Saturday, October 27, 2018

pastors' response re: OCC

Last year, I wrote a blog post concerning Operation Christmas Child in Zambia and the breakdown in expectations between box packers and what is happening on the ground. I particularly highlighted that churches are paying money to the National Team to receive their boxes. Since this post has recently re-gained traction, OCC has published an official response.

The original blog post can be read HERE, and OCC’s response can be read HERE.

As many, many people have forwarded OCC’s note and asked me to respond to it specifically, I feel morally obligated to do so. However, not wanting to speak on behalf of our region’s Pastors without their input and permission, my husband, Jeremy, and I chose to first sit and talk with the leadership of the Mansa Pastors Fellowship. What they had to say was challenging to say the least. Desperately wanting to see change, the pastors requested that their words be shared with the larger audience that continues to follow this issue.

To provide readers with the most accurate account, I’ve chosen to transcribe the conversation with our local Pastors. My words are italicized, and all plain text are direct quotes from the Pastors. The transcription has been edited slightly for readability and length, but none of the pastors words or sentiments have been changed. Bracketed text has been inserted for clarification purposes only.


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26, October, 2018
Location: Wetuna Gardens, Mansa
In attendance: Missionaries Jeremy & Bethany Colvin, and four members of the Executive Leadership of the Mansa Pastors Fellowship.

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The number one question I’m getting is, ‘has this issue been resolved,’ and I’ve been avoiding giving the answer because I don’t feel like it’s my place to give your response.

[Reading of OCC’s official statement, passing out to pastors, after which the pastors take turns speaking.]

Some more than ten years ago, the same [National] team came to Mpika with one gentlemen from America and his wife. I was just invited, I wasn’t in the management team. During the discussion, that gentlemen from America was explaining that these shoe boxes reach the beneficiary free of charge. ‘It’s free. It’s covered in the costs.’ So… when his explanation was heating up, it was perceived it was going to attract questions, like, ‘why are we paying?’ and so [National Team Member] came out and spoke in Bemba, saying, “Bane, ifya ku sosela tafyawama…” (Brothers, tattling is not a good thing, let us not report each other.) And the gentlemen from America asked, “What are you saying” and [National Team Member] said, ‘I’m just clarifying for them,’ as if we weren’t getting what he was saying. And so in a matter of ten seconds, he [National Team Member] changed everything that the gentlemen from America was saying. To shut us up. And no one could speak against that. And it has haunted me for years that none of us was bold enough to tell the truth. And that gentlemen went with that perverted version of what is happening. What’s happening now is just a repeat. When they came to Mansa they brought a pre-typed letter saying that everything has been resolved and we the leaders refused to sign it.

I was very disappointed when I read this letter from OCC because they are shooting these gentlemen [fellow pastors around table] and hiding criminals in the name of this update. The least they could have done would be send some folks who are not a part of this, and instead they send [the National Team] to come and ask us questions. But there was nothing like questions, they just came to threaten us by saying “your children will not benefit from this.” And they have carried out their threat. Last year we did not receive boxes and this year, since we have not heard anything, we conclude we still aren’t receiving. They came to shush us. It was a rebuke. As if we are doing something scandalous, trying to stop something that’s beneficial to the children, when actually the key issue is trying to expose an immorality that has been going on.

They [the National Team] are the principle suspects. They are cashing in on the program. Why should they be sent to investigate? [OCC] should have sent an independent person or group to come and hear from us. That could have given us a fair trial. But now the same group comes here… what kind of investigation is that? They’ve been in this thing for more than ten years. And they have been manipulating the system.

[National Team Member] has bought a truck, and that is the same truck he uses to deliver the boxes. We suggested here, “Can’t we send our own truck to collect the boxes” and he said, ‘no, you have to use our truck,’ because it belongs to him and he charges [for its use], and that money goes into his pocket. Is that not corruption?

When we were told how much we should pay per box, for Luapula Province, it was more than K200,000 ($20,000) and for Mansa specifically it was K40,000 ($4,000). To bring a truck from Ndola to Mansa, you can hire that [a private truck] for K3,000 to K4,000, now they’ve charged K40,000 and where has the rest of that money gone?

Before the boxes come, they [National Team] has to come and do a training, but when we look at the cost implications of the [training], we pay a flat fee per church but then each individual Sunday School teacher has to also pay and you are required to send a set number of people to the training per X number of boxes you are to receive which forces the churches to send more people to the training, each of which have to pay to attend. The [National Team] says the money goes towards their accommodation here, but what happens is they will come and see us in Mansa, Samfya, Nchelenge all in one trip without sleeping here yet still having collected all that money. And this doesn’t include the payments the children have to make.

