For nearly 20 years, Fountain Hills families have packed shoeboxes with gifts for children around the world through Operation Christmas Child. One of these gifts reached Alex Nsengimana, a young Rwandan boy living in a period of unrest.

On Sunday, Sept. 25, at Cornerstone Family Church, Nsengimana will speak to Fountain Hills residents to share how the simple gift had a life-changing impact.

Growing up in the midst of an unstable Rwandan government, Nsengimana experienced firsthand the travesties of his nation’s genocide. At the height of tribal unrest, the genocide claimed the lives of his caregivers. Fleeing for his life, Nsengimana escaped gunmen and eventually ended up in an orphanage that was his home for the next several years.

Nsengimana received a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child one year after arriving at the orphanage and remembers the excitement of having a gift to call his own. The shoebox gift sowed seeds of hope and love that he desperately needed.

Nsengimana now serves with Operation Christmas Child, paying forward the hope and love he received through a shoebox gift.

Nsengimana will be telling his story and encouraging residents as they kick off the upcoming collection season to fill as many shoeboxes as possible with toys, school supplies and hygiene items – contributing to the global goal of reaching 11 million children.

Cornerstone Family Church, located at 10215 N. Saguaro Blvd., will host this event during the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday, Sept. 25, as well as Scottsdale Bible Church, 7601 E. Shea Blvd., at 4 p.m. the same day.

During Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week from Nov. 14-21, Fountain Hills residents can bring gift-filled shoeboxes to the local drop-off location of JOY Christian Community Church, with dates and times to be announced in late October.

For more information, call Area Coordinator Cheryl Johnson at 602-750-5408, or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.

Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement. Boxes built online go to hard-to-reach countries.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of the international Christian relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse, which delivers gift-filled shoeboxes to millions of children in need each year. Operation Christmas Child seeks to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world and, together with the local church worldwide, share the news of Jesus Christ.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 198 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories. This year, Operation Christmas Child will collect its 200-millionth shoebox.