U.S. Disaster Relief Volunteers Also Process Shoebox Gifts

Seven volunteers from four states reunited to serve at Operation Christmas Child’s Boone Processing Center yesterday

Orange goes with red and green. That’s what seven volunteers from four states showed as they served at our Operation Christmas Child Processing Center in Boone, North Carolina, on November 28. Wearing their bright Samaritan’s Purse U.S. Disaster Relief T-shirts, they joined thousands of others in preparing shoebox gifts for international delivery.

Hailing from Georgia, Tennessee, New York, and Arizona, the volunteers met in October 2013 while serving with Samaritan’s Purse at a flood response in Greeley, Colorado. Calling themselves the Sisterhood of the Traveling Shovels, the group (which includes five women and two husbands too) goes to disasters around the country to serve as part of site team leadership—facilitating the work of other volunteers.

They appreciate each other’s company so much that they gather regularly for fun events such as ziplining, whitewater rafting, or this time, serving with Operation Christmas Child.

“It’s fun. It’s family. You get to be part of something bigger,” said Lori Lybrook of Pennellville, New York.

For Lori, a registered nurse, Operation Christmas Child is the latest of her volunteer efforts. She served with World Medical Mission in Haiti in 2011 and then later that year, as a Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplain in Binghamton, New York, before getting involved with Samaritan’s Purse U.S. Disaster Relief.

“It’s different things to do, but it’s all the same purpose—to bring people to Jesus Christ,” Lori said.

Michael and Karen Scales of Miami, Arizona, spent nearly a month serving at the Hurricane Matthew response in Pinetops, North Carolina before joining friends at the Boone Processing Center Monday. In addition to the physical labor they invested in the clean-up, they provided “lots of emotional, spiritual support for the families,” Karen said.

“Everyone in the group has been out over 100 days this year,” said Leslie Meinen of The Woodlands, Texas.

But they still continue to serve.

Please pray for Operation Christmas Child volunteers as they process of millions of shoebox gifts that will bless boys and girls around the world with a tangible expression of God’s love. Also, please pray for our continuing response in eastern North Carolina as residents continue to recover from Hurricane Matthew.