And when they [National Team] came they said, “No, the reason why we are charging you is because there are other regions that are more vulnerable, like Shangombo,” and then when you call Shangombo, you find out that they’ve paid too, so its all a lie.

They [the boxes] are not helping in terms of building the church. If anything they are destroying the church. Our colleagues from Ndola have not been faithful. We are not against paying something, but when the money does not go for what it was said it was for, it’s going into someone’s pocket, and then they declare that God has blessed them… that’s what we should discourage. And so if the same individuals are being entrusted with the task, then I would say, its better not to have it. Unless if they [OCC] can find a fairer system to help the churches. Because like our brother said, they [the National Team] has been doing this a long time. This is something they [National Team] has gotten used to, they aren’t going to change. If they [OCC USA] is going to keep using that same channel, then I think let it not come to us.

The little I know about Americans is that they champion the spirit of openness, the free mind, freedom of expression… now when we want to express ourselves, someone comes and says ‘shut up’ and follows with an action – suspension – now are they representing the spirit of the donor? Let the American people know that when things are pointed out by the locals here, they [National Team] stop giving boxes to people who are reporting those wrong things.

We are the people on the ground. We know ourselves. We are Zambians. And these people are Pastors. How can I submit to [National Team pastor] who is cheating me? If it were just a secular person we could just say, ‘well they are sinners,’ and let them go. But these are people with collars, showing the world that ‘we are servants of the Lord.’

What has to be highlighted is that an investigation has not been done. What was done could just be termed as a cover up – an intimidation. OCC, Samaritan’s Purse from the United States has not investigated. What’s missing categorically from this process is an independent inquiry towards the actual interest of protecting the huge investment that is being put into all this. It’s no longer even what we can call a gift box. They [the donors] would be amazed to learn that the children are buying these gifts and those people are proud to sell. I remember one of them [national team during training] trying to encourage us, “even I’ve benefited a lot just from doing ministry to children.”



In this section on the official response, it specifically says that the $9 covers shipment to the countries and to the 1,100+ delivery sites within the country. I don’t know how you read it, but it makes it sound like boxes are supposed to be sent from Ndola to Mansa and then from there the distribution costs are upon you. But what I hear you saying is that you were even willing to help cover the Ndola to Mansa cost – which just shows how much grace you have in the situation. But this is what a few hundred thousand people in the US are waiting to hear, whether this issue has actually been resolved in terms of the churches still being charged to cover transportation to the distribution sites – Mansa, Solwezi, Choma, Chipata etc. That’s what people are waiting to hear.



Actually I just called Reverend [name withheld] since I know they are still receiving boxes and I asked, ‘Were you charged anything this year?’ and he said ‘Yes, we paid for the boxes as a church.’ And he explained that they were told, ‘Don’t charge the children but you as a church pay for the boxes,’ and they were given an amount to pay and he also said, ‘We know how these people are, they’ve really benefitted from these boxes so just know that the way you’ve started talking to them, you’ll not be receiving boxes,’ and I said, Exactly! We didn’t receive and the Reverend said, ‘yeah, that’s what they do.’

These things are not gifts any more. These are enterprises. Those people are no longer qualified to represent Samaritan’s Purse. We speak for Zambia. We have to do whatever it takes for the sake of the children we are representing here. We know that those people are stealing from the children – it’s not speculation. It’s not rumor. Because [states denomination/branches around the whole country] has paid money each year for the children we have registered. We have receipts. It’s everywhere. It amounts to thousands and thousands of dollars. That’s what has been covered up. And no one seems interested in that.



Are there things that you want HQ to know?

We don’t agree with the statement that the matter was resolved because those who came to investigate are the suspects and secondly, the whistle blowers have been suspended for two [cycles] so far. Was this the resolution? Or is America aware?

We have not seen the values that OCC has projected to us applied in our region. If OCC can come up with a different [National] team whilst they are carrying out a proper investigation it will really serve us.



How connected in the past have boxes been to child evangelism. Are children coming to know Christ or are the boxes just a demonstration of Christian love.

