A Journey Begins with One Backpack—A Boundless Gift of Love and Support for a Military Family

Christine Gonzalez and her family eagerly awaited their turn in the long line at the military-base clubhouse. For a lot of parents, back-to-school shopping isn’t a financial difficulty. But for many military families across the nation like Christine’s, school supplies are an expense they simply cannot afford. When Christine and her kids reached the front of the Operation Backpack line, they received the gift that helped them start the school year off right— and so much more.

Most military families live on a limited, fixed income—some even live paycheck to paycheck. With four kids under one roof, Christine and her husband Jeff made every effort to tighten their financial belt. Caring for a special needs child made managing monthly expenses even more challenging. “When organizations come aboard Camp Pendleton to offer help, we are extremely happy and grateful,” Christine says. Six years ago, the new school year was just around the corner when she heard about a backpack give-away event at one of the base clubhouses. Christine immediately made plans to attend. While waiting in line to receive their backpacks, several volunteers thanked Jeff for his service, welcomed the family to the event, and told them about Saddleback Church. The kids excitedly picked up their brand-new backpacks and unzipped them to find they were filled with school supplies. Within seconds, they emptied the contents onto the floor and began comparing and trading supplies with each other. Unlike years prior, Christine’s kids felt prepared and excited to start school.

Christine wondered why so many strangers would donate so much to her kids and the other military families. It wasn’t until she met people at Saddleback and saw how supportive and thankful they were for the service of active-duty Marines that she understood their generosity. “To a civilian, a little backpack may seem miniscule,” she explains. “But to a child who may have a parent who is deployed, it means everything to have someone else offer their help.”

Later that day, Christine and Jeff talked about how welcoming the volunteers had been. That warmth prompted their decision to give Saddleback San Clemente a try. There, they were once again so warmly greeted that they felt a family-like connection. Although they were just visitors, that didn’t stop Jeff from diving right in to making Saddleback their home church. After having a thorough look around the patio, he returned to the worship center and informed Christine that he’d signed up to volunteer in security and registered them to host a small group. Inspired by Jeff’s enthusiasm, Christine got plugged into the military ministry.

Since that day, Christine’s family has served the church and community by volunteering in a variety of ministries. Christine grew into a leadership role in the military ministry, which hosts Operation Backpack and other events to support the families of Camp Pendleton. About a year ago, she found an even greater way to serve by joining the Saddleback San Clemente staff as a team associate.

In the past eight years that the family has been stationed at Camp Pendleton, Jeff has been deployed six times. For the last 14 months, he has been stationed at a base three hours away. “I could have never made it through living without my husband if it hadn’t been for God, the church, my small group, other small groups who prayed for us and showed support, and the military ministry,” Christine reveals.  “And to think…our journey here started with a simple backpack.”   

Operation Backpack is partnering with the community to bring 800 backpacks to our local military families this year. You can help by purchasing a backpack from the San Clemente campus and returning it filled with school supplies by August 1. To learn more, email scmilitaryministry@saddleback.com.