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A nonagenarian stays busy by filling Operation Christmas Child gifts for children in need.

Age Is No Obstacle for Shoebox Packing

A nonagenarian stays busy by filling Operation Christmas Child gifts for children in need.

Packing shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child is one of the many activities Lela Mae Cummings enjoys in her still-active lifestyle at "98 and a half years old."

Leila Mae Cummings’ favourite activity is to pack Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. This 98-year-old packed hundreds of them this year because she has a heart for children and hard work.

“Growing up on the farm, I can’t ever remember a time when I didn’t have a job to do,” said Cummings, citing her childhood chores of carrying in wood and feeding the chickens.

Today, she applies that philosophy to life as a whole.

“I want to serve the Lord and do right. The secret of living is to keep busy.” She prays, “Lord, let me work up until the time I go.”

View more of Cummings’ story in the video above.

Cummings hopes her efforts this year will inspire others to pack a shoebox.

Join our Big Shoebox Online Challenge to pack 100,000 shoebox gifts for children in need through shoebox online.