iRetire4Him Show 122: Pursue Purpose this Christmas

Jim Brangenberg: Did you know that when you retire, your calling doesn't retire? Your calling is a lifetime calling and if you're still around, God's not done with you yet. I know you're fully aware of what you retired from, but what did you retire from? You've tuned in to iRetire4Him, the voice and resource of the Retirement Reformation, an organization dedicated to you, the retiree who loves Jesus and wants purpose for all your days, especially the ones ahead.

Bruce Bruinsma joins us today as the founder of the Retirement Reformation. He's here to encourage and walk with you through retirement. And I'm your host, Jim Brangenberg. Please check us out online, retirementreformation. org, retirementreformation. org. And on Facebook, Retirement Reformation.

We're just a little over three months away from Christmas. It's hard to believe. Have you started shopping yet? What's on your list? A new car, a new wardrobe, maybe a vacation where there's some pretty blue water? But what if your dream for Christmas was simply to live, or maybe to have a meal and clean water? The truth is that most of the world's population doesn't look forward to Christmas, because to most of the world, it's just another day.

But Samaritan's Purse is hoping to change all that for millions of kids around the globe. Their Operation Christmas Child program mobilizes hundreds of thousands here in the United States in order to collect and deliver shoeboxes full of goodies to kids who will appreciate every single thing in the box and the box too. We're going to focus this new series, talking about the Operation Christmas Child and how you can get involved and help your community to be a blessing to kids all over the world.

Today we head over to Boone, North Carolina - sorta- to the Samaritan Purse headquarters, and we're going to talk with Mark and Cherry Brumbelow, who are actually from some unincorporated little city in Texas, they're going to tell you about in a minute, but we're going to talk about how their work within Operation Christmas Child is changing the world and giving them purpose. Mark and Cherry, welcome to iRetire4Him.

Cherry Brumbelow: Thank you, Jim. We're glad to be here today.

Mark Brumbelow: What a privilege to be here. Thank you for the opportunity.

Jim Brangenberg: So talk to us about how you guys got connected, got involved with Operation Christmas Child.

Cherry Brumbelow: Oh, we'd love to. So Mark's mom, in her retirement years began to be a part of a ministry and we had gone to her house one day and she had toys and Shoe boxes spread out all over the table and we asked her what she was doing and she told us about the ministry of Operation Christmas Child, how we take a shoe box and we pack it with toys, toiletries, school supplies, all these great fun things, and then these boxes are collected and they're sent all over the world. And that the best part about them was that they go with the Gospel message, and we thought that's something we'd like to learn more about and be a part of and that's how we got started.

Bruce Bruinsma: Did you ever think that there would be something that you couldn't do, or did you see immediately, this is something we can do?

Mark Brumbelow: Brother, we saw that immediately as something that we could do. And frankly, we started out doing it for, let's say benevolent reasons, because we thought that it was really neat that a child get a gift. And we still believe that. But boy, as we became more involved, we saw the , that the Gospel message goes with these boxes and that really it's an evangelistic opportunity. It's something that God's using in a great way to reach children all around the world for him.

Bruce Bruinsma: And those boxes really have a kingdom impact and we'll discuss a little bit more of that and discover that. But for those who are listening here, this is something - listen carefully, please. Because this is something you can do and you can make a difference. So Jim what's the next question that you had for Mark and Cherry?

Jim Brangenberg: So Mark, I've heard that you often tell people that you want the Lord to catch you busy plowing in the right direction at all times. What does that look like to you?

Mark Brumbelow: I'll tell you, I believe more than ever before that we are the generation that's going to see Jesus come back. And if I'm wrong, I've been right in watching for him, so I'm right either way. But now, when he does come back, Oh, how my heart's desire is for him to find me serving him well.

Oh, yes, brother, I want the plow heading in the right direction. I want him to catch me busy, occupying my time with the right stuff, with the best stuff. And boy, we live in a world where so many options of things to do, places to go, places to invest our time and our money. And I don't want to be just involved in good stuff. I want to be involved in the best possible stuff when he comes back.

Bruce Bruinsma: Boy, what a vision. And I think that's one that would rest on the heart of all of our listeners and those that have connected with the Retirement Reformation as they search and sort through their own lives and are encouraged by the stories that you're in the process of sharing with us. So Jim, what's our next question?

Jim Brangenberg: I want to know Mark and Cherry. So are you guys retirement age yet? Are are you 55 plus?

Mark Brumbelow: We're older than we've ever been brother Jim. I'm 63. My wife just turned 60 the other day.

Jim Brangenberg: So are you guys still working? Are you still working? Do you have a job somewhere else other than Samaritan's Purse?

Mark Brumbelow: We are. I'm pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in Wild Peach and praise God for where he's put me. And but yes, we're retirement age, but not really retired.

