During National Collection Week two years ago, Alathia Purtell formed what even she thought was an impossible dream—to produce 2,000 crocheted purses for Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. Alathia, then 12, was visiting her maternal grandparents in Canton, Texas, when she went with her grandmother Sue to her church’s shoebox drop-off location. There, Alathia saw…
Proyecto de Ayuda para Crisis & Desastres
Volunteers Begin Helping California Homeowners After Devastating Fire
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER IN CALIFORNIA There wasn’t much time to flee Paradise as the Camp Fire roared across Butte County, California. Residents reported harrowing escapes with their shoes heating up under them as they abandoned cars stuck on melting tires. Before it was fully contained, the Camp Fire burned more than 14,000 homes and…
Operation Christmas Child
Manar and a Teddy Bear
Manar and a Teddy Bear Several gifts in my shoebox have become decades-long reminders of God’s love. My name means beacon. I was born to Christian parents in a Middle Eastern country whose majority aren’t followers of Jesus, and my name was a testament to being a light for Christ. But for a kid who…
Nuestro Ministerio
Hearts Healed, Lives Transformed: Miigaa’s Story
Hearts HealedLives Transformed Medical School Student Thanks God for Saving Her Life Miigaa received heart surgery through Children’s Heart Project and is now helping care for other heart patients. Miigaa begins her day by praying for her family and for people throughout Mongolia. She wants them to come to faith in Jesus Christ and experience the…
Operation Christmas Child
Nadia and a Doll
Nadia and a Doll "As a Christian from a low-income family in Ukraine, I saw my shoebox gift as an answer to my mother’s prayers. " While growing up in Ukraine I lived in a three-bedroom apartment with my family of 11. Toys were rare in our neighborhood. I remember one of my neighbors showing…
Proyecto de Ayuda para Crisis & Desastres
Emergency Field Hospital Opens, Expanding Medical Care in Mozambique
UPDATE (April 11): One week after opening our Emergency Field Hospital in Buzi, Mozambique, Samaritan’s Purse medical staff have treated some 1,000 patients and delivered ten babies—opening a second maternal ward to meet the growing number of expectant mothers. Delfina was terrified that she would have to give birth in the rising water when Cyclone…
Operation Christmas Child
God Is Transforming Families in Botswana through The Greatest Journey
In the desert village of Serinane, hours outside Botswana’s capital Gaborone, jobs are hard to come by. The little money that finds its way to the village is often spent on alcohol; many families are hurting as a result. Life is difficult for everyone here. Change will only come person by person, with God’s transforming…
Proyecto de Ayuda para Crisis & Desastres
Samaritan’s Purse On the Ground in Flooded Southeast Texas
Update (Sept. 27): Samaritan’s Purse continues work in Vidor and Winnie, Texas. In Vidor, we have our Team Patriot volunteers serving for the first time on a disaster relief mission. Team Patriot is a brand-new initiative that offers Operation Heal Our Patriots couples—wounded military veterans and their spouses—an opportunity to serve U.S. homeowners after a…
Nuestro Ministerio
Team Patriot
Samaritan's Purse Team Patriot Sign Up Join this Samaritan's Purse initiative to deploy alongside other Operation Heal Our Patriots couples to the front lines of disasters! In the aftermath of natural disasters, communities often look and feel like war zones. Survivors have been in a battle for their lives as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, and other catastrophic…
Operation Christmas Child
Volunteer Perseveres in Leadership Despite Challenges
After spending 24 years as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kathy Aiken found a different calling. Today, Kathy serves as an area coordinator for the Operation Christmas Child East Alabama Area Team. Based out of Talladega County, Kathy leads a team of volunteers that promote shoebox packing year-round. “I feel like…
