By LINN ANN HUNTINGTON
Special to Hays Post
The little girl waited breathlessly that Christmas Eve as the pastor at her church in central Romania distributed boxes of brightly wrapped shoebox gifts to all the children in the room.
The children were seated in horizontal rows. The first row received boxes and then passed them over their heads to the row behind them. That row did the same, with each row repeating the process, to the back row.
The event was an Operation Christmas Child (OCC) gift distribution. Finally, 6-year-old Lorena Surducan had her box. The pastor asked the children to place their hands on their box as he led them in prayer to bless the person who had prepared their gift.
Then the pastor began his countdown, and all the paper went flying as the children opened their gifts at the same time, amidst squeals of delight.
But Lorena was careful about opening her gift. The paper was so pretty, she wanted to save it, she said.
Surducan told her story of that special night when she spoke in Hays May 28 at North Oak Community Church.
Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization headquartered in Boone, N.C. Each year thousands of people fill simple shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items.
The boxes are collected during November each year and are shipped to children in need. According to data provided by the ministry, “Since 1993, over 232 million shoebox gifts have been collected for children in over 170 countries and territories.”
Rachel Albin of Hays, the Northwest Kansas Area Coordinator for OCC, said for many children this is the first gift they have ever received. Inside each box is a pamphlet in the child’s language talking about Jesus and his love for each child. Albin said this is the first time many of these children have heard of Jesus also.
But that was not the case for Surducan. She and her sister grew up in a Christian home, and she had heard about God from an early age.
“My mother taught us how to pray, and she read us a Bible story each night before bed,” Surducan said.
Although she didn’t know it at the time, she said her father often prayed that God would provide when there was little money for food or bills. And God always did.
A few years before attending the OCC event at her church, Lorena and her sister got hold of a catalog from a U.S. department store. The little girls were mesmerized by the toys they saw. Toys were not sold in Romanian stores, Lorena said.
The toy that captured her attention the most was a Barbie doll, and she told her mother she wanted one. Her mother suggested that she pray and ask God for the doll.
So, Lorena did.
For several years, each night during her bedtime prayers, Lorena would ask God for a Barbie doll. As she opened her OCC shoebox gift that Christmas Eve, she carefully looked through the contents—school supplies, glittery pens, a matching hat, mittens, and scarf set.
Then, at the very bottom of her box was a Barbie doll.
Surducan said, “The impact of this on my life was just fantastic. If God cares so much about this one prayer, don’t you think he cares about other prayers? If he cared so much for this one little girl, wouldn’t he care about other children?”
That faith has sustained Surducan throughout her life. In 2015 she moved to the United States to attend college at Mississippi University for Women in Columbia, Miss. Her church there was a drop-off location for OCC shoebox gifts.
Surducan casually mentioned to one of the church volunteers that she had received such a gift when she was a child. The volunteer took note and contacted people at Samaritan’s Purse’s headquarters.
Soon Surducan was sharing her story across the South. At one point she moved to Florida where she met and married her husband, Bryson. Then two years ago, they moved to Lawrence, Kan., so Lorena could continue her education in Music Therapy at the University of Kansas.
A year ago, 29-year-old Bryson suffered a stroke. On the ride to the hospital, Surducan said she realized she had two choices: “I could give in to panic, or I could trust God and his faithfulness.”
She began to pray, releasing her husband to God, no matter the outcome. She said she immediately experienced peace.
“The faith that began years ago resulted in my ability to pray this biggest prayer of my life,” she said.
The doctors placed Bryson in ICU and ran many tests, but they were never able to figure out what caused the stroke, Lorena said. A few days later Bryson walked out of the hospital and has experienced no after-effects of his stroke, she said.
Albin, who oversees the shoebox collections in 15 Northwest Kansas counties, including Ellis County, said last year those residents packed 13,602 boxes, and she is hoping for more this year.
Only God could have orchestrated the journey that one box took in reaching Lorena, Albin said.
“Each child who receives a box is praying for something special,” Albin said. “As we pack shoeboxes, may we pray that God will lead us in selecting what we put in our boxes.”
Those wishing to know more about Operation Christmas Child may visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.
This year’s shoebox National Collection Week is Nov. 17-24. North Oak Community Church, where Surducan spoke, packed 768 boxes last year, said LuAnn Walters of Hays, North Oak’s OCC coordinator. Naturally, she is hoping for more this year also.
Walters said many area churches, including North Oak, have special events throughout the year, where members paint blocks for younger children’s boxes, sew simple dresses, and prepare pencil packs and hygiene kits. North Oak’s adults and children also participate in “packing parties” prior to collection week.
Individuals, groups, and churches wanting to learn more about organizing such events are encouraged to contact Albin at (785) 639-1325 or [email protected].