Cherry Brumbelow: I like to, when I talk to people about Operation Christmas Child and ways to serve, I call Mark and I empty nesters. So we haven't quite been got to that point of retirement yet. But boy, did our life change when our kids were all grown and gone. And so when I talk to people that are my age that are maybe not quite retired yet, but life changed in such a dramatic way when their kids moved out. So I tell them, as empty nesters, a lot of times we find ourselves wondering what to do. I'm lost. I'm bored. And I think it's a wonderful time to introduce people to Operation Christmas Child and the ministry.

And I agree with what Mark said. We want to be busy. Everybody wants to be busy. But we want to do things that have a kingdom impact. So I like to talk to what I call empty nesters and remind them that there can be a place for you in the ministry of Operation Christmas Child when your life has changed so dramatically with your kids all grown and gone.

Bruce Bruinsma: Let me ask you a question that comes out of left field a little bit. What's the oldest person that you've introduced, in your congregation or in your community, that you've introduced Operation Christmas Child to?

Cherry Brumbelow: So I want to tell you a story that may answer that question. So we were having a packing party at our church one Saturday, and we tell people all the time that this is a ministry that anybody can be a part of. That particular day, we had a new family join our church, and they have a little, I believe he was 18 months old little boy, and the daddy was carrying him around in a little pack thing and letting the little boy put toys in the shoe box. On that very same day, there was a lady in our community that was turning 100 years old that day and her kids asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday.

And she said she wanted to come to Grace Baptist Church and pack shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child. And I just thought that was such a special day because we've said for years that this is a ministry that anybody can be a part of. And that day, in one day, you can look out amongst our people and see an 18 month old packing shoeboxes and a 100 year old lady packing shoeboxes.

Bruce Bruinsma: Praise the Lord. What a beautiful picture that is.

Cherry Brumbelow: It was.

Jim Brangenberg: What I love is your commitment to - it makes it sound like you guys, Mark and Cherry Brumbelow, from what part of, what's the name of the? You say it again. Say it real slow for me. I'm a northerner. You talk funny. So I wasn't sure I can understand it. Say it again.

Cherry Brumbelow: I'm from Ohio, so I'll give it to you. It's wild peach.

Jim Brangenberg: Wild peach. Yeah. I didn't get that. I thought he was going to the beach or something like that. (laughter) Okay. Wild peach, Texas.

It doesn't sound like you guys are ever going to retire anyway. Is retirement really on your radar where you're just going to check out and go on vacation forever?

Mark Brumbelow: The Bible that I preach says that there's a rest for the people of God, but it's not here. And we sing an old song sometimes at our church that I dearly love that says, We'll work till Jesus comes. And now I would like to redirect some of that work and do a little bit more of what I enjoy doing and a little less of what I don't enjoy doing . Boys, as christians I believe we ought to burn out and not rot out.

Jim Brangenberg: I love that and I'm glad you brought that up, Mark, because we would like to invite everybody listening today to go out to Retirement Reformation. org and click on the manifesto tab. It's a decision that you make to say Heck no, I'm not gonna rot out. I'm gonna burn out. I'm gonna look for ways to fill my life with purpose, on purpose the remainder of my days. And that Retirement Reformation manifesto is just the document for you to read and commit to as you transform how you look at your retirement years. I encourage you go out there Retirement Reformation dot org Forward slash manifesto or just click on the manifesto tab.

So Mark and Cherry, I want to make sure I direct everybody to the website. We'll have it all on the show notes as well. But everybody, if you're interested in bringing Operation Christmas Child, the shoe boxes to your church, go to samaritanspurse. org and they can get you to that tab, samaritanspurse. org. Mark and Cherry, Mark, just start off with what's your role within Operation Christmas Child? Tell us what your role is in all this.

Mark Brumbelow: I mentioned that I'm pastor of a little rural church here. I'm a pastor. But now we have the wonderful privilege of speaking for Operation Christmas Child. And we praise God for that. It's one of the biggest joys of our life. But other than that, I'm on a local team, a year round volunteer team, which there's one in your area too. And I serve on the prayer team for Operation Christmas Child in my local area.

Jim Brangenberg: I love that. That's fantastic.

Bruce Bruinsma: One of the things that I'm hearing is that there's a variety of ways to impact. So obviously packing shoe boxes is the primary one, but praying over them in their direction and where they're going to end up and whose life is going to be changed is part of that. The collecting the community to come together to be able to do that is a third, an activity and then collecting the toys and the things that are going to go in that shoe box are critical. So it's not just a one one size fits all but it's all sizes are needed and the impact is universal.

