‘My life is all about giving back’
BELMONT — Belmont Abbey College senior Marvellous Okonne knows what it’s like to receive the gift of hope. He once received such a gift in the form of an Operation Christmas Child shoebox, when he was growing up in Nigeria.
“I had nothing growing up,” Okonne says, noting that his family was extremely poor, so receiving a shoebox filled with small items made a really big impression on him as a child.
“God showed me love from people I didn’t know.
That was really amazing to me! I wanted to share this hope with other children,” he explains.
Over the past three years, Okonne has rallied fellow students at Belmont Abbey College to join him in collecting items and packing shoeboxes to be sent overseas via Operation Christmas Child, an outreach ministry of Samaritan’s Purse which is headquartered in Boone.
Under Okonne’s leadership, in 2019, Belmont Abbey College students packed 150 shoeboxes. Last year during the pandemic, students stepped up to provide even more shoeboxes – 217 total. On Nov. 15, during the national Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing week, 60 students packed a record 251 shoeboxes.
“I’m so glad everything went well and the students had a great time making a difference,” Okonne says.
As a Catholic, he believes by sending children around the world the Christmas shoeboxes, he is sharing the hope of Christ. “That really gave me that hope. For them to know the love of God and to know there are people around the world who care, that is important.”
Dr. William Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College, notes that Okonne’s life story is remarkable, and his efforts to share the love of God with children around the world reflect who he truly is.
“His name says it all, he is marvelous! Sometimes in scripture, ‘marvelous’ and ‘wonderful’ are interchangeable. He certainly is a work of God. He’s a completely joyful, good person. When you meet him he just uplifts you,” Thierfelder says.
He is delighted that Okonne gets the whole campus involved in the collection efforts. “(His is) a touching story in today’s times. To see this kind of effort of a young person today is remarkable. He is an excellent example to other students.
“The fact that he takes the time to initiate these efforts says a lot about him.”
Okonne is set to graduate in May 2022. He anticipates being selected as one of Belmont Abbey College’s missionaries who will serve on a mission trip working with Native Americans in the western United States after graduation.
After the mission trip, he plans to coach track and field, mentoring students at Gaston Day School.
“My life is all about giving back,” Okonne explains. “I love helping people as much as I can. It means a lot to me, coming from another country and growing up in poverty.”
Of his work collecting shoeboxes for children, he says, “I feel so blessed because I know that those receiving this box will feel love and it will remind them that God loves them a lot. Just as God showed me that love, I want to show that same love to other kids around the world.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Learn more
At www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child: Find out how you can send the hope of Christ with an Operation Christmas Child shoebox