The program is not happening like its supposed to. The same kids get the boxes over and over, and it’s the ones that can pay for them. [Evangelism] has been the emphasis [of training] in the past but practically, no. When they [National Team] comes they conduct those programs and say, ‘this is a tool for evangelism, and the emphasis is that the child will know how Jesus loves him through another child sending them this.’ But this is not evangelism. A lot of people are participating thinking we can just pay ten kwacha and get a box and go home.

If we could convince them [the donors] to just send it [the funds], it would be a very good idea, because I feel that even though this is for the sake of Christmas, the things that the kids get, and we thank God that what they are getting is American standard, but still it doesn’t really meet the needs of the children. These kids get a box – they’ve never been to school! They might get a toothpaste that is of a higher American standard, but we also have toothpaste here. So it’s nice that Christmas comes once but we can use cheaper things and in that way Christmas can go on and have a more lasting impact. Maybe we can convince some to just turn that [their box] into money. Because child-centered programs are incredibly important. And there’s a lot that can be done to mitigate the challenges that the children are facing.



People have asked us if there are alternatives. What if we were to put together a list of needs within the churches (school fees, blankets, clothes etc.) and collect funds to connect people with Mansa directly to meet tangible needs?


It can really have a lot of impact. We would be more confortable if our friends in America would be able to convert their boxes into cash so that we partner with Jeremy & Bethany [choshenfarm.org] in terms of administration and accountability for those resources. As we partner with you [Colvins] it would be an opportunity for the Church to focus on what it’s supposed to do and in a way that its supposed to be done. We have to go the Biblical way with structures of accountability. It’s not about dishing out money, its about making sure that things are done Biblically and people are accountable to leadership that is set.

We didn’t know what to do about this whole thing but the sharing you did, God used it to try and help us find the way to really address an injustice. We were stuck. We thought they [the National Team] was the beginning and the end. We didn’t know there was elsewhere we could report and other contacts we were able to get through to and you were able to do that for us and I think that was a major breakthrough. And now we are hoping that we can use our voice and correct this – even if they [OCC] doesn’t support us any longer – but maybe correct it for the other regions that are receiving, that would be a major breakthrough, and God will have really helped us.




I think the transparency of this is really helpful and people are going to thank you for taking something that was previously in the dark and putting it into the light.

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Meeting closed in prayer. 

36 comments:

  1. Wow, this is such helpful information and I’m
    SO thankful for it. My instixts were tasing a red flag over OCC a few years ago and we stopped participating. The flags were raised for a few reasons but this discourse and provided confirmation and your work in this area is much appreciated! I’m wondering too about the Compassion organization and the child we sponsor. Looking for more information. If you have insight or know people with insight to help confirm or alleviate concerns, I’d be so interested to hear. In the meantime, thank you for your work and representing integrity and grace!

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    1. Thanks for your concern. The only information I have is that which I have written and the comments I have received from others who have experienced the same.

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    2. I cannot speak for all the Compassion Programs throughout the world, but I was a sponsor of a child in Brazil (close to my former city- I'm from Brazil) and I later found out that the child was no longer in the program. I had asked Compassion for permission to visit the child (since I was familiar with the neighborhood and was going to visit my family anyway) and they gave me many excuses. Some included: I needed someone who worked for Compassion to go to that center with me (where the child would receive the benefits from the program), but I would have to pay for their lodging, food, transportation, etc. When I said that I knew where the center was located and I could go myself, they gave me more excuses. When I said I was going anyway, then finally they admitted that the child was no longer in the program. I wonder if he ever was! By the way, I asked for permission to visit the child because I didn't want to show up at the center without their knowledge. I was thinking it would not be a problem and they would put me in contact with the center, since it was an area somewhat familiar to me. This may be an isolated case, but from that time on, I support financially some missionaries who are my friends, so I know where the money is going. I would encourage anyone who would read this to do the same. Do not stop giving, but give wisely to people you personally know, so the funds can be used to what they are suppose to.

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    3. As for the question about Compassion. One of my children got access to a computer and Facebook after she aged out of the program. We talk regularly on Facebook. She received all my letters and gifts and the family gifts I sent in addition to regular payments. Because she had good grades Compassion sent her to college for two years after regular school. She currently is going through her last year of training and planning on going back to her village to teach and help after she finishes. She currently also does a great deal of volunteer work with orphanages while she is in the larger city area going to school.


      Hope that helps.

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  2. Wow, thanks for this addition. I share your posts with other pastors who ask me about OCC. Can you shed light on the shooting comment?

