Lejla Allison had survived three years in wartorn Bosnia when she decided she wanted to die.
Eleven years old at the time, Allison had to walk to school through snow and slush in shoes so old and worn her toes poked through.
"I was praying to God every day for a pair of shoes," Allison said. "I decided there was no such as God, because if there, he would not let me live like this."
Allison, who now lives in central Pennsylvania, tried everything she could think of to end her life: She walked down an alley where snipers were known to lurk and walked through a field where land mines were planted. She headed toward a battlefield and thought she'd finally succeeded when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired 5 feet away from her.
She said she flew through the air and thought she would finally die.
"And then it didn't explode. I was that much more convinced that there was no God, because he wanted me to live, to live like this."
Despondent, Allison headed to a local school, planning to steal a coat to keep warm.
When she arrived at the school, she was greeted by people handing out shoe boxes filled with gifts. A man presented her with one of the boxes, which contained several little gifts - and a pair of shoes.
There were more than 200 boxes distributed that day in 1993, and only one contained a pair of shoes, which fit Allison perfectly.
"At that moment, I knew God was real, and he answers prayers," Allison said. "That's why those three attempts didn't work."
The shoe boxes were being distributed by Operation Christmas Child, which collects them throughout the U.S. and gives them to needy children in 130 countries.
Allison, now 27, helps coordinate collection efforts at Grace Bible Church in Hollidaysburg.
She moved to the area with her husband, a U.S. Air Force veteran she met in Bosnia, in 2001.
Allison, who was raised in the Muslim faith, asked that her hometown not be idenitified, as she and her family have received threats because of her work with the Christian organization.
It wasn't until her sister-in-law was packing boxes for Operation Christmas Child that Allison realized that the program was behind the shoes she'd received in Bosnia.
Grace Brethren Church has been participating in Operation Christmas Child since 1998, said Shannon Krater of Altoona, site coordinator. Last year, the church collected 3,246 shoe boxes; this year, they're aiming for 10,000.
Boxes are filled for boys or girls in specific age groups: 2 to 4, 5 to 9 and 10 to 14. Only new items are accepted, Krater said, and no liquids, chocolates or money are permitted.
Hygiene items, notebooks, pens, pencils, small toys and hard candy are items commonly tucked into the boxes.
They're typically items from a dollar store, Krater said, but they mean the world to the kids who receive them.
"This is a really good project for kids helping kids," Krater said. "It's about families helping families, and when you think abut it, as a parent, what do you want more than to give your children what you can't?"
Allison gathers items for the boxes all year, filling about 800 of them herself. Boxes may be wrapped, but the lid and box must remain separate so the contents can be inspected before they're shipped overseas.
"This isn't about what we can do, it's about what God can do for us," Allison said. "This project has God's hand all over it."
Mirror Staff Writer Ashley Gurbal is at 946-7435.