Jim Brangenberg: Now on our third show in this series we're actually going to bring in a shoebox recipient but I got two things. We've been highlighting Operation Christmas Child on the iWork4Him program for years but one day I got to go in the jungles of the dominican republic and I ran into some kids who had gotten Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. And you know what? The most powerful thing was that they loved was when people chose the plastic shoe boxes in an area like the Dominican Republic, where it rains. A lot. Especially in the jungle regions, it was sometimes the only place that their stuff would remain dry.

They loved the stuffed animals, I saw the stuffed animals the kids had gotten and they loved some of the candy, although I don't know if we should send candy to places like that because they already have problems with their teeth. But the, what do you think about that? The plastic shoe boxes. I know you guys have great cardboard ones and they're pretty, but the plastic shoe boxes, man, kids are, seriously, that is what the adults told us. That's one of the most powerful things was the plastic shoe box.

Cherry Brumbelow: They are. They're awesome. They're really nice. But something that I, so I'm area coordinator in Brazoria County with Operation Christmas Child. So I lead a group of people that work year round on promoting the ministry in our area. And so one of the things we remind our people very often is to not get caught up in the shoe box or the gift that's in it.

But remembering that shoebox is a key to open the door for us to be able to share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. So we don't want to get too wrapped up in the box or what's in the box, but we want to make sure that we keep in our minds what keeps us motivated is knowing that the Gospel message is going out.

Mark said, when he talked about when we first got started, we really had a benevolent mindset. This is a neat thing to do for a kid. And that motivated us as a church to do 10 or 20 shoeboxes a year. But in 2013, God began to move on our hearts and instead of thinking, what can I afford to do? How many shoeboxes do I think I can pack? We began to pray and ask the Lord, how many shoe boxes do you want us to pack?

And that very simple little mindset change turned our lives around, ours personally and the life of our church at Grace Baptist Church. And we went from packing a few to packing thousands every year as a church. And it was because we got our mind off of the toys and the fun stuff and began to think of how this was an opportunity for us to get the Gospel to boys and girls all over the world.

Bruce Bruinsma: Question for you. Have you seen any examples of grandparents bringing their grandchildren to participate in the process and using that as a learning opportunity to mentor, if you wish, or give an example for your grandchildren? Have you seen that happen?

Mark Brumbelow: Brother Bruce, I'm going to let this little old lady sitting beside me answer the question.

Jim Brangenberg: You just called your wife old. This is live television right here and live radio. You are going to pay for that. (laughter)

Cherry Brumbelow: He knows I love him.

Yeah, I love it, Bruce, that you asked that question because we're a small church right now. We're about 55 members. And we hardly have any Children, but the Children we have are very much involved in Operation Christmas Child. So we told our church folks that we were having this amazing opportunity to get to speak with y'all. Mark and I have three of our grandchildren that they attend our church, our son, daughter in law and their three kids.

And I was talking with them the other day and I asked them, I said, so tell me how you feel about Operation Christmas Child? Now, my grandkids are 15 11 and 9. And so the nine year old, she said Grammy, she said, Operation Christmas Child is fun, and when we have packing parties, we always get to eat good food. And she said, but my favorite part is that I think about when I'm packing my box, that a little kid somewhere that may not have ever had a present before is going to get a present. But Grammy, even better than that, I think about how that little kid is going to hear about Jesus. That's my nine year old.

And then our 11 year old, she said a lot of the same things, but she said, Grammy, it's so fun that we can invite our friends to come to church and they have a good time. They want to come again. And then we can use that to tell them about Jesus. And then my 15 year old granddaughter, she's been involved with this ministry all of her life. She has such an amazing testimony. She got saved when she was five years old, and her testimony is beautiful. But almost from the time she got saved through now, she's always told people she wants to grow up and be a missionary. So when I interviewed her and talked to her about what Operation Christmas Child means to her, she said Gram, I want to be a missionary.

I think that's what God wants me to do, but I can't go away right now. I can't go to different places in the world, but through Operation Christmas Child, packing shoe boxes, praying over shoe boxes, buying toys, all of those things, Grammy, are letting me be a missionary to boys and girls all over the world.

Of course, this Grammy was just about in tears with pride that these grandkids 9, 11, and 15, already realized that they can be a part of sharing the Gospel all over the world.

Jim Brangenberg: I'm trying to figure out how come Hannah's not here with you today. Why is it? Why aren't we interviewing Hannah? Because it sounds like she should be the next picture child for Operation Christmas Child.

I love what Mark and Cherry are sharing with all of us here in the iRetire4Him podcast. Podcast because really we're talking about purpose and I would love for you to check out our website Retirement Reformation dot o r g Retirement Reformation dot o r g as Bruce and his team have prepared Tons of resources for everybody who's pre retired or already retired on how to Find purpose, how to see God's plan for your final stage of life, which breaks up into other stages.

