"Operation Christmas Child" is a project run by The Samaritan's Purse, in an effort to provide material help and joy to children in places where disadvantage is the norm rather than the exception. For the last six years the congregation of Marsden Road UC and their families and friends, under the leadership of Pat Dunk, have rallied to provide a gift for a child in South East Asia or the Pacific Islands.
Each person starts their collection with an empty shoe-box or a box of a similar size, and covers the top and the bottom in Christmas gift paper.
Then the challenge is to collect a variety of items to suit a boy or girl of an age chosen by the gift-giver, which will fit in the box. Notebooks, drawing pads, coloured pens and pencils with the accompanying erasers and pencil sharpeners are a common start.
Then finding a soft toy for cuddling and a simple action game is a little harder. Skipping ropes and tennis-sized balls are one solution but sometimes it is possible to be more inventive.
The soft toy can also be a difficult "find" to cover the age group, gender, size and "fully washable" preferences but they are out there.
Then the suitable clothing needs to be plain so that frills or badges or collars or belts don't take up extra room.
Experience in packing helps and if the soft toy and the game are "squashable" the contents of the box can usually be made to fit.
The last thing is to include a donation to cover the cost of transport, the easiest part. The result is a gift that not only brings joy to a child but also immense satisfaction to the giver.
This year Marsden Road UC filled 40 of these boxes - a great effort. If you haven't been part of this program during Christmas 2013, perhaps you would like to be involved in 2014.