Daring To Dream

A shoe box recipient from Ukraine finds a new role with Operation Christmas Child in the U.S.

When Julia received an Operation Christmas Child shoe box, she knew it was the start of something special happening in her life. The 12-year-old Ukrainian girl longed for a safe haven, far away from the abuse and alcoholism that characterized her home life. Perhaps her dreams weren’t so impossible after all.

“I always wanted to come home to a place where my mom would be waiting for me, and where my grandparents would love me with all their heart,” she said. “When I was holding that box, I felt like that. I even forgot the conditions I was living in.”

Julia’s childhood was anything but idyllic. Her father walked out on her and her mother when she was 8. But leaving them wasn’t all he did. He loaded up the furniture and belongings in their small apartment and left them with little more than the walls and floor.

Thank you for giving me a chance to serve God in a way that I love! Devastated, Julia and her mother scraped by as best they could. Living conditions were difficult throughout the country following the breakup of the former Soviet Union. When Julia’s paternal grandparents moved in with them, their financial situation worsened.

Her mother’s salary as a nurse was not enough to pay for rent and food for everyone. There wasn’t even any money to buy clothes. For a while, Julia’s wardrobe consisted of one jeans skirt and one t-shirt.

Then a new man entered their lives. At first her mother’s boyfriend was kind to them and helped with the bills. That brief period of stability ended when his drinking problem became apparent.

“After a while my mom decided to leave him and to visit a church,” Julia said. “She knew only God could help us.”

They attended the church regularly. Julia accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior when she was 10. Eventually her mom did too. But Julia’s grandmother was not at all happy about their newfound faith. She told them there would be trouble if they continued to go to church.

One day Julia came home from school and found the apartment choked with smoke. A frying pan was burning on the stove. Her grandmother lay stretched out on the bed drunk and oblivious. The bouts of drunkenness became more frequent.

“It was a horrible time and I didn’t know what to do,” Julia said. “I had no room to study in, no safe place to go. My grandma told my mom, ‘Do not take her to church, or I will drink again and kill you.\’ We went to church anyway.\”

Julia will never forget the day she received a shoe box filled with jewelry and school supplies during a special service at their church. The crayons were the first she had ever seen. But she was even more excited to get a pair of batteries, which at the time equaled the cost of five loaves of bread.

“The box was a real blessing for me, as I never had anything like that before,” she said. “It wasn’t just a present. A present is one gift, but getting a box containing lots of stuff was a shower of blessings!”

From that day on, Julia dreamed of moving to the United States. She even kept a candy wrapper from her box that said “made in USA.”

Deeply moved by those who had given the shoe boxes, Julia sought to get involved in Operation Christmas Child herself. She got a job as an office assistant with a ministry partner of Samaritan’s Purse that delivered shoe box gifts in Ukraine.

It was heart-rending but hugely rewarding for Julia as the ministry delivered boxes to families decimated by alcohol and drugs, and to street kids who slept in underground sewers.

“One boy asked me, ‘Is all of this for me? Everything in the box?’” she said. “When I told him yes, I started crying too, knowing I could be one of those kids with all that has happened in my life.”

In 2002, Julia was diagnosed with cancer in her kidney. The doctors said she needed surgery immediately and her prospects for survival were not good. At the time, Julia was studying at the university to be a teacher. It was also the Christmas season, and she was upset that she would not be able to help distribute the truckload of shoe boxes that recently arrived at the office where she worked.

But God was watching over Julia. Surgeons removed the tumor, and despite the grim prognosis, the cancer did not spread. Julia did not even go undergo chemotherapy. The Lord had healed her!

More blessings soon followed. Julia met a wonderful man who later became her husband. It was an answer to prayer when two years later, he was able to obtain a green card so they and their young son could move to the United States.

“This was my dream come true, and I know God’s hand was in it,” she said.

Now her passion for Operation Christmas Child could be fully realized. After locating the closest regional office to their home in Washington, Julia filled out an application online to volunteer. She was thrilled beyond words when a local representative contacted her and said everyone in the office would love to meet her.

Today Julia serves as a spokesperson for Operation Christmas Child, encouraging others to pack boxes for children who desperately need the gift of hope. She is looking forward to volunteering at a collection center for the first time this fall.

“I know God made it possible for me to be here,” Julia said. “I always wanted to help hurting kids and bring them the huge joy and happiness that come from such a small shoe box. Thank you for giving me a chance to serve God in a way that I love!”