Click here for details on how to build a Shoebox Christmas Gift

Click here for a black and white bulletin insert

Click here for a color bulletin insert

*Barbara Dunlap-Berg, UM News Service, contributed to this story

It all starts with a sturdy shoebox. Add a dash of love - perhaps a fun toy, cozy mittens, a little bag of candy and the story of Jesus' birth - and the results are smiles from children and gratitude from their parents who cannot provide those small gifts.

Through Shoebox Christmas, Mike and Libby Flowers, Dakotas Conference Missionaries at Spirit Lake Ministry Center, brighten the holidays for families.

It's that time again, Shoebox Christmas is just around the corner. "Last year, because of your generosity, we were able to expand to the Standing Rock Reservation," noted Mike and Libby.

The Foster Children's Program administrators  at Standing Rock were so pleased the children had gifts that more than 20 people showed up to help unload the trailer of gifts. 

5,215 gifts were donated and distributed in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota in 2012. In South Dakota, the Crow Creek and Pine Ridge reservations and the Enemy Swim school near Sisseton received gifts. In North Dakota, the Spirit Lake Nation and the Turtle Mountain reservations received gifts along with three homeless shelters. In Minnesota, the Red Lake Reservation received gifts. Several churches in all three states also received gifts.

"God has truly blessed this program, and these gifts bless each child who receives them. Our goal this year is 7,000," stated Mike.

In November, Mike and Libby will travel throughout the Dakotas Conference and pick up Shoebox Christmas gifts. The pick up dates and locations are:

• Celebration UMC, Brandon SD -- Nov 16
• Mitchell Conference Office -- Nov 17
• First UMC, Pierre SD -- Nov 17
• McCabe UMC, Bismarck ND -- Nov 18
• Vincent UMC, Minot ND -- Nov 18
• Wesley UMC, Grand Forks ND-- Nov 19
• First UMC, Fargo ND -- Nov 20

How it all started

"Approximately 35,000 children live on Native American reservations in the Dakotas," Mike said. "Those children are mostly the forgotten of our society."

"The typical recipient of a Shoebox Christmas gift lives below the poverty line. Last year, Pine Ridge, Standing Rock, and Enemy Swim School in South Dakota and Spirit Lake and Turtle Mountain reservations in North Dakota received Schoebox Christmas gifts."

Six years ago, after working in retail careers, the couple answered God's call to ministry at the Children of the Harvest/Spirit Lake Ministry Center in Sheyenne, N.D., and latched onto their predecessor's Shoebox Christmas idea. Now in their sixth year there, they have found their niche.

"Building relationships is the best way to minister," Mike said. "Before you can feed someone spiritually, you need to feed (him or her) physically. Our ministry is based on trust and compassion. We live our Christian values, and then, if all else fails, we talk."

Little gifts mean a lot

This fall, treat-filled shoeboxes began to arrive from individuals and congregations across the Dakotas. Mike & Libby inspect each box to ensure gifts are appropriate.

"We start auditing and sorting them in October," Mike said, "so we can deliver them by the middle of December." Volunteers from area churches help with that task.

From late November to early December, Mike and LIbby "drive about 1,400 miles, picking up boxed blessings from all over the Dakotas."

"I like to watch the parents," Mike added. "You can see the joy on their faces as their children get the gift. We have had many come to us and thank us for making their children happy. Several mentioned that without these gifts, their children would not get anything for Christmas."

Choosing between food and gifts

One mother confided to Mike that her 8-year-old son had asked, "Why is Santa mad at me and my sisters?"

She said she could not answer her son. Often, she had to choose between food for her family or gifts for the children, she explained. She felt guilty and told her son and daughters that Santa sometimes ran out of gifts because there were so many children in the world. Many times, the mother cried herself to sleep.

The family had recently moved to the Spirit Lake Nation from another reservation. When the young woman heard about the Shoebox Christmas giveaway at the recreation center, she was excited for her children. She worried, however, that since she was not a registered member of the tribe, her children would not be eligible to receive the gifts.

To her surprise, no one asked about her tribal affiliation. They just pointed her to the line to see Santa. For the first time in his life, her son got a gift from Santa. He told his mother that Santa was not mad anymore and that he was a neat guy.

"God provided one little boy and his sisters with their first Santa gift," Mike said.

While a similar, well-known program requests money to pay shipping costs, Mike and Libby do not do so.

"Libby and I deliver most of the shoeboxes ourselves, with the bulk of the gifts staying on the Spirit Lake Reservation," Mike said. "We always seem to receive enough donations to cover the cost of fuel for our vehicle.

"We love what we do."