The island of Vridi Ako is a largely forgotten place, even though it is located just a short distance from Ivory Coast’s largest city, Abidjan. Accessible only via a 30-minute ride aboard a makeshift wooden ferryboat, Vridi Ako is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups. The one common denominator on the island is…
Operation Christmas Child
Vladimir and the Toy Car
Vladimir and the Toy Car "How could something as small as a toy car teach me about God’s love?" When I was 9 years old I essentially lost my family. My mother died, and my father’s alcoholism made it difficult for him to raise me. In Ukraine it was tough to find enough work to…
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…
Franklin Graham
Newsletter September
Franklin Graham Update | September Preparing War-Weary Ukrainiansfor a Harsh Winter Preparing War-Weary Ukrainiansfor a Harsh Winter Dear Friend, Winter comes early in Eastern Europe, and it looks like it will be a harsh one for the people of Ukraine. After six months of war, millions are living in badly damaged houses without power or running water as they…
Operation Christmas Child
Press Release Operation Christmas Child November 14, 2022
DROP-OFF SITES OPEN FOR OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Boone, N.C.—As the Thanksgiving season approaches, many families and children are giving thanks and giving back—to children in need around the world through Operation Christmas Child. Shoebox gifts prepared by generous donors and filled with toys, hygiene items, and school supplies may be dropped off now during National…
Operation Christmas Child
Una adolescente ora por avivamiento en el país de Georgia
Almost a dozen children and teens raced down a muddy, rutted alley to attend an early evening Christian worship service. They chatted and laughed as they came, some kicking around a soccer ball before they climbed a crumbling concrete-and-metal outside staircase to the second floor of the ministry center. It’s an uncommon scene in this…
Operation Christmas Child
Boun and Flip-Flops
Boun & Flip Flops Please enable Javascript to watch this video Boun Thorne got a glimpse of God's love when she received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift as a child. Boun Thorne grew up in a boat village in the Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia. In the aftermath of a terrible situation, she moved…
Operation Christmas Child
Great Joy in Mexico’s Jungles
Las Tres Huastecas region, along the Gulf Coast in Mexico, is hard to reach and isolated from much of the country. Many residents still speak the native language, Nahuatl, and worship indigenous idols. The few churches that preach the Gospel here are met with disdain and uncertainty. Earlier this year, however, at a small school…
Operation Christmas Child
Press Release: National Collection Week Begins for Operation Christmas Child
National Collection Week Begins for Operation Christmas Child BOONE, N.C.—The collection season for Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse begins as nearly 5,000 drop-off locations open across the country. Individuals, families and groups have the opportunity to pack a shoebox gift filled with fun toys, school supplies, and personal care items for children…
Operation Christmas Child
It Started with a Shoebox Gift: Children Share Christ with Their Friends in Botswana
Peniel, 11, wants to be a doctor when she’s older so she can help people who are suffering. “I want to help people because I don’t want anyone in the hospital to die like my grandpa did. In the hospital. My father cried forever.” Helping others was not high on Peniel’s priority list a couple…
