Children at the St. Anthony’s Orphanage in India at prayer. Pictured at the right, Pen pal Kahloon from Jammu Kashmir, India.

Every year, close to Christmas time, churches across the St. Clair region gather together to pack shoeboxes, aimed to brighten the holidays of underprivileged children around the world. These shoeboxes are packed to the rim with stuffed animals, coloring books, crayons and toys galore, along with personal hygiene items like toothpaste and soap. The boxes are classified by age and gender, so children receive a box appropriate to their wants and needs.

The people who pack these boxes put their hearts and souls into the project. The packages often include personal letters, pictures and return addresses inside. Though few ever hear anything in return, some are lucky enough to receive thank you greetings in the mail, and sometimes more.

An extraordinary example of this is Abby Kerr, 13, of Pell City, who sent her address, along with a hand-written letter, inside a shoebox she packed. Not knowing where it would end up or who would receive it, she sent the box in hopes of making someone’s day. She soon found out that her gift landed into the small hands of an orphaned girl in East India, only known as G. Dhaneswari.

The girl lives at the St. Anthony’s Orphanage in the Gunter District of India. The president of the India Gospel Ministries, Rev. Dr. I. Yeupadam, who has established a Calvary Baptist Church there, wrote to Abby informing her that her gift had been received. After telling her a bit about “G,” the pastor also wrote, “There are 75 children in our Sunday school, but 300 poor and orphaned children here overall. They are mostly Hindu, all worshiping animals, trees and stones. But now, they are slowly receiving the gospel.” He wrote that the children were hoping and expecting another letter from America.

So Abby has kept writing, and has since received photos, hand-colored pictures and letters from the children. She often emails the reverend as well, since letters coming through Air Mail are so easily destroyed. Sometimes the girl writes to Abby in Hindi, or perhaps Sanskrit, with someone else translating the message into English below her script. Abby said, “I just think it’s awesome. I never expected anything when I helped to pack the shoeboxes. But it makes me feel great to know that I made someone happy.” Abby said she hopes to keep in contact with the children for years to come.

Jessie Garrison, of Pell City, also receives letters from India. She has been writing to Kehloon Bhatti, 20, of Jammu Kashmir, India for two years now. He began writing to her when he was only 18, after receiving a shoebox that Jessie sent in December of 2006. Since then, they have exchanged letters, gifts, and photos, including those of each other’s families and day-to-day life. Garrison says, “We are so close to one another. He sends me roses and cards along with his letters; beautiful cards that we don’t have in America. The pictures I send him are on his bedroom wall. He is so loving and so thankful for everything I send him. We have a bond like I share with no one else.” Kahloon is very interested in computers, but does not own one due to the financial state of his family. Garrison said, “The family is of the middle class, so they cannot afford luxurious things. But I tell him to pray that a computer will become available to him. I feel that one day it will. It is my goal to make sure he has one.” Garrison explained that she and Kahloon share most everything with each other, as he is so curious about life in the United States. She said, “He is just such a wonderful person. He’s like my soul mate.”

Garrison has also written to K. Augustine, one of over 60 million gypsies living in India. He is a minister there, who rides his bike from village to village spreading his ministry. His four-year-old son, Blessum, received a shoebox that Jessie sent in 2007. She once received a large, heavily stamped envelope from him with nothing in it. She fears that someone in India might have prevented the contents of the letter from being sent to her. She has only received one other letter from him since, but has high hopes that she will hear from him again some day.