Oksana Nelson received a shoe box as a child in a Russian orphanage. She now speaks to community and church groups about the impact a simple gift had on her life.

Spreading the Message

A young woman from Russia talks about her first and only possession—a gift-filled shoe box

ABC-affiliate station KLTV was at Fellowship Bible Church in Jacksonville, Texas, to hear 18-year-old Oksana Nelson talk about receiving an Operation Christmas Child shoe box in Russia nearly a decade ago.

Life in a Russian orphanage had been full of loneliness and despair for Oksana Nelson.

"It was very dull, very dark," Oksana said in an interview with ABC-affiliate station KLTV. "It just seemed like there was no life in there."

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD IN THE NEWS

Read the Weatherford Democrat story about Oksana's life.

Click here to see more news stories about Operation Christmas Child.
The children were fed bland starchy meals and given used clothing, which often didn't fit.

But when Oksana was 8, American missionaries came to the orphanage. The visitors passed out something special to each child—a gift-filled shoe box.

She received dominoes and candy, and one item she particularly liked—mint-flavored toothpaste. But the most valuable item inside was a picture of the two children who had packed her box.

"I opened my box slowly and was overwhelmed by all of the gifts it held," Oksana told the Weatherford Democrat newspaper. "It was so impacting seeing the faces of the two children in the photo that cared about someone they didn’t even know on the other side of the world."

Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world. To adopt a box that brings the Good News of God's love, click here.A year later, Oksana was adopted by an American family and moved to Weatherford, Texas. When she was in high school, Oksana’s church started collecting shoe box gifts for Operation Christmas Child.

She remembered the box she received in Russia—her first and only possession, and decided to get involved.

Oksana now speaks to churches, community groups, and schools about her experiences with Operation Christmas Child.

“One box equals one child equals one soul,” she said. “Every time I speak, I believe it affects more kids.”

WAYS YOU CAN HELP

PRAY:

Please pray for the thousands of boys and girls who will receive shoe boxes this year. Pray that through the gifts and Gospel literature, these children and their families would come to know Jesus Christ.