Go out there and check out our resources, retirementreformation. org. You won't be disappointed. And look for an event coming to a town near you, because in 2025, there'll be a lot of those happening.

So back to the conversation about Operation Christmas Child, Bruce, what I love about this is that this is something that every town, and there's 19, 580 incorporated towns in the United States of America. I don't know how many unincorporated towns there are like Wild Peach in Texas, but I'm sure there's a lot of them. Bruce, this is a phenomenal way for retirees to be involved and find purpose and be on purpose. Isn't it, Bruce?

Bruce Bruinsma: So many of our listeners have come to a point of realization that yes, God has something more, but they don't know what it is and they don't know how to start or where to take that first step. And I'm so excited about Operation Christmas Child because I know for all of us, it can be that first step and what will it lead to? Who knows? That's God and his power of his Holy Spirit that will give guidance to that.

But that first step of, I can do something. Here's what I can do and it makes a difference. And as you embrace the whole process, as we continue to roll out the process that happens with Operation Christmas Child, the difference for the individual, the difference for their family, make difference for the church, and most importantly the difference for the kingdom worldwide.

Cherry Brumbelow: Yes.

Jim Brangenberg: Mark and Cherry, as we close out this first in a series of three shows talking about the impact of Operation Christmas Child on quote unquote the retired generations because of the purpose it provides. I want to, let's talk about how people get involved. Let's just say somebody else is in another unincorporated town, small little town and in another part of the country. Maybe they're in Alaska. Or maybe they're in one of those towns that actually has an incorporation and a mayor and they want to do it too.

There's 330, 000 plus churches in this country, but this doesn't have to just be done in a church, does it Mark and Cherry?

Cherry Brumbelow: No, it does not. And you gave the website. That's a perfect place to start. Look for churches that are being involved, but also community groups. We've talked with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. We met with a realty company one time. Anybody can be a part of Operation Christmas Child, and they've made it where it's easy to be a part. They provide free material. There's guidelines. There's so much on that website to direct anybody that would want to be a part of Operation Christmas Child. And there's different levels.

We need young, strong people to pick up shoe boxes and move cartons. And then we need people that maybe can't do anything physical, but will pour prayer into those that are doing the other work. So there truly is opportunity for anybody at any level, at any age to be a part. And to know that through being a part of this ministry, you're making a difference in the kingdom.

And I love that we talked to some of our church folks about how has Operation Christmas Child blessed you or ministered to you? And I had a couple of ladies came and talked to me after church Sunday and One lady was telling me how she's been on mission trips and loves sharing the Gospel, but that she had just never really done it here at home. It just wasn't comfortable.

But through Operation Christmas Child, this one particular lady, she sews. And so she has all of her sewing stuff at work. She makes purses and different things for the boys and girls for the shoeboxes. People come into her workplace. They see all this. They ask her about it, and she gets to share with them about the ministry. And she said there's even been opportunities that she, through this, was able to share the Gospel. In a, in an unusual way, Operation Christmas Child is giving her a way to share about Jesus right here at home.

Jim Brangenberg: That's very powerful, very powerful.

Cherry Brumbelow: And around the world, so that's so awesome.

Bruce Bruinsma: If I could share, there's as we talk about often, there's 48 million Christ followers who are 60 and older in the U S and the majority of them, when you ask them, what are they going to do in retirement? Say some version of nothing. And so here's an idea. If you're a grandparent and you're listening to this, the next time you're together with your kids and your grandchildren, ask them to come and join with you and together figure out how you're going to start a Christmas program in your community or in your church and do that together.

It'll have a couple of benefits. Number 1, it'll give additional purpose. Number 2, it will expand the purpose. And number 3, it will expand the impact and so make it a priority that you're going to bring your family into this and that you're going to be able to through that be able to share how God is impacting your life as a 60 year old, a 70 year old, an 80 year old, a 90 year old, a 100 year old.

Jim Brangenberg: Love that. Check them out online. SamaritansPurse. org. SamaritansPurse. org.

Christmas, not that far away, and Thanksgiving's even closer, and that's when they start collecting the boxes around the country. Start talking about it today. Start in your small group. This Sunday, talk to them about your small group, get a group of people together, start it in your community.

Like I said, there's 330, 000 churches in this country, but there's 19, 580 incorporated communities in this country. So many opportunities to get involved. Mark and Cherry Brumbelow from Wild Peach, Texas, thanks for being on iRetire4Him today.

Mark Brumbelow: Thank you so much.

Jim Brangenberg: You've been listening to iRetire4Him, the voice and resource of the Retirement Reformation with your host Jim Brangenberg and of course, Retirement Reformation's very own founder, Bruce Bruinsma. We're Christ followers journeying from retirement to reformation. So ultimately we can say, iRetire4Him!