9th Grade BMW Project

-Zoe Gillett

Jan. 9, 2025

As we look back at the holidays, it can be easy to forget how lucky we are.  There is nothing wrong with writing out our wish lists or spending hours picking out the perfect gift for a loved one, but who is often overlooked is the underprivileged.  Millions of children go every year without so much as a “Merry Christmas,” nevertheless a gift.  This is why the 9th grade teamed up with Operation Christmas Child, an organization dedicated to sharing the Gospel with underprivileged children through a Christmas gift.

On November 20, the freshmen met in the FAB to pack boxes of gifts for children who will receive gifts this year from Operation Christmas Child.  The students filled boxes with toys like teddy bears, cars, games, and arts and crafts.  They also gave them necessities such as bottles, socks, clothes, and hygiene products.  The boxes were each topped off with a handwritten note before being shipped off to one of the Operation Christmas Child processing centers.  

Not only were the children receiving the gifts blessed, but the students gifting them were, too.  Hayleigh Brant said that it “makes [her] happy that they’re getting stuff that we don’t really appreciate,” and Max Wright was excited that the project gave him a chance to communicate with people that he would not otherwise be able to.  

When asked how their gifts would impact others, students focused on the joy they would bring to the recipients.  Joshua Penland said, “with joy,” and that the project gave children “the ability to [have] things they never get.”  Haileigh Brant agreed with Penland, saying she hoped the gifts would “make them happy.” 

Undoubtedly, many people were blessed this Christmas thanks to this project.  As Christians, we are called to give, and this BMW project allowed the 9th grade to do just that.  As the freshmen can attest, sometimes, the joy of blessing others turns out to be a gift in and of itself.