169 Meeker gift baskets set for world children

MEEKER I This year, Samaritan’s Purse is celebrating 20 years of distributing gift-filled shoeboxes to more than 100 million children around the world.
Children and adults from the United Methodist Church in Meeker have participated in Operation Christmas Child for many years. The last couple of years, other Meeker churches have joined in sending the message of God’s love to millions of hurting children through these gift-filled shoeboxes. Locally 169 boxes were filled with gifts.
Pastor Jon at the United Methodist Church will bless the boxes and pray for the children who will receive them before they are sent to the national collection center, which took place on Sunday.
“This project brings joy and hope to children who have never received a Christmas present and who may be suffering from poverty, sickness, war or natural disasters,” Pastor Jon said, adding that “the children receive the message that God loves them, and that is a gift that endures forever.”