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November 17, 2001
FORMER YOUTH PASTOR HELPS SEND SHOEBOX GIFTS TO CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD THROUGH OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent
ASSIST News Service
MINNEAPOLIS,
MINNESOTA (ANS) -- Dave Jacob was a youth pastor at Roseville Assembly of
God in Roseville, Minnesota, when he felt God telling him that his time there
was drawing to a close. (Pictured; Dave Jacob
delivers Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to children in Kosovo)."I had know idea what I was supposed to do in ministry...just that my time there was done. It was a hard time. My wife was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer at about the same time. I went and had a talk with my senior pastor (Pete Drake) and told him of how I thought God was leading me on, but that I didn't know where. He was very understanding and said he would keep me on staff until I was able to find something else. We had a good, long talk," Jacob, who is the Upper Midwest Assistant Representative for Operation Christmas Child, told ANS.
"A half an hour after our conversation, someone from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association called Pastor Pete looking for temporary workers for the Amsterdam 2000 Conference. After that call, he came to my office to share the news. I looked into that job and thought it wasn't for me, but came across the OCC position and thought I'd apply even though I know I was unqualified.
"After much prayer and a couple of interviews with Bob Laframboise (Manager of the project here in the Upper Midwest) we both felt that this position was the right thing for me to do. I thank God that even though I could not see what I should do, he led me on the right path. I learned so much going through this process. If we are obedient to God, he will take care of us and show us His will. We need not seek his will, we need to seek Him," Jacob said.
Jacob will be 30-years-old on Nov. 27. He was born in Lafayette, Indiana and was raised there until after his freshman year in High School when his family moved to Michigan.
"I consider Indiana my home state. I attended college at North Central Bible College (now North Central University) in downtown Minneapolis. It's an Assemblies of God school. I majored in youth ministries with a minor in pastoral studies. I really haven't had any other jobs. I worked at the church part-time when I was still in college, and once I graduated, they put me on staff full time," he said.
As the Upper Midwest Assistant Representative for Operation Christmas Child, Jacob is in charge of overseeing the volunteer program at the processing center warehouse in Bloomington, Minnesota. "I oversee all the media promotion for OCC in the upper Midwest and I promote the project in churches, schools and other groups. I also assist in establishing shoebox gift collection sites in the upper Midwest."
"In 1999 I traveled to Kosovo, (see attached picture) and in 2000 I went to Honduras. The Kosovo trip was the most exciting. We stayed in the home of an Albanian family. Only a couple of rooms in their house were heated and the electricity came on and off a lot. It was a weird feeling to walk into their house in February and the temperature didn't change. I didn't get warmer in their house at all. It was as cold as it was outside (it was about 30 degrees at the time)," said Jacob.
"It was amazing how the project impacted the adults as well as the children. How wonderful it was to see the children's faces light up as we handed out their gifts. Many of these children were fatherless due to the war, but it was such a joy to tell them that they do indeed have a Father, a heavenly Father who loves them enough to send his son Jesus to die for them," he said.
"It's an incredible privilege to oversee the volunteers here. It's a challenge at times to recruit, schedule, train and supervise thousands of volunteers, but we have a great staff. During processing this year, we have over 8,300 volunteers scheduled to come and help us inspect the gifts from Nov. 19 to about Dec. 8.
"I supervise the office staff here at the processing center (6 people) and the volunteers. We have several temp workers from the Twin Cities who help us out during this time of the year. They are great people. We have volunteers come from all over the country. We've had volunteers from New York, Michigan, Kansas...we even had some last year who were from Brazil (they were visiting relatives here in the states). Every volunteer goes through a brief (10 - 15 min.) orientation when they arrive at the warehouse. We train them on how to inspect/sort/tape/pack the gifts," said Jacob.
What is the most interesting or exciting part of his job ?
"I love working with the media. It's extremely exciting for me when I see this project in the papers, on the radio or on TV. It's all about promoting the project and getting more shoeboxes in for these needy kids. I also enjoy going on distributions (I don't know if I'll go this year or not)," Jacob said.
Jacob said that, "Not in my wildest dreams," did he ever think he would get to work with Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse. "God is good. It's a real honor to be working with Franklin and Samaritan's Purse. I am so privileged and honored to play a small part in ministering to millions of children throughout the world. It's a humbling experience. My life's goal is to share Christ with as many people as possible and that's what OCC is all about. It's a great fit for me," he said.
Jacob said people can still do a shoebox even though Mon., Nov. 19 is the end of collection week. They can mail their gifts to Samaritan's Purse by Christmas to Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child, 801 Bamboo Rd., Boone, NC 28607.
"Also, our Minneapolis processing center is receiving gifts through Dec. 5 (MINNEAPOLIS ONLY). Folks can bring their gifts here Mon. - Sat. from 8 am - 8 pm from now through Dec. 5. We can't take any more volunteers at the Minneapolis Processing Center. The 8,300 that have already schedule with us is our limit," said Jacob.
Asked what the recently-announced move of the BGEA to Charlotte will mean for the Twin Cities end of the OCC operation, Jacob said:"Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan's Purse, so I am not sure what, if any, implications there will be for the project. I am certain that Minneapolis/St. Paul will continue to be a strong community for Operation Christmas Child. This year, we have 8,300 local folks volunteering in our processing center where they will be preparing 650,000 shoe boxes for delivery to needy children in 90 countries."
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. Samaritan's Purse is currently in New York helping those who are grieving and traumatized by providing a team of pastors who are available to pray, listen, and offer hope.
To find out how to pack a shoe box gift and where to deliver it, call (800) 353-5949 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org.
MEDIA NOTES: For information about Operation Christmas Child efforts in the Twin Cities area, call Dave Jacob at (612) 359-7027 or (612) 801-5318 (cell). For information about the project nationally contact Jeremy Blume or Kristen Lee at (770) 813-0000 or go to www.demossnewspond.com/occ. Photos/B-roll available.
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** Michael Ireland is a British freelance journalist in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Garden Grove, CA. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in Sept., 1995. He is married with two children. Michael is a frequent contributor to United Christian Broadcasters, Europe Radio, a British Christian radio station. E-mail: mireland@usfamily.net.
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** A photograph to illustrate this story is available as a JPEG file upon request to Michael Ireland at mireland@usfamily.net
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