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    1. Hi Pamm, thanks for sharing!
      I took their "shooting" comment in the context of our conversation to be a response to OCCs statement that they had just "misunderstood," which they found a bit patronizing, and also the fact that were not allowed to talk to America directly. Also the heat they've taken from kids and families when the boxes didn't show up.

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  3. I don’t believe OCC is turning a blind eye. I believe they are trying to do a good thing for the children and have been ignorant of the fact/trusting of the fact that the members of the local national organization in country are cheating their "brothers." You've done a great job in exposing the Truth and outstanding in effort to update it this year with words from the pastors as social media is doing it's part as it always does to sensationalize anything it can to make mockery of the church in the eyes of the world. (Remember, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but the darkness in the spirit world.)


    On our own missions, we've experienced similar corruption, not with OCC, but with certain leaders we've come upon in India, Kenya, and Uganda. The love of money is certainly the root of all evil in this world. It's a shame that we must continually try the spirit to see if it is of the Lord or this world!

    Our hope is that these brave Zambian pastors exposing truth will bring to repentance the corrupt men who have been blinded by the enemy! Oh, how beautiful to rescue a brother from destruction! The love of the brethren is what separates us from the world.

    If those leaders do not repent, may the Lord have mercy on them; for they are not His own. His own hear His voice and follow HIM. If they aren't His, then they aren't really brothers but corrupt men on their way to the Lake of Fire who love money and power more than the Lord!!!

    Praise the Lord for truth!

    It is my hope that Samaritan's Purse will now change the policy on how they handle in country distribution--which won't happen over night. I don't think they are trying to hide criminals but in times past have been assuming the good in the brotherhood and trusting the Lord to work it out. They are a very large organization. Sometimes the people running large organizations become too far detached from the day in day out "hands on" activity. Samaritan's Purse leaders DO have a heart for the children and do not desire to turn a blind eye to corruption (though from Zambia, I'm sure it looks like it.) I truly believe they are working on a solution. (It isn't an "Oops we got caught" situation for OCC--and if any state side working for OCC are corrupt, may the Lord expose it, and may they repent! We must remember in our own lives how we day to day repent for words and actions wherein we ourselves have failed. By this same knowledge, may we have compassion on those who truly repent and turn to serve the Lord.)

    May the Lord reveal to Samaritan's Purse and OCC leaders the need to clean house and sweep out every bit of leavening!!!

    Big note, yes, we all know that if it's happening in Zambia, we can be sure it's happening all over the world in various places. Lord bless the true Church and build her up in these last dark days!

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  4. Thank you for sharing further and for clarifying the issues being faced. I really hope that OCC will stop and listen to the local pastors who have experienced this corruption and injustice first hand, and be willing to acknowledge that their program (as it now stands) may not be the best fit for every country. Context is important, and so local knowledge and experience needs to be honoured.

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  5. Thank you for this report and update. It's good for your friends in Africa to realize that this issue is gaining some attention in America among regular church people who make these boxes each year. It sounds like there is rampant corruption at the National Team level, that OCC must address immediately. Many Christians here are already in doubt about the actual benefit of these shoeboxes to the recipients, and are wondering if OCC is a good ministry to support. We are wondering if we should continue. This situation adds more doubt, for us.

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  6. A friend of mine sent me your original blog post and I am disgusted to learn about the boxes being sold. My children have participated in putting boxes together for years. We love purchasing items for children their same age and thinking about the smile it will bring to their face. You see the videos at church of the boxes being delivered and it looks like such a joyous occasion so to learn about the corruption behind the scenes is extremely disappointing. I think next year instead of putting boxes together we will find a way instead to take that money and put it toward helping a child go to school or help feed their family. Thank-you for posting this information. Blessings to you and your family.

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    1. I highly recommend contacting Bethany about supporting a child to attend their Christian school in Fimpulu. www.choshenfarm.org

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    2. Thanks for your comment, Andrea - (And the Lincredibles!!!). I appreciate your compassion and desire to help kids and families in needs. The challenge of sending kids to school is by far the largest financial stressor for families in rural Zambia. You can read about our sponsorship program at choshenfarm.org/education.
      Blessings to you all as well!

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  7. Oh, it gives me a sick feeling. I'm so disappointed. I have over 15 boxes already packed, and they will be sent, but next year I will certainly reconsider. I could cry.

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    1. The disappointment is a hard feeling! I completely understand. I'm also disappointed OCC didn't pause to evaluate before calling things fine and moving forward.

