A Christmas story

MORGAN CITY — First Baptist Church members heard the story of how hope can come from a simple shoebox, when Operation Christmas Child spokeswoman Anabel Rosario Fermin gave her testimony Wednesday.
“God was showing me his faithfulness in a shoebox,” said Fermin, who was a recipient of an Operation Christmas Child shoebox when she was a child.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization, in which volunteers donate gifts and pack the gifts in shoeboxes to be distributed around the world.
“A simple seed can turn into the most beautiful faith,” said Kevin Brown, regional director of the organization, in reference to Fermin.
Fermin, who grew up as a pastor’s daughter and in poverty in the Dominican Republic, received a shoebox when she was 10 years old when she prayed to God to finally give her a gift for Christmas.
“My father always told me God is faithful. So I decided to put God up to a test and I prayed for a gift,” said Fermin.
Fermin didn’t receive a gift for Christmas but during kid’s day at her father’s church in January she received a shoe-box.
“I knew then that God is faithful. He answered my prayer and He still does,” said Fermin.
Fermin said she loved all the items in her box, but what she still re-members the most is the picture and letter that she got from the family that packed her box.
“The only thing I recognized is the word ‘love.’ The letter inspired me to learn the (English) language so that I may one day tell this family thank you,” said Fermin.
Years later, while she was attending college, Fermin’s mother, father and oldest sister were killed in a car crash, which made her question her faith. However, Fermin remembers the teaching of her father that God is faithful. She stayed in college.
Fermin moved to Miami to continue her dream of learning English and eventually joined the evangelistic project in 2015.
Since then, Fermin moved to be with her family in Seattle and got married. She currently works as a radio personality but also encourages people to give with Operation Christmas Child since her shoebox pushed her closer to God.
Members of First Baptist Church in Morgan City along with other Morgan City residents and volunteers are working to fill up at least 6,900 shoeboxes to help Operation Christ-mas Child fulfill their goal to pass out 12 million shoeboxes. Residents can drop off gift donations to First Baptist Church during Operation Christmas Child’s national collection week Nov. 13-20.
“God will always place the right child with the right shoebox,” said Fermin. “What a privilege to be a part of something. It’s not just 12 million gifts or shoeboxes but 12 million souls being brought to God.”
Fermin is one of 146 million children who have received a shoebox since the project’s inception in 1993.
For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child or to view gift suggestions, visit www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.