Emmanuel Osire was born in Uganda in what he recounts as “a wilderness” with little food, lots of education inequality, and just enough Jesus to keep him and his siblings believing.
Now living in the U.S. with his wife and a new life, Osire often thinks back to how things have changed since one defining moment: receiving a gift-filled shoebox from Samaritan’s Purse as part of the nonprofit’s Operation Christmas Child project.
“I still remember that day. There was a beautiful sunrise, excitement in the air, and a warmth in our hearts when we saw a team from Operation Christmas Child bringing in the big cartons with shoeboxes,” Osire said on Good Things with Rebecca Turner during a recent stop in Mississippi ahead of the incoming holiday season.
“I remember that when I received my shoebox, I felt special, I felt known, and I felt loved,” he continued. “This was my very, very first present that was wrapped just for me.”
Osire, serving as a spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse, said he’s one of just millions of children who received their first Christmas gift through the nonprofit’s decades of work. In anticipation of this year’s Christmas – less than 100 days from now – he’s urging people nationwide to consider packing shoeboxes and playing a part in taking the holiday spirit to someone in need.
Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian-based organization, has been welcoming donations and delivering shoeboxes full of hygiene items, school supplies, toys, and other fun knick-knacks to the needy since 1993. Target zones include areas impacted by poverty, war, disaster, and famine. This year’s National Collection Week will take place Nov. 17-23, with thousands of locations set up across the U.S. for residents to drop off packed boxes.
While the shoeboxes intend to give kids a reprieve from their harsh environments through the likes of balls, stuffed animals, and yo-yos, another goal is to further spread the word of Christianity.
For Osire, that’s exactly what happened when he received his shoebox.
“Growing up in a very difficult time, when I received my shoebox, it was a reminder and reassurance that God was still in life with me,” he said. “Things were never the same. Even when other challenges came after that, I knew that God’s got me, he’s with me, and I’m going to get through this.”
As for what was inside Osire’s shoebox, there were, of course, things like a toothbrush, crayons, and a cape. But what was most important to him were two items in specific: a harmonica and a doll.
“The harmonica was my favorite item. It was special to me because I’m a musician. Since I was a child, I’ve always loved music, so it was very personal and it resonated with me. I remember I would play it all day long,” said Osire, who now works as a guitar instructor and pastor in Colorado.
“Now, when I think back and I’m like, ‘How come, in all the shoeboxes, the one that I got had a harmonica in it?’ The only explanation is that it must be the hand of God at work.”
The doll, on the other hand, wasn’t necessarily Osire’s favorite at the time, but little did he know that it would be a connecting force for him and his future wife. The two went through years of separation before being able to reconnect and later marry when living in the U.S.
“My box, even though I was a boy, it had a doll in it. Later on, when I met my wife, who then became my girlfriend, I gave it to her when she was coming over to the United States. We were apart for seven years, and I really think the doll played a part in keeping our hearts together,” he said, smiling.
To create more smiles like that of Osire’s, Samaritan’s Purse is aiming to deliver 12.6 million shoeboxes globally this holiday season. Since the beginning of the Operation Christmas Child project, over 232 million shoebox gifts have been unwrapped by children in more than 170 countries and territories. To learn more about how to get involved with the project, click here.
