It was the beginning of me reopening my heart … and entrusting it to Christ.

I still carry a brown comb in my pocket that I received in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift when I was 11. It’s more than just a practical help, it reassures me of God’s faithfulness every time I look at it.

It is a reminder that God knows my needs, even the little things—and that brings me joy.

“It is a reminder that God knows my needs—and that brings me joy.”

THE LONELINESS OF LOSS

I experienced heart-breaking loss early in life. My father died when I was 5. Not long afterward, my mother left me with my grandma, and I didn’t see my mother again for years.

Growing up in my grandma’s village in Lesotho, a country encircled by South Africa, I helped take care of the family by hunting for food and tending to our garden and chickens. I walked four miles each way to fetch and carry well water.

My favourite part of the day was after supper when my grandma used to tell stories that often had a good life lesson to them. Then, before we slept, we used to get on our knees and pray. My grandma became a mother to me. She taught me a lot, including how to read and write. But most importantly, she taught me about God.

When my grandma died, I felt that my heart had shattered with despair. I went to live with my uncle in the city, but I missed being around nature in the countryside and hearing the homespun life lessons my grandma used to tell me each night. The following year, my mother died. Though I hadn’t seen her often, I grieved the loss of the possibility that she would return to me.

EXPERIENCING GOD’S LOVE

When I was 11, I saw a flyer about an Operation Christmas Child event at a local church in Lesotho. My cousin and I attended the event, where we heard the Gospel and each received a shoebox gift.

I didn’t have many things of my own. I was used to having to borrow something and then needing to give it back. When I received my shoebox gift, I couldn’t believe that the things in it were all mine for me to keep.