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  8. I am a year round VOLUNTEER with OCC in Texas and read your blog post as it was shared by Darbi Tidwell (who I support with donations to New Day Orphanage). It is disappointing to hear that the National team may be practicing corruption and I will be sharing your post with a special OCC email address volunteers have been given. My prayer is 2-fold: that this corruption will be dealt with quickly and gracefully in a Biblical manner and that, since I personally know of many whose lives have been changed by accepting Jesus as their Savior through OCC that people won't black list OCC because of some "rotten apples" that may have crawled into the barrel. Thank you for your Kingdom work in Zambia and may God accomplish His perfect will through your ministry AND through OCC!!

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  9. One location does not mean the entire program is lost! To the person writing this: have you personally reached out to OCC American leadership to discuss/report? It just seems like a lot of commotion and assumptions on social media to disrupt and bring attention. Why not work to correct instead of working to get everyone upset?

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    1. Hello! To answer your questions, yes, I've reached out to OCC America and this post came as a result of their lack of proper response. The commotion is because people are upset, and that is the right response. The goal is not to bring attention, but to effect change. I hope that OCC will indeed work to correct the wrongs. As I am not a staff member, I do not have the authority to correct anything systemically.

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    2. I am curious what a proper response would have been? I see what OCC writes, I have heard the testimonies of former recipients of boxes in my own church and testimonies of close friends who have participated in shoebox distribution events. I cannot believe that this would be so much of a shadow organization that, if it was occurring all over the world on a yearly basis that it would not be bigger news. I would imagine the mainstream media would relish something like this. I also wonder what it would look like to affect change? I believe that God's plan for this ministry is greater than anything that the adversary or human interference could do. Until God moves us to do otherwise, I plan on continuing to support this ministry.

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  10. I appreciate your taking the time to obtain this more accurate information. I'm concerned, though, about a couple of things.

    1) As anonymous pointed out, this is one location. Yet because of the actions of a team -- not directly part of OCC -- in a single location, the entire program, is being vilified all across the internet, and people are being discouraged from participating. The Church doesn't need to engage in any more "friendly fire," and it isn't ultimately helpful to the situation at hand for people to just give up instead of pushing for the issues to be corrected. (This is not a concern with you, specifically, Bethany. Just a commentary on the overall situation.)

    2) If I'm understanding this all correctly, the root problem is not with OCC, but with a partner team on the ground in Zambia. OCC was alerted that there was a problem, they called for an investigation, and were given the impression that it was a miscommunication and had been corrected. Unbeknownst (apparently) to them, the people who did the investigating were, themselves, the problem and, therefore, the report they brought back was dishonest. The biblical response to that is not to lambast OCC because they were misled. The biblical response is for those in Zambia (who are the intended recipients, not the "National Team") to go to OCC and ask that the issue be corrected. The dissension, division, and blame-casting that's happening right now is not edifying or helpful.

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    1. Rachel,
      Thanks for your comment. Here's some feedback that might shed light on your two points (as you're not the only one who has raised them):

      1) Its important to remember that the National Teams are very much a part of OCC. In fact, their entire organizational structure hinges on these teams. The fact that Zambia's team has been allowed to function corruptly without financial oversight for over a decade raises serious flags about the internal auditing structure of the organization as a whole. And furthermore, while I've written specifically about Zambia, my words have opened a flood gate of response from other countries around the world who have has similar experiences - corruption, selling of boxes etc. It is definitively NOT one location.

      2) I'll just repeat, because its so important, that when an an organization depends on a volunteer structure to carry out its mission and cannot properly oversee what the volunteers are doing, then the mission of the entire organization has been compromised. SP cannot say that this was unbeknownst to them as I continued to contact them after the so-called investigation. When they closed down contact, I stopped trying. The pastor's whose voices you heard in this particular post requested direct communication with OCC USA and were rejected. OCC is not being lambasted because they were misled. They are being exposed because they have been negligent. Yes, it is uncomfortable for those who have long loved OCC. But that does not make the exposure unbiblical.

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    2. Thank you, Bethany. That does provide some important clarification.

      (Also, to be clear, I never had a problem with this particular post. Only the way many are circulating it with an attitude that OCC is a waste and anyone who participates is a fool, rather than an attitude of desiring correction and thinking the best of those who give through OCC. You seem to be in a somewhat unique position to shed some light, and I very much appreciate what you're doing with this post!)

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  11. I see that OCC has updated their statement as of 10/30 to admit the allegations were true and that they are doing something about it. Do you know if there has been any real change on the ground?

