Delivering gifts to the Four Winds High School (photo from Meaghan Wharton)

On the morning of December 11^th, I headed north to the Spirit Lake Reservation, stopping first in Warwick, North Dakota—a tiny town of just around 50 residents nestled within the reservation. There, I met Kim Paulson, one of the executive directors of the Spirit Lake Ministry Center, along with Eliza, Kim’s daughter, and Hunter, a young adult volunteer. Today, I will be joining them in delivering the shoebox Christmas gifts throughout the Spirit Lake Nation.

Our first stop was Warwick Elementary, where 96 children would soon receive those special gifts. With laughter and gratitude, the staff thanked us again and again as we began unloading box after box from a trailer bursting with shoebox gifts.

From there, we drove deeper into the reservation to Four Winds High School in Fort Totten, where another round of hundreds of shoeboxes awaited. There, I got to help unload more boxes ready for kids and teens across the community. Each box was more than a bundle of items—it was a little beacon of care, thoughtfulness, and love.

Lunch at the Oyate Cafe offered a slower moment of connection. Over a warm meal and good conversation, Eliza shared how the shoebox ministry actually works. The Spirit Lake Ministry Center begins receiving gifts as early as October. Every box is carefully checked to make sure it includes the four essentials: a hat, gloves, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. Then, over weeks and months, Eliza and the team sort them by age and gender and carefully plan their delivery. This year, the ministry received somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 shoeboxes for children across the reservation and beyond!

They don’t just stop at Spirit Lake—they also send boxes to the Red Lake Tribe in Minnesota and the Turtle Mountain Reservation, spreading care across tribal communities.

Bringing the joy of Christmas to Oberon Elementary (photo from Meaghan Wharton

One story Kim shared has stayed with me. He is an instructor at Cankdeska Cikana Community College and had his students help unload the trailer last year. As the boxes came off the truck, a student looked at Kim and said, “Ohhh… this is where they all came from. I got them every year as a kid.” That moment struck me—it wasn’t just the gifts themselves, but the lasting memory of kindness that had stayed with someone into adulthood.

After lunch, we made one last stop at Oberon Elementary School to drop off another load of boxes. This stop is the point in the journey where I peeled off and headed back toward Valley City, heart warmed by the day’s conversations, laughter, and new friendships. The team still had more schools to reach, more boxes to deliver, and I left feeling grateful to have witnessed even a small part of it.

As I reflect on the day, what stands out most is how small, faithful actions add up to something literally unforgettable.

Every person who packed a box contributed to a massive outpouring of love—showing children across the reservation that Christ is with them.

These acts of generous love and faithfulness are the heart of the Christmas story we celebrate— that in the birth of Jesus, God is with us.