Legacy Christian Academy delivers more than shoeboxes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A simple shoebox can change a life – that’s what three members of the Legacy Christian Academy of Bowling Green learned on their two-day journey to Lima, Peru with Operation Christmas Child, a Samaritan’s Purse project. 

Along with two other Christian schools in the United States, Legacy was part of the few chosen to participate in this mission through Samaritan’s Purse. Their mission: to deliver shoeboxes filled with gifts and essentials to children in need.

For a few members of Legacy Christian Academy, the trip was an eye-opening journey into the powerful difference a simple shoebox can make. As the team handed out boxes, they watched the children’s reactions unfold. Sandy Kubasch, the coordinator for the trip, shared how meaningful it was to witness these moments:

“And to put that in the hand of a child, you saw tears, you heard squeals, you saw some children open a box and they just froze. And so we got to come along and say, ‘hey, let’s open this again. Let’s look at that.’ So to be the hands and feet as if we gave that box knowing we didn’t, but we got to be that person that day. It was more than incredible, incredible blessing.”

The experience wasn’t just moving for the children who received the boxes but for the team members as well. Sarah Randolph, a parent who went on the trip, explained the deep sense of accountability she felt seeing the effort Samaritan’s Purse puts into making sure each shoebox reached its destination:

“It was amazing to see how accountable they are for the shoeboxes. So you really feel like your investment that you’re asking your students and their parents to make to pack these shoeboxes is really taken seriously. And those shoeboxes actually end up in the hand of a little boy or a little girl within that year, you know, that they’re not stored.”

For the team, this mission trip had a profound impact on how they view giving. Rebekah Randolph, a junior at Legacy, shared her emotional response to seeing the children’s gratitude:

“You hand them to them and they just sit there and they don’t know what to do with it. They can’t open it and they count down and you go and you open the boxes. And some of them, they’re shocked. And you just see this amazing look on their face and they’re so grateful.”

Finally, Sandy Kubasch reflected on the overall purpose of their trip:

“It’s one of the greatest things that as a classroom teacher, I’ve got to involve my students in. It’s a simple way to teach them the Great Commission—starting with a shoebox, and ending with the gift of hope.”

The Legacy team returned home deeply impacted by what they experienced in Lima. Their trip served as a reminder that small acts of kindness, like packing a shoebox, can make a world of difference in the lives of children across the globe.

For more information, you can visit the Operation Christmas Child website or Legacy Christian Academy’s Facebook.