Camping, s’mores and Christmas cheer

For Hoover Girl Scout Troop 856, the holiday season starts with an act of service.

There’s nothing like a camp out, s’mores and packing boxes. That is exactly what the local Hoover Girl Scout Troop 856 did recently in preparation for Operation Christmas Child. The troop was asked to help fill six boxes for Operation Christmas Child for Cross Creek Church. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the news of Jesus Christ.

“You would think the s’mores would have been the hit of the party, but the girls had more fun guessing to which countries their boxes would be delivered,” said Troop Co-Leader Brandy Hasabnis. “They guessed places like New York, Mexico, China, Chicago and Canada! So, after a short geography lesson, the girls carefully selected items for either their boy or girl box.”

Troop 856 went above and beyond, packing 14 boxes for needy children. For their efforts, they not only earned a service patch to add to their collection but also learned a valuable lesson about serving others.

“I thought that Operation Christmas Child would be something wonderful our girls could do,” said Troop Co-Leader Marie Jo Foran. “It would teach them about giving and serving Christ. I want our girls to understand that there are children in this world who have nothing but the shirts on their backs and that God has so blessed us to have loving families and a roof over their heads and food on the table. And we need to share those blessings with those less fortunate. Yes, life is crazy, but we all need to stop and take a moment and be thankful and if possible pay it forward.”