Adair Friedman of Becker joined a group of student volunteers on a special Samaritan’s Purse team traveling to Madagascar last month to share a message of encouragement, hope and God’s love with children through Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.

 

Adair, 18, has long served Samaritan’s Purse in the shoebox drive along with members of her family and family friends. Last year, Adair and her helpers stuffed over 500 shoeboxes for needy children throughout the world.

 

Jim Loscheider, V.P. at Samaritan’s Purse and Becker resident, was contacted by Adair a while ago and she asked how she could apply to go on one of their “VisionTrips”.  He told Adair in February they were going to Madagascar and suggested she apply.

She did. She was interviewed (by phone) and eventually accepted.

 

“Ever since I was seven years old, God spoke to me in church about Operation Christmas Child,” Adair said. “I believe wholeheartedly that God orchestrated and wanted me to go on this trip. Everything just fell into place.”

 

Everything, meaning Adair was tasked with paying for the trip on her own accord and set out to raise the $4,000 (flight, food, accommodations, etc.) for the trip.

 

“I organize some fundraisers and we raised a lot of money doing cupcake decorating and holding a BBQ cookout,” she said. “Quite a few people from church donated and it all fell into place.”

 

She and her family’s church is Oakwood Community Church by Becker Furniture World.

 

Adair’s first hurdle — raising the funds needed — was accomplished and soon she had another hurdle to conquer. She had never flown before.

 

“It turned out to be not that big of a deal,” Adair said. “The length of the trips was what was the hardest.”

 

Adair first took a plane from Minneapolis to Atlanta where she met up with the 21 other students going on the venture. From there, they boarded another plane for the nine hour flight to Paris. Another disembark and boarding of an airplane for the 10.5 hour flight from Paris to Antananarivo, Madagascar and a final leg to a small northern island to Nosy Be.

 

“I slept most of it,” Adair said.

 

The temperature in Nosy Be was around 85º and sunny and happened to be their “winter” season. Adair said it rained two times while she was there, but they were short, quick rains.

 

Nosy Be is poverty-stricken and Adair said many of the homes were huts. She described the children as sometimes wearing ripped or dirty clothes, but most looked well dressed and healthy.

 

The nine or so days the American group was going to spend in Madagascar comprised of outreaches where they’d invite the villagers and hold a Gospel presentation, do a skit or a song and then hand out the 1,000 shoeboxes to the kids.

 

“A lot of these kids had never heard about Jesus and some came from homes where they had witch doctors in their clans,” she said. “They were against Christians but most people were glad to see us.”

 

Adair said she had no problem connecting with the little kids, even though she didn’t speak their language of Malagasy and French. The smiles and gestures were a language all people could understand.

 

“One of my most meaningful experiences on this trip was looking at this little girl’s shoebox with her,” Adair said. “As she took out each item she literally started jumping, dancing and laughing for joy. Her joy was so pure and so real.”

 

Friedman said she was grateful she could see the end results of all her efforts in packing shoeboxes back home.

 

“Packing a shoebox makes such a strong impact in a child’s life that you can even tell in the little time your at the distributions,” she said. “It is such a good way to show the children how much God loves and provides for us.”

 

More than 2.4 million children in Madagascar have received Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts and this season 162,754 children will receive gifts. Since 2010, 292,244 Malagasy children have participated in Operation Christmas Child’s discipleship and evangelism program, The Greatest Journey.

 

Adair is a home-schooled senior this year and plans to go to college next year to study Biblical studies and major in business. Her ultimate goal is to one day work for Samaritan’s Purse in North Carolina.

 

“I think God is calling me to this ministry,” she said. “This has been everything I’ve dreamed of since I was seven years old.”

 

Currently, Adair and her family are busy making contacts and collecting small items for the shoeboxes this year. This year’s National Collection Week is Nov. 13-20.