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    1. Ben, Thanks for bringing this to my attention. We looked at the updated statement and shared it was the same pastors quoted in the post and their initial response is:

      "OCC is being untruthful in their attempt to cover up the crimes committed by the National Coordinators. If they have really taken taken measures to address the situation, how come they haven't communicated with us as partners or with the person who first informed them of this scandal? I strongly feel that the Samaritan's Purse is taking this issue lightly. They have not stated what measures have been put in place to address this issue, and they still haven't indicated what will be done to compensate the children for all the payments made which have gone into the pockets of the few people. They are not really getting to the bottom of this very important matter at all. In my view, they are just trying to appease the constituency of their donors by making this statement at the expense of the children on the ground. It is NOT true that investigations have been done and that remedial measures have been put in place."

      Speaking personally, I think as a region we will consider the matter resolved when 1) the National Team has issued both an apology and a letter of resignation to every church that was stolen from, and particularly to those who were blacklisted for speaking up about it, and 2) a system of accountability is put in place to ensure that this does not continue to happen GLOBALLY. I am still deeply bothered by the comments out of many, many countries stating the same situation. Their stories just haven't gotten attention that Zambia has, but it doesn't make them any less true.

      Thanks again, Ben.

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  12. Hi Bethany,

    Would it be possible to post the link to the 10/30 update from OCC? We have had big concerns about the OCC program. Could you please clarify your response to Ben? Did you mean you shared the updated statement from OCC "with" the same pastors quoted in the post? Our church heavily supports OCC and our family is trying to get them to reconsider the best use of our resources. Thank you for your help. Laurie

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    1. Laurie, the 10/30 update is here: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/official-statement-on-manza-zambia/. The notable change is that instead of characterizing it as a "misunderstanding," they now say that they "were disappointed to find that this incident was true."

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    2. I Laurie, (and Ben),

      Yes, we shared the 10/30 update from OCC and what I quoted in my response to Ben above was the response to this "revised update" from the same pastors whose voices were shared in this blog post. It is possible that SP has "made changes to their global training program" but Zambia has not experienced any such changes - i.e., the volunteer team to whom OCC delegates distribution responsibility is still operating as they always have.

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  13. Bethany, can you provide links or copies of emails, etc., for the stories you're hearing from other places? If it's happening elsewhere, not JUST Zambia, that really does make the whole matter a lot more serious, and people should know. It's hard for those of us in America so removed from the situation to get a clear, reliable grasp of what's going on. But some of us really do care, and we really do want to help you seek change!

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    1. Hi Stephanie,
      Thanks for your concern. I've thought about trying to compile all of the anecdotal evidence I've been given regarding corruption and charging for boxes in other areas, but the challenge is that so many of these have shown up in comments on Facebook under shared posts (as in missionaries who saw the post when it was shared by someone else) and I don't remember all of people in order to go back and find those. On the original post, if you read those comments, you'll at least see mention of charging for boxes in Uganda, Botswana, West Africa, India... Those comments are at least all in one place. I think the problem is actually rampant, but most missionaries are not publicly blogging about it, and I can understand that - I have a strong pull towards justice, but this is definitely not my full time job either.
      I wish I could be more helpful! Thank you again for caring!

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  14. I have sponsored several children through Compassion International, and I believe that it is a good organization. I have met several of my kids in Bolivia, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. I have visited several of their churches/Compassion projects and homes. The kids showed me letters that I had sent them. Compassion always requires any child visit to go through their visit department as a Compassion worker needs to be present during a visit. This is for the safety of the sponsored children as well as the sponsor. Compassion is not perfect, and it definitely sounds like some things fell through the cracks with your child in Brazil. I’m sorry that happened. That hasn’t been my experience, and from what I’ve seen personally, this program seems to do a lot of good for the children and families involved especially since they are run by area churches who know the families and needs of the community.

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  16. Extremely helpful post. This is my first time i visit here. I discovered such a large number of intriguing stuff in your blog particularly its exchange. Truly its extraordinary article. Keep it up. Pastor Alph Lukau Cars

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  17. Do you know if anything has changed since this update? Has OCC updated their policy any?

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    1. Hi Wendy, not to the best of my knowledge. Luapula province where we are are still on the "black list" (ie not receiving anything at all) as punishment for the whistle blowing. As far as I know its business as usual everywhere else. I still receive e-mails each year from missionaries wondering how to navigate indigenous pastors asking for help in buying boxes for their churches.

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