Written by Zac Vakadewatabua. This is a paid partnership with Operation Christmas Child.
My name is Sakiusa Rokovasa Vakadewatabua, Jr. but I go by Zac. I grew up in a country that greets the first sunrise of every day. Fiji consists of over three hundred islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The International Date Line cuts straight through my country, meaning Fiji is the first to see every new morning and the first to usher in each new year. We are literally at the end of the earth and I want to invite you to come with me on a journey to make an impact to the very ends of the earth! But let me tell you my story first.
Blue Waters & Empty Bottles
Childhood in this island country was different than what you might expect. Yes, Fiji is rich in clear blue waters and constant warm temperatures, but my four siblings and I grew up playing with sticks and stones. Often the kids in our neighborhood played rugby, except no one could afford a ball. Instead we played with empty bottles.
My father’s trade is a shipwright, but his calling is to be a pastor. We lived right next to the church where we served. Both buildings were positioned near the river which instigated a constant battle with flooding during rainy season. Routinely my father and the men of our congregation had to trek down river to fetch pieces of the church’s structure that swept away in the downpour. I admire my parents for remaining so faithful throughout every hardship, always relying on God for our every need. When my siblings and I needed to go to school, they couldn’t even afford the school supplies. However, our faithful God always provided.
I Saw God’s Love in a Shoe Box
I was only five years old when I decided to place my trust in Jesus at a revival camp meeting held in my grandmother’s village. Praise the Lord for faithful children’s ministry! There are people all around the world who have never heard the Gospel, yet I am so blessed that God met me at such a young age and continues to remind me of His faithfulness throughout my life.
One profound reminder of His love was through Operation Christmas Child. My mom organized a weekly prayer group for the children at our church. This specific Monday afternoon when I was nine years old, she was overseeing a special outreach event to present the Gospel to the children in our community. She had already told me that there would be a surprise at the end, but as her son, my name would be the last one called just in case they ran out. All day at school, I prayed earnestly, “Please let my name be called!” That afternoon, I anxiously waited to hear my name called. The spirit of celebration in the room slowly drowned out my worry. Infectious joy burst from my friends and into my own heart as they received their shoebox gifts. Finally, with the last shoebox gift in hand, my mom called my name. Excitement shot me forward to retrieve my very own shoebox gift. Words cannot describe how much joy I felt as I opened that shoebox and started pulling out toys, school supplies and colorful gifts.
I still remember the fresh smell of new coloring books and how my new colored pencils made the black and white pictures of Bible stories come alive. For the first time in my life, I had real toys like a jump rope and small cars. But the jaw-dropping item I discovered at the bottom of my shoebox was a bright yellow yo-yo. That yo-yo was so much more than simple plastic and string. It was a tangible gift from someone around the world, given in faith, to remind me of God’s love. It was special to me.
Pack A Shoe Box & Have Profound Impact
After God opened doors for me to move to the United States years later, He called me specifically into youth and children’s ministry at my local church in Kansas. Soon after, I rediscovered Operation Christmas Child because my youth group participated every year. Ecstatic, I drove our church van to the store to buy shoebox supplies. I told my church about how I received one of these Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, and the news caught fire! For the kids in my church, this put a real face to the mission they were doing and gave them a renewed drive to serve the Lord. Watching these kids pack over a hundred shoebox gifts as an outpouring of God’s love to others around the world, I was so overwhelmed that I cried with joy. They were making a difference by reaching to the ends of the earth! And that is the invitation I have for you, as well – to reach to the very ends of the earth with the power of the Gospel through your ministry and your local church!
I remember one kid in my youth group praying over the shoebox gifts, “Thank you for what I’ve been blessed with so that I may bless other kids.” That’s when it hit me that these kids, young as they might have been, had a profound understanding of what it means to show God’s love. Before long, our entire church was on fire for the ministry. One family came to me with a box filled with yellow yo-yos, ready to start the discipleship journey for other children just like me.
Bring the Gospel
Being a part of someone else’s discipleship journey is incredibly humbling. Packing a shoebox gift may look like a little thing, but the impact is profound. It’s the fingerprint of God. My shoebox gift shaped me and continues to shape millions of lives all around the world.
Children at the end of the earth and everywhere in between are waiting for the life-changing message of the Gospel. Together, the very children we serve can launch another child’s discipleship journey.
Will you answer the call to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth? You are invited.
