Mom brought boxes into the living room. We started to wrap the boxes in Christmas paper and put stuff in them. Then, while Mom was labeling them, Molly and I saw [the Operation Christmas Child logo]. We told her that we had seen this before, and we had received one of these boxes,” Abby recalls.
Faith in Action
Both girls came to know Jesus after they moved to the United States. They had heard the story of Jesus at the orphanage when Operation Christmas Child delivered the packages, but Molly says, “I didn’t have a clue” about who God was. She just remembers knowing she should pray.
It was the day after Christmas in 2002 when Molly and Abby decided to ask Jesus to come into their hearts. Now, both Molly and Abby have a passion to make the love of Christ known to others. Last year, Molly and Abby, along with their younger sister, Tess, went on a missions trip to Mexico. Molly also went with her older sisters, Julianne and Claire, to New Orleans. All five sisters want to let other people know how much Jesus loves them.
To raise the money for their missions trips the girls started knitting scarves, hats and gloves like the ones that Molly received in her box. Molly and Abby had learned to knit and crochet in the orphanage, and now all the Peterson girls, Mom included, knit together. They have sold more than 60 scarves, raising more than enough money to pay for their missions trips last summer. They decided to use the extra money to buy items to pack in shoe boxes.
The girls not only shop for items to pack in shoe boxes, but they recruit people to donate money, donate shoe boxes full of things “or just donate stuff,” Molly and Abby’s mom says. Last year their family packed 31 boxes. This year, along with the toys, school supplies and other goodies, the Petersons will include a picture of all the girls. They’ll also pray specifically for the child who will receive each box.
Now It’s Your Turn
For many people, deciding what to pack in a shoe box is a difficult decision: doll, toys, toothbrush, school supplies, hairbrush, flashlight? They question whether the child will like what he or she receives or whether it will be appropriate for the region where the child lives. However, God is big enough to deliver the right shoe box to the right boy or girl. In Molly’s case, someone trusted that God would take the scarf, hat and gloves to a girl who lived in a climate where they would be needed. “We hear stories about how often children open a shoe box, and it’s exactly what they want,” Maria explains.
The Petersons encourage others not to worry about what to pack; instead, trust God’s guidance and His sovereignty. Everybody needs to feel loved—and that’s especially true for orphaned children across the world. Thankfully, the mission of Operation Christmas Child is to bring the message of love and hope found in Christ to children, along with Christmas gifts, to let them know they are special and valuable. Brio, along with Molly and Abby, encourages you to participate in Operation Christmas Child.
Whether you pack one box or 31 boxes, you can make a difference. Grab some friends and go to the store to buy things for a child in need this Christmas. Help a child hear about Jesus and feel loved, maybe for the first time. This year’s official collection week is Nov. 13-20, but you can pack a shoe box any time of the year. Visit samaritanspurse.org/OCC for suggestions on what to include and additional information.
