Operation Christmas Child is helping to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to isolated mountain communities.
Steady streams dripped from holes in the roof, and puddles were scattered all over the floor. The rain pounded relentlessly and threatened to drown out every other sound in the small church. But as the wet and windy thrashing continued, the songs of praise soared louder.
Rita Danso had just started a Gospel presentation when the rain began its most aggressive assault, making it nearly impossible for the children to hear her. She didn’t want the boys and girls to miss a single word, so she led them in worship songs until the presentation could continue.
Rita had prayed for this moment in the mountain community in Ghana for several years. She felt burdened to reach its isolated, impoverished villages with the Good News because she knew that many people worshipped idols and had never heard about Jesus.
Rita is grateful for the opportunity to serve Jesus in remote communities through Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.
But no one would go with her. Every friend and church leader she asked turned her down. Even her ministry team was reluctant. The answers were always the same: The villages were too far away, the road was too bad, and the journey would be too hard.
Finally, Rita found someone who answered yes. She connected with Operation Christmas Child leaders in Ghana who wanted to take the Gospel to unreached people groups. “I told them that I had a place in mind. They said, ‘Let’s do it together.’”
A few months later, Rita was helping lead two Operation Christmas Child outreach events in the community on the same day. “Only God could order my steps to be here,” she said. “I pray that every seed of the Gospel will soon bear fruit.”
No Turning Back
Planting those Gospel seeds wasn’t easy. Rita made the arduous journey to the village prior to the outreach event and was joined by Operation Christmas Child leaders and her ministry team. She organized the ministry team during the COVID-19 outbreak as a way of going door-to-door with the Gospel since large group gatherings were not allowed.
None of them were prepared for the steep, muddy, and rocky challenge that awaited. “At one point, we had already walked so much, but we wondered if we should turn back. We really got tired,” Rita said.
Shoebox gifts were transported by tractor to remote villages in the mountains.
They pressed on, and the two-hour hike was worth it. The village chief gave his blessing and permission to host the shoebox outreach event. Rita and the team were touched by his words: “For you to come here means that you love us.”
On the day of the events, a tractor transported containers filled with shoebox gifts to the mountaintop. Operation Christmas Child leaders joined Rita and her team for the special day.
“We want to reach kids with these shoebox gifts. This is the first time these children have been presented with the Gospel,” said George Gumah, an Operation Christmas Child international field representative. “We want to disciple them to the glory of God.”
”We want to reach kids with these shoebox gifts.”
Children in the villages were thrilled to receive so many gifts in their shoebox—a tangible expression of God’s love for them. This was the first time that most of them had ever received a present. Tetteh, 14, said that her favorite items inside the shoebox were a notebook, pencils, and erasers. “I’m happy and excited to have all of this. I wouldn’t know how to get these things.”
She is the oldest of eight siblings, and her parents—like everyone in her village—are farmers who struggle to meet the basic needs of their family. The community’s secluded location doesn’t offer another option for earning an income. Even going to school or a medical facility means trekking down the mountain.
Tetteh’s favorite gifts were notebooks, pencils, and erasers.
Despite the challenges of reaching Tetteh’s isolated home, she and many other girls and boys will have the opportunity to join La Gran Aventura discipleship course because Rita and the team will return to help teach the 12 lessons.
”Operation Christmas Child is a powerful gateway.”
“Operation Christmas Child is a powerful gateway to a community,” Rita said. “The gift boxes help you gain entry, and once you do, you can keep going with the discipleship material because you have earned their trust and built a relationship.”
Trusting God Alone
Rita is an optometrist who enjoys using her skills and knowledge to improve the vision and quality of life for children and adults. But her highest priority is telling people about her Savior. “Jesus is everything to me. I found my Jesus, and He is enough,” she said.
The Gospel is shared during an outreach event.
She is passionate about sharing the Gospel through Operation Christmas Child because her life was transformed when she became a Christian as a child. She wants other boys and girls to have that experience of knowing Jesus at a young age and committing their lives to Him.
”I found my Jesus, and He is enough.”
Rita didn’t grow up in a Christian household and faced resistance from her family when she started following Jesus. But she didn’t stop.
“My parents didn’t see the seed in me—the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). But that seed is powerful, and now, they can’t stop it,” she said. “I believe God can plant that seed in these children. We just keep watering it.”
Rita desires to continue sharing God’s love with many children in Ghana through Operation Christmas Child.
“If God gives us life, we will do this for a long time,” she said.
Children were delighted to receive fun toys in their shoeboxes.
