Ever wonder how an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift changes the life of its recipient?
Elizabeth Groff recently shared how a simple yoyo inside her shoebox gift changed her life forever at age 10.
She was born in the southern region of Ukraine, but it wasn’t long before her family was torn apart.
As a tot, Elizabeth lost her father in a tragic alcohol-related accident.
Her mother simply could not cope with the death of her husband and became an alcoholic.
While still overwhelmed by grief and responsibility, she found herself pregnant again a few years later.
The burden of caring for two young children became far too heavy for her to bear alone.
So, Elizabeth’s mother packed up their belongings and they moved to a nearby village to live with grandparents.
But she was absent from their lives as she drank heavily, leaving Elizabeth to look after her little sister.
“She was my whole world. I knew Tonya deserved a better life, so I took her by the hand,” Elizabeth shares. “We ran away.”
She found herself an orphan by age seven when one day Tonya’s father came to take her home.
Elizabeth watched as her sister walked away smiling with pure joy in her beautiful brown eyes.
She – however – felt her heart break. She felt hopeless, lost, alone. And that is where Jesus met her.
He showed His love for her through a simple gift that came in the form of an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.
“I lost the only family I had left,” she shares, “and when I hit rock bottom, God [gave me] my first-ever gift.
“Inside was a yellow yoyo, and though I didn’t know how to use it, that yoyo gave me hope that I held onto for years.
“I was no longer alone. God was with me; He was my family. I was no longer an orphan, but His daughter.”
At age 13, Elizabeth was adopted by a family in Virginia, and last November reunited with Tonya in Ukraine after 20 years apart.
Her very own gift has sparked passion for this global ministry and desire for other children to know that “Jesus loves me.”
She studied at Virginia Tech where she started a campus Shoebox Club that’s received support from the Hokie football team.
Elizabeth has since gotten her Master’s degree in public health and works in healthcare and of course uses her story to promote OCC.
“I’m just one of the 198 million children who have received a shoebox [since 1993].
“It was so much more than a gift-filled shoebox with hygiene items, school supplies and fun toys.
“It was a gospel opportunity that opened my heart to God, and it came from one home.”
Today Elizabeth’s home country is war-torn, and children there and around the world need hope more than ever.
“Children are being orphaned and suffering. There’s no better time than now to pack a shoebox.
“God will use your gift to change the life of a child – forever – just like He did mine.”
Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect 11 million shoebox gifts – globally – in 2022, including 9.4 million in the United States.
National Collection Week is Nov. 14-21 when nearly 5,000 drop-off locations are open across the country.
This year, the ministry expects to collect its 200 millionth gift-filled shoebox.