Shoe box gifts from Operation Christmas Child brought joy to children in Ecuador on Dec. 29 and 30. Recording artist Michael W. Smith joined Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham in hand-delivering the gifts. Pictured below are photos from the first day of distributions in Quito.
Operation Christmas Child has delivered nearly 800,000 shoe box gifts to boys and girls in Ecuador since 1993.
Quito is home to more than 2 million people. At 9,350 feet above sea level, it is the highest capital city in the world.
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham meets members of the Operation Christmas Child national leadership team. The shoe box gifts open doors for Samaritan’s Purse ministry partners to present the Gospel to children and their families.
Ann Severance, Michael W. Smith’s mother-in-law, helped pass out gifts.
The shoe box gifts are often the only Christmas present the children receive.
Color booklets called “The Greatest Gift of All” are offered with the shoe boxes.
The booklets introduce children to the story of Jesus Christ.
“This is about the most beautiful message in the world—God’s love,” Franklin Graham said earlier this month. “It means everything in the world to these kids.”
Michael W. Smith, one of the most popular singers in contemporary Christian music, has made several trips with Samaritan’s Purse to deliver shoe box gifts.
Franklin Graham’s granddaughter C.J. (far left) also made the journey to Ecuador.
Shoe box gifts were distributed at two churches and a children’s home.
Franklin Graham explains through a translator that the shoe boxes represent God’s gift to the world, Jesus Christ.
Michael W. Smith’s wife Debbie helps Franklin Graham hand out shoe boxes.
C.J. Graham gives gifts to mothers of young girls.
Franklin Graham uses “The Greatest Gift of All” to explain God’s plan of redemption and salvation through faith in Christ.
The shoe box gifts, lovingly packed by people in the U.S. and other countries, bring joy wherever they are delivered.
Michael W. Smith is a longtime friend of Samaritan’s Purse, and a frequent performer at Franklin Graham Festivals.
Smith volunteered with our teams when we responded to tornadoes in Alabama last year, and visited Haiti to raise awareness of our work there after the 2010 earthquake.
The three-time Grammy Award winner has recorded 25 albums, including three popular holiday releases—Christmas, Christmastime, and It’s a Wonderful Christmas.
