OCC: Packing Boxes and the ATL Processing Center
I packed my first shoebox in 1994. I had no idea that 26 years later I'd still be packing shoeboxes with my children. This is one of our very favorite Christmas projects, and it never gets old. Never! The kids know that when October comes, it's time to go shopping. And when November comes, it's time to pack boxes. Ellie asked me everyday, "Mama, are we going to pack shoeboxes today?" And, finally, the day came.
I absolutely love taking the kids shopping for our shoebox gifts. Over the past few years, we've figured out what we really like to put in the boxes so we purchase pretty much the same items every year. I keep a list in my phone, but I didn't even need the list this year. The girls knew exactly where to go and what we needed. We always have our own little family packing party, and the first step is to organize everything and lay the items out across the table.
It's almost like there's something sacred in laying everything out on the table. I wonder what pictures will be painted or drawn in the sketch books. What will the little girls look like who wear these barrettes and ponytail holders in their hair? What colors will she choose when she makes her first friendship bracelet? What games will he play with the marbles or the rope? Has he ever had a soccer ball before to call his very own? How many hours will he spend playing with the matchbox cars? What will be her favorite scented chapstick? It's not lost on me that children across the globe will open these boxes and take out one-by-one each item that was lovingly packed. We touched every single thing in these boxes. And they will, too.
We LOVE these new plastic OCC boxes! I was most excited because they are a little bigger than the cardboard boxes. It's always tricky fitting everything into a box. But, apparently, they still need to be even bigger! (I have no idea how I captured this photo! I didn't even know I did until I looked back on my phone afterwards. And, honestly, Hannah Kate probably wouldn't appreciate this too much . . .).
I loved when OCC began the "track your box" option a few years ago. We can hardly wait to find out where this year's boxes land. Looking back, our boxes in previous years have gone to:
2018 | Panama and Ecuador
2016 | Philippines and Chad 2015 | Philippines, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali
Seth, Mason and I also had an extra special OCC treat this year. We volunteered at the OCC Processing Center in Atlanta with some friends of ours when we went to Georgia for Thanksgiving.
I've been wanting to do this for several years now. I had originally planned to volunteer two years ago because that was the year Mason turned 13, and you have to be at least 13 to volunteer at the Processing Center. But that didn't work out. And last year we didn't go to Georgia for Thanksgiving. So this was the year. I was positively giddy when I walked around the corner in the big warehouse and saw this:Seth and Mason unpacked shoeboxes from the crates in which they were packed at the local drop-off locations. They opened each box to be sure all of the items therein were approved by OCC. Seth said one of the coolest things was seeing what was packed inside each box. There were some phenomenal boxes! I can only imagine the looks on the children's faces as they open these boxes!After Seth and Mason inspected each box, they handed them to me, and I wrapped them in OCC tape and put them in the corresponding box based on gender and age. Once the boxes were full, they were placed on the conveyor belt and loaded onto trucks headed straight to the airport. Again, it was not lost on me at all that these very boxes we touched would soon be touched again in countries across the globe and unpacked for thousands and thousands of kids. We already know that the boxes we packed that day are going to Tanzania and South Sudan!I had such a good time, and my guys did, too! We all agreed that we can't wait to go back next year! And we'll have Hannah Kate with us. She missed this trip by one week. 
When I dropped off our boxes at our local collection site, they gave me an OCC Christmas ornament with Psalm 108:5 on it. "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth."
~Psalm 108:5
