My name is Filipe. I’m 44 years old and from Brazil. Most of my life I’ve searched for purpose in life with little success until 2004 when God began to clearly show me some of the changes I was about to make in what I called, “the average life.”

My wife and I did a Work and Travel Program in the US, living in both Colorado and Massachusetts. There, we started attending the Greater Grace Christian Fellowship Church where I got to know Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child. My wife and I learned about the Shoebox Ministry as we both made 2 boxes with great care (6 steps). I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was learning about an incredible idea and that later on would become a great opportunity that I would duplicate in Brazil.

After moving to Brazil in 2006, we both had a difficult year professionally. We moved closer to our home Church (8º Presbyterian Church in Belo Horizonte) and it was there that I was able to take a course that challenged me to bring some ministry ideas. Of course, I was praying a lot too! It was then that I decided to implement the Shoe Box Project, just like Operation Christmas Child in the US, but in Brazil for the very first time.

In our first year launching this project with the whole church, we got an incredible response. I realized that the Brazilian people had a great desire to serve and to help others. I soon learned that there are over 50 million Evangelicals in a country where 150 million are Christians. We discovered that the Project’s potential is one of the greatest in the world!

In 2007, after an excellent start in Brazil, we returned to the USA for another season in Colorado with the goal of formalizing a partnership with Samaritan’s Purse and bringing the project in a structured way to Brazil. We had many meetings and phone calls over the following years with those who ran Operation Christmas Child in Latam, but the bad news was that this partnership never worked like we had wanted. The leaders though, always encouraged me to still never give up on the project in Brazil.

As for the good news, just a few weeks before returning to Brazil, I met a man at a restaurant in Beaver Creek CO. He not only had a big vision, but also a big heart. His name is Mitch Perry. Mitch invited me to his church and shared with me everything he knew and all the material he had from O.C.C. Mitch really thought “out of the box” and believed that Brazil could be a place to have success with our project. With that little push, over 30 thousand shoe boxes in the region were generated. Thank you Mitch and God bless you!

As soon as we returned to South America, we created partnerships with the Mackenzie Presbyterian University, some schools, churches and other organizations, but it was in 2018 when we had to make some critical decisions. Up until then, it was my family, a few dedicated volunteers and myself that did all the work that our project demanded. Even though we all committed the next few years to this work, we became burned-out and the money reached critically low levels which demanded change in the way we were doing things. After talking with some friends like Walter Almeida and Tercio Freire, we came to the conclusion that, although bureaucratic, it was necessary to start the A.C.S. (Shoe Box Association) which we began in the second half of 2019.

2020 was a year full of challenges for everyone around the entire world and to our project, it was no different. We had to reinvent ourselves and look for new partners. We created our digital box 100% online so that volunteers could help from their home offices all over Brazil. We also found new partners such as large multinational companies like HP, Philips and others. We grew 30% over the previous year and shipped to 22 locations within Brazil and Bolivia. We are seeing growth as we are collecting more and more boxes and developing new regional leaders. We confirmed once again, that the project really works. Though we still have lots to learn about volunteers, business operations as well as finance, we know with God’s help, we will grow and serve more regions in Brazil and Latam.

My Advice
At the start, I thought it would be the “leaders” that would help come alongside our non profit, but it was the ordinary men and women that were more willing. My advice; don’t count out groups of people.

Even when you may feel alone in your efforts like I was, stay focused, work hard and be resilient. These things will help you to keep moving.

Make sure you find a friend, mentor or coach that cares about you and your dreams. Accountability is important.

Build relationships with as many people you can in life. Whether you start a project like myself or work for an employer, it’s always a good thing to have a network you can reach out to when you need help.

Dreams take time to happen. That’s how it is, so plan long term and be patient.

Most importantly, don’t forget to include God in all you do. He is The greatest source of all you need.

If you have a desire to be a part of this organization but don’t have the time or live further away, connect with me so I can show you some ways that we can partner together.