Natalie McKenzie shares Operation Christmas Child experience

By Caitlin Forsha
The Highland County Press

A local teenager had the opportunity to see the Operation Christmas Child mission in action this summer, as she and other OCC volunteers distributed shoebox gifts to children in Africa.

Natalie McKenzie, a high school and college student from Wilmington, traveled to Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, along with Swakopmund, a coastal city in the country, during an Operation Christmas Child distribution trip.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 100 million gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children worldwide.

McKenzie has been traveling to Highland County churches to discuss her experiences, including meeting with Ed and Helen Hiestand of Hillsboro, Operation Christmas Child South Central Area coordinators.

From the time she was a child, McKenzie has been involved with Operation Christmas Child, filling shoeboxes with her four siblings each year with her family to take to their church, one of the main collection centers in the area.

When McKenzie’s church, Calvary Baptist Church in Wilmington, earned an award for its service to the OCC organization, she volunteered to take photos of the event.

“I took some pictures, and they were pleased with them,” McKenzie said. “They started asking me to come to meetings, and then I became a full-time volunteer just a few months ago.”

As a volunteer, McKenzie works in media relations, which includes writing news articles and taking photos, which she shares online and with the media.

While in Namibia, McKenzie and fellow OCC volunteers visited four different distribution centers, including two schools, a church and a village, ranging from about 70 children at the smallest stop to 500 children at the team’s largest distribution.

McKenzie said the children were delighted with the shoeboxes, though she said they needed to explain what some of the items were.

“A lot of them have never seen Barbies or Matchbox cars,” McKenzie said. “They weren’t sure about some of the hard candies, what they were and if they were supposed to eat them with the wrapper on or off. A lot of times Play-Doh is also really confusing to them.”

For many of the Namibian children, McKenzie said, they received a gift for the first time.

“Some of them looked a little tired and may not have a big smile on their face, but when they open the box, they get a huge smile and get so excited,” McKenzie said. “It’s really neat, seeing the initial joy we can give to them.”

McKenzie said that she and another team member chose to pack their own shoeboxes to hand-deliver during the trip. She saved the special moment for last, giving her shoebox to the last young boy at the team’s last stop.

“I was really nervous because I didn’t want to pick the child, but there was only one boy left we hadn’t given a box to,” McKenzie said. “I sat with this young man and told him I brought my own box all the way from the United States. I’m not really sure if he entirely understood. He was a really tired looking child and probably the mopiest out of all of them. He just kind of nodded, like ‘all right.’

“We counted down, ‘3, 2, 1,’ and all the kids opened their boxes. The whole room was filled with screams of excitement and laughter. He slowly opened his box and saw a soccer ball, because I had deflated one and put a pump in there, and his whole face changed. He’s smiling, pointing at the box, and all the kids around him were looking at it.

“It was really neat being able to see how big of a difference we made in his life, not only in that moment but moments to come.”

McKenzie said her favorite story to tell, however, is a powerful one that highlights the extreme poverty that she and other OCC volunteers witnessed during the trip. While the shoeboxes are usually filled with a mixture of practical items, such as washcloths, and fun items, such as toys or candy, she was “heartbroken” by the children’s response when asked what their favorite gift was in each shoebox.

“Almost every child that I asked pointed to their toothbrush and toothpaste,” McKenzie said. 
“After seeing all their toys, candies and play things, their favorite item was a toothbrush. 
Something so simple, so practical, so taken for granted, was their favorite item.

“I was later told that often times, the whole family shares merely one toothbrush, or an entire orphanage of girls shares only one toothbrush. They line up each day, one by one, and share one toothbrush. This experience changed my opinion on everything. My eyes filled with tears as they told me that ‘this is my favorite’ item.”

Along with bringing gifts and toiletries to the children, McKenzie said the children have the opportunity to learn more about the Bible through “The Greatest Journey,” a 12-week Bible study program offered to the children.

“We shared the good news of Jesus with them, talked about creation and go through Jesus’ life, and then we show them how to share it with others,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie said that one of her favorite quotes about OCC is that it “takes the most powerful message to the most receptive audience.”

“That’s one reason I really like doing it so much,” McKenzie said. “This is the gateway to the good news of Jesus Christ for these children. They have this positive connection for getting a gift the first time and hearing the gospel message and how much He loves them and having a positive connection between the two.

“Every time they play with a toy or touch their shoebox, they’re going to think about the good news of Jesus Christ. Hopefully that’ll help strengthen their relationship with him. It makes a huge impact in the children’s lives.”

The children’s reaction to the gifts and to the volunteers’ message made a ‘huge impact’ on McKenzie, too.

“These children have nothing, but they smile the biggest,” McKenzie wrote after her trip. “They are hungry, but they laugh the loudest. They are tired, but they sing praises to Jesus as if they had all the energy in the world. They have so little, but they give so much.”

McKenzie said that she encourages others to get involved in volunteering with Operation Christmas Child – not just other young adults, but people of all ages, she said.

“OCC is all about a multigenerational team,” McKenzie said. “We’re always trying to make it full circle and having the older generations teaching the younger generation, and all working together for a good cause.”

It’s never too early for children to get involved with OCC, either, according to McKenzie.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re 5 or 105 – it’s really for everyone,” she said. “It’s one of those things that you do as a child, and hopefully when you grow up and have children of your own, you teach your children. It’s neat having packing parties and having friends over to pack shoeboxes with you. There’s no age limits on it, and almost everyone loves helping children.”

McKenzie also said the community is welcome to drop off shoeboxes during National Collection Week, Nov. 16-23, at any local drop-off location.