My name is Debbie Pottorff and I’m the Church Relations Coordinator for the Big Bend / Tallahassee Area (Florida / P.R. Region) My husband, John, and I have been married for decades now and have 5 grown children (complete with grandchildren, children-in-laws, and “bonus” grandchildren). We’re still both working full time but since the kids are gone (out of the house) our lives would seem a bit empty without our shoebox kids. John is the leader of the Main Drop-Off location in our Area and since our Area Team is relatively small, we try to help out our Area Coordinators in other roles, as best we can. We truly believe in the OCC mission, the Great Commission and Matthew 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." For us, this is the way to live! Our Area Team has a facebook page: OCC Tallahassee/Big Bend FL that we'd love to have anyone to "like" and follow and we have a monthly email newletter that can be accessed throught the fb page.
>>When & where did you distribute shoeboxes?
I was invited to go on a Harvest Vision Trip to Malawi in May of 2018 and I definitely
brought back far more to share than I had expected from this adventure.
>>Please share a little about your trip and the distributions and about how many kids were at the distribution(s) you attended?
When we
arrived in Malawi, we were divided into three teams. Each team consisted of about 10-12 Connect
Volunteers and OCC staff members, plus 2 interpreters and 1-2 members of
Malawi’s National Leadership Team. During our stay, each team attended 5 different
Outreach Events (Distributions) and one The Greatest Journey Event. My team’s Outreach Events were to schools and
churches and had anywhere from 95 – 200 children present. The Greatest Journey Event was to one of
their weekly classes at a church and was attended by about 25 enthusiast
students.
>>What's your favorite memory?
The favorite memory about my trip is what “My Story”
and my presentation to share with groups and churches in my area will be about: Spiritual Warfare. My team’s very first Event was to the first
graders at Mziiza Primary School. We
were given this brief description of the location. “The
community surrounding the school is heavily influenced by a traditional
occultic religion that focuses on worship of the spirits of the dead. Ritual ceremonies are held in the graveyards
and much of the practices are kept secret, known only to members. Children are initiated into this secret
society at a young age, sometimes forcibly.” A similar
description was also given for a few other locations in our Team packet so we didn’t
think much of it.
Following the typical Outreach event (consisting of
music, a gospel presentation, introduction of the Greatest Gift, passing out
& opening of the shoeboxes, interaction with the children, and a time of
prayer with the Pastor & Directors) we loaded up on the bus and went just
around the corner where, unknown to us, we were escorted to a row of chairs in
the front row of a circle that was beginning to form. At first the circle was only a couple of
people deep but as all the children from the school and most of the adults from
the village continued to arrive, the circumference appeared to swell to about
4-6 people thick. Soon the women started
a singing chant that was then accompanied by drums and eventually the first two
“spirit dancers” arrived. The village
chief was translating (or giving a description of) what was happening at first
but later ceased. These “spirits” were
not friendly and the stories surrounding them were far from heartwarming. Still, not quite sure what we were
experiencing, our collective feeling was “uncomfortable” to say the very
least. We witnessed about 4 or 5 of
these different demonstrations and looking around the circle I noticed a group of
little 5-6 year old girls, from the school, with looks of sheer terror on their
faces.(It must have been at this time when I realized this was a very real
happening and I wasn’t at a Disney World performance.) Fast forward a few demonic demonstrations and
I look over at the girls again. One
little girl has opened up her GO box and taken out her brand new blonde Barbie
and she and her friends are now oblivious to their dark surrounds and playing
with her new toy that was packed, with love, by someone who wanted to share the
hope and love found in Jesus Christ with these children. Allelujah!
I do want to point out that the older children in
the Mziiza Primary School had received shoeboxes last year and many were given
the opportunity to take part in The Greatest Journey. And, for those that completed the course, not
a single one has returned to the graveyard rituals. The presence of Operation Christmas Child in
this area has also resulted in families turning to Christ and leaving behind
the magic and witchcraft which are dominant in this community. There is heavy spiritual warfare for the
souls of these people. Please pray for these children and their families.
God has definitely shown me that spiritual warfare is real
and I intend on using this experience to make sure my fellow shoebox packers
remember to pray and join in the battle for the souls of children (and their
families) all over the world.
It would be very
hard to pick one item that most of the children enjoyed or seemed to need. I
will say that at one event you’d ask them what they got in their box and almost
all of them would simply hold up their flip flops.
And, while I
would always advise people to pray over your box and if you feel led to pack an
item (not on the inappropriate list)…just do it but if you’re trying to decide on what type of ball to pack and not
feeling led in any certain directions, pack a soccer or other round ball. I
spent a lot of time with the older boys and most of them had never seen nor
heard of American football. Then when you’d try to explain it was a football they’d try to play with it by
kicking it. I’m sure they’ll eventually figure out a fun use. The other interesting gift was a ball &
glove. (And I would never encourage
against these because they are BIG items in Central & South America.) The
boys in Malawi weren’t quite sure what the glove was. One guy finally decided the glove was a
hat. Through our interpreter (named Hope)
I did explain that the glove went on his hand but then when Hope tried to show
him how, he had never put on a mitt and tried showing him on the wrong
hand. Children are very resourceful so
I’m sure all their gifts will be put in use but just keep in mind that soccer
balls seem to be universal.
>>Is there anything you personally won't be packing as much in boxes in the future based on what you saw?
There isn’t
an item that I won’t be packing in the future but I will try to emphasize to
others to please remove the packaging when possible (we had a hard time even
with our box cutters and scissors!) and please try to make sure to send
“working” items. I’m not saying it has
to be “top of the line” quality but at least make sure the noisemakers make
noise and the yo-yo does more than just yo (make sure they spin freely).
>>Is there anything else you'd like to share with fellow shoebox packers?
Please,
please, please don’t get hung up so much on the gifts inside the box that you
forget about the bigger purpose:The mission
of Operation Christmas Child is
to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to children in need around the
world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of
Jesus Christ.
REMINDER: this advice is just based on one person's opinion based on their personal experience in one country. This is not official from Operation Christmas Child whose guidelines are the only thing incumbent on us to follow and are based on thousands of distributions in dozens of countries over many years and based on feedback from local partners as well as customs regulations. These regulations are different for different sending countries, so be sure to check out the rules for your own country/region (OCC USA, OCC Canada, OCC UK, OCC AU, OCC Japan, etc.).
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