Maité and Agustin’s childhood was riddled with problems as their parents, Daniel and Carol, struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol. However, everything changed when their local church in Chile invited Agustin to join the upcoming Operation Christmas Child unboxing party.
The joy brought by each item packed into Agustin’s shoebox encouraged the siblings to enroll in The Greatest Journey discipleship program. After learning more about the Gospel, Maité convinced her parents to read along with her in The Greatest Journey. Reading about the Gospel with their children had such a profound effect on Daniel and Carol that they started attending the local church as a family and overcame their addictions. What started as a simple shoebox gift turned into an inspiring story that mended a broken family as they dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ.
VIDEO SCRIPT
Carole – Maite’s mother
Maite my daughter told me I was robbing here of her childhood because whenever we saw me, I was high or drunk. And that stayed with me.
Maite
Every day there was a problem at home. If we were hungry there was nothing to eat: we had to find it ourselves. They promised not to drink, then did it again. So I arrived at church and started to pray, pray, pray.
Carole
One day people at a church passed by my house enrolling children to attend church. And I signed up the kids. Maite my daughter wasn’t there that weekend, it was just Augustin my son and we went together.
When we went with Augustin and they gave him a gift box, he couldn’t open it until they did the countdown and all the children opened it simultaneously. He opened it and loved it, because it had a notebook, pencils for coloring, some toy cars.
Maite
One day they were drinking and fighting. And people came to visit us and to invite us to church. I told my mum: ‘let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.’ I convinced her and we went to church.
Carole
My daughter has always asked us to abandon worldly things. We were into alcohol and drugs. And crying she always told us to come to church.
Daniel – Maite’s father
The pastor asked for the sick and those who wished for prayer to come forward, so they could pray for them. And we went forward.
Carole
And we knelt to ask forgiveness and for His help to give us strength.
Daniel
And my wife started to cry because she felt God’s presence. And I felt it too.
Maite
I started to pray, asking God if He could change them. And he changed them.
Daniel
Overnight I left everything. It was God. I felt someone touch my shoulder, then my head. But it wasn’t the people who were praying for me. I know it was my God. And we started going to church.
Maite
They arrived and discarded everything bad. And they promised us they wouldn’t drink anymore. It has changed our life.
Felipe – Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child works with the local church. We met Daniel and Carol’s family through the outreach event that Agustin attended. He faithfully began going to The Greatest Journey and invited his sister to join him.
As he went, his family started coming to the classes. They began to read The Greatest Journey and The Greatest Gift.
Carole
We read The Greatest Journey with my daughter and my husband. We liked it a lot. I see a little warrior next to me. I’ve seen her grow mentally and spiritually quite a bit.
Seeing her happy, playing, laughing, things we didn’t do before, it fills me with joy, it fills me with
Felipe
It all began with a simple gift box, which led to twelve lessons of The Greatest Journey.
Maite
I knew that if they went to church, they would change. We can start over. I knew God can change us and He did.
People Interviewed and their Titles
Maite
Carole – Maite’s Mother
Daniel – Maite’s Father
Felipe – Operation Christmas Child
Recording Location
Chile
Organization featured in this Story
Samaritans Purse – www.samaritanspurse.org
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