Faith and Prayer

    As we have gathered supplies and toys, worked hard to put the shoeboxes together, and gather funds for shipping our family has also prayed together for the families who will receive the shoeboxes.  We pray in faith that hearts will be touched and that families will desire to learn the gospel, and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Redeemer.  Exercising faith, and praying together has really helped to unify us.  We've felt closer to the Savior as we have made this a part of our daily life.  We aren't just praying for ourselves, we are thinking of others and asking the Lord to bless them.

"Praying together as a family and reading the scriptures...together is probably the best [thing we do to pull us toward Heavenly Father and each other]."

-Shana, Latter-day Saint mother, Pg. 189, Successful Marriages and Families: Proclamation Principles and Research Perspectives

    Coming together as a family, committing ourselves to a lofty goal, be diligent in obtaining our goal, and enduring to the end are all principles taught by our Savior.  We have learned not to give up, and to stay the course even when it gets hard (we all got sick right before we were suppose to pack the shoeboxes).   Sometimes life can be hard but if we stick to the commandments and live the gospel without giving up our faith we will be blessed with happiness and fulfillment.  This project has really helped to teach that lesson.

Some of the School Supplies Donated

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."

-The Family: A Proclamation to the World

A Fathers Example

     My husband has been a big support when it comes to the Operation Christmas Child activity.  He has taken time to help put shoeboxes together, and deliver them to the drop off locations.  The drop off locations are the places to deliver the packed shoeboxes, so they can be sent of to different countries.  He has also worked hard so we can have some of the needed money for the shipping expenses.   He has also encouraged the children, and shared with them experiences he has had when he has traveled to poor countries and helped serve them.  This has helped the children gain a greater respect for him.  It has helped them have a greater understanding for the needs of others, and that when we serve them, we our serving God.

Dad with the Kids

"Parenting is a work of vital, even eternal, importance to children, families, and communities.  Fathers make a fundamental difference in parenting across generation."

-Sean E. Brotherson, Pg. 140, Successful Marriages and Families: Proclamation Principles and Research Perspectives

The Lesson

    Before we do the Operation Christmas Child activity we always have a lesson.  In the lesson the children learn about the importance of the home and family, and about how living the gospel will strengthen our family unity.  Part of living the gospel is serving others and helping them to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ.  We discuss why serving others is an important part of living the gospel and how it strengthens our testimony in return.

Our Family

"The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place or fulfill its essential functions in carrying forward this God-given responsibility."

-First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ o Latter-day Saints

    

   Through this activity I know I have grown closer to my children.  Whenever you help your children learn and apply an important principle like service you truly feel closer to them.  I feel that through this project my children have gained a greater understanding of who I am and what I want to become.  They see that God's children are important to me and that I want them to be important to them.  This activity has brought us closer, and we feel a greater love for one another.

Mom and the Girls

 

"As women engage in the work of motherhood, whatever their circumstances, they will find that their greatest source of strength will come from knowing and following the doctrines of Christ and relying on Him for help."

-Janet J. Erickson, Pg. 137, Successful Marriages and Families: Proclamation Principles and Research Perspectives

The Extended Family Support

     When we started the Operation Christmas Child project we thought about who we could ask for help with donations.  We thought of friends, and church members first.  One day while we were talking to my mom we brought up the project and right away she decided she would like to donate some funds to ship the shoeboxes. I'm not sure how much she realizes the impact it has on her grandchildren to see her not only want to serve others, but also to support her family in their desires to serve.  It is a great example to her daughter and her grandchildren.  It has brought us closer together as a family and helped our entire family feel closer to their grandma.

Grandpa and Grandma Matosich

   Another amazing aspect of this activity is that when you are sharing a gift with a child, you are sharing it with their entire family.  Each one of these children receive a book about Jesus Christ.  So they learn about his life, ministry, atonement, and resurrection.  Along with this our family also shares a family photo and a note sharing our testimony of families, and the Savior.  As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints it is one of our greatest pleasures to share our knowledge of Eternal Families, and that this is one of the most important parts of our Heavenly Father's plan.  This activity gave us an opportunity to share this with children and their families that we would never have met otherwise.

Columbus Ohio Temple 

"The family is central to the creator's plan for the eternal destiny of his children... In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experiences to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life."

-The Family: A Proclamation to the World

The Atonement is Eternal

     Operation Christmas Child is program created by Surmaritan's Purse that helps children all over the world receive Christmas gifts.  We will talk more on this later.  As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Christians we understand that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is for all people.  We know that our Savior suffered for the sins of everyone who ever lived, is now living, and will yet live on this Earth.  He desires all to receive it, and feel the healing, the love, sacrifice, peace, and joy that comes when we repent of our sins, and seek him in times of sorrow.  Through the Operation Christmas Child project my family and I have come to see that more clearly as we have reached out to those children and their families who may not have the gospel in their lives, and shared our testimony of the Savior with them.  We have felt, in part, a love for individuals we don't know.  And that we hope will feel our Saviors love through these small acts of giving.

Our Shoeboxes

"The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.  Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally."  

-The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Packing Shoeboxes

Our family has a tradition of packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  My plan is to make many posts that share how what this activity is, how it blesses lives, and how it helps us as individuals and families fulfill some of the key principles in the document, The Family: A Proclamation to the World.  My children have greatly enjoyed the activity, and it has brought us closer together as a family.  We have felt the spirit, and love for Heavenly Fathers children.

Getting Back to Blogging

  It has been a while since I've posted on the blog.  Life has been crazy, first with my recovery, then with starting homeschool with the kids, and my parents coming up for a visit.  I've recovered well from the surgery, homeschooling is going well, and my parents visit was wonderful as always.  We even got to visit the Sacred Grove in Palmyra New York and Niagra Falls on the way home.  It was a much needed visit as Grandma and Grandpa Matosich will be headed off to the Adriadic North Mission (Croatia) to serve a church mission for 18 months on December 7th.  We will miss them, but are excited for this new chapter in their life.  Among these amazing events taking place I have also decided to finish my degree through BYU-Idaho.  I am now taking two online classes that I am enjoying so much.  I will be posting some important things I am learning from one of my classes on this blog for all to enjoy.  It's been a wonderful past few months and I'm excited for the bright new year ahead.

Our family in the Sacred Grove, Palmyra, New York