Spiritual Impact Story
UPG stands for “Unreached People Group.” At Operation Christmas Child, we adapted a definition from the Joshua Project to define UPGs. They are “a people linked by culture and language who have little or no access to the Gospel, or do not have enough Christians to evangelize their own people.” Distance, religion, language barriers, or other circumstances can prevent these people groups from being engaged. With over 3 billion people still waiting to hear the Gospel, about 1 billion of them are children. Operation Christmas Child is strategically finding ways to deliver shoebox gifts to children in regions with no exposure to the Gospel. Right now, there are about 7,000 people groups that have never heard the name of Jesus or met a believer.
There are reported to be about 10,000 Wara people who live in Burkina Faso and they speak their own language (Wara). Because the Wara people value isolation from the developing world, they are far from any modern health care facilities as well as education systems. Less than 30% of Wara children regularly attend school and are formally educated.
Less than 2% of the Wara people are evangelical. As of today, there are no Bibles translated for the Wara people to read.
The Wara people live in six different villages. Their primary sources of income come from farming both corn and rice. They maintain close relationships with their extended family as the eldest male of the clan is often their family chief, The Joshua Project reports. Religiously, the Wara have yet to adopt Islam, but rather they are committed to their cultural religion of spirits and sacrifices that have a slight Islamic influence. The only form of Christianity they have been exposed to is that of a single Catholic Church in one of their villages.
This year, a Ministry Partner is taking shoebox gifts to young Wara children for the first time.
Reflection
Devotional – from one of our newest members on our Prayer Team
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Sally Wood, the newest member of our happy little group. I am very excited and proud to partner with you in supporting the Operation Christmas Child ministry!
I am one of those people who just loves doing whatever I can to fill those shoeboxes. I am constantly checking out the clearance racks for shoebox stuffers. I am one of those people who just loves to yell Score! whenever I find a great bargain, like 10 cent spiral notebooks or clearance teddy bear stockings that can be converted into purses. I love shoebox packing parties and for me, there is no greater thrill than placing my hand on top of a shoebox that has been specially packed with lots of toys and goodies for a child whom the Lord has already picked. No greater thrill that is, unless perhaps my hands are on the tops of lots of shoeboxes.
In OCC, Great Joy results from a well packed and prayed over shoebox. This aspect of OCC is an important one: selecting items for the shoeboxes that will delight a child include that all-important WOW gift, much-needed school supplies, and hygiene items that can truly make a difference in their lives.
But…I am going to talk about something that is much more important. It is something that I strongly believe we always need to keep our primary focus on. It is the reason why we do what we do, packing and processing all these shoeboxes. Because packed inside each one of those precious shoeboxes is a Gospel opportunity which advances The Great Commission.
So how do we incorporate The Great Commission into our OCC activities? Well, I firmly believe that it all starts with prayer. We need to call upon the Lord so that the seed that is sown (Gospel opportunities in the form of shoeboxes) falls upon fertile soil. We need to continue to be faithful in sowing that seed. And we need to trust God –and Him alone- to give the increase. Which we will give Him all the glory for …
June 10th – Chicken BBQ (Littlestown Ace’s parking lot (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
July 29th – Bender’s Evangelical Lutheran Church is planning its “Christmas in July” Shoebox packing party.
Aug 19th – Community Treasure Hunt (Littlestown Senior Center (8 AM – 2 PM)
Sept 9th – Project Leader Workshop (Bethel Assembly – More Info to follow)
Oct 14th – Chicken BBQ (Littlestown Ace’s parking lot (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
Nov 13th through the 20th – National Collection Week
Please contact us if your Church or Group would like to know more about Operation Christmas Child. We can also host a table at one of your events.
I also want to share a video that might be helpful if you host an event geared towards pastors, which I will send separately.
Prayer Needs
- Pray for God to continue calling strong, year round leader volunteers to serve on Area Teams, especially for a Prayer Coordinator.
- Pray for more opportunities to share the joy of serving with OCC.
- Pray for our Area Team as we connect with project leaders of churches and groups for their participation in 2023.
- Join us in praying for the UPGs that will receive shoebox gifts this year that God would be glorified, and that lives would be changed.
- Pray that the Wara people would receive Jesus as their Savior.
- Pray for the team that is delivering the shoebox gifts to the Wara children.
- Pray for safety from religious extremists and for peace during distribution.
- Pray for the NLT in Burkina Faso as they go out to this people group and for spiritual strongholds to be brought down.