As a result, 6,000 children now have access to wonderful education programs that will provide them with new opportunities, which will have a profound impact on the future of Cambodia.

The once derelict schools have been transformed into beautiful new buildings.  Renewed interest in education also brought about enhanced teacher training and literacy programs, and as a result we have seen an improvement in literacy rates from a baseline 10 percent to 88 percent through the ‘We Can Read, We Can Write’ project.

Poverty and lack of resources prevent most teachers in rural Cambodia from having adequate teaching qualifications.  We help overcome this through teacher training support, and the provision of technology that the children have found to be a highly successful learning tool.

As we build these schools, it provides us an opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be a transformational force within rural communities.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven,” Matthew 5:16 (NKJV).

Finally, a friend of Asya’s mother invited her and Asya to church. Understanding that liquor wouldn’t solve their problems, Asya’s mother agreed to go.

While Sunday services ministered to her mother, Asya started attending Sunday school and learned about The Greatest Journey. It’s a 12-lesson evangelism and discipleship program that Samaritan’s Purse partner churches can offer to children after they receive Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.

Through The Greatest Journey, Asya learned to trust Christ.

“Because of those lessons I know that God loves me and my mother,” Asya said. “In spite of what happened to our family, God will never leave us.”

“God has taught me to love people around me the same way God loves me. Thank God and you for this.”

Last year, 20,600 children in Ukraine received Canadian-packed Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. This year, Canada’s goal is to ensure the same number of children are blessed, and that children will be invited to learn about the Lord through The Greatest Journey.

Canadians have been packing shoeboxes full of toys, hygiene materials, and school supplies for hurting Ukrainian children since 2014.

This year, Amos received one of the 59,544 Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts sent to Zambia from Samaritan's Purse-United Kingdom.

At first, Amos was a little unsure what to make of his shoebox since he wasn’t used to seeing such items, but before long he was exploring his new gifts. One by one he took out and carefully inspected the teddy bear, sweets, gloves, toy car, pencil case, pens, paper, toothbrush, and toothpaste. He smiled as he packed them back in his shoebox and started to explore it all over again.

Sitting at the bottom of a hill in the orphanage grounds, Amos could be seen trying on his new gloves and experimenting with his toothbrush and toothpaste. After a while, Amos rummaged in his shoebox and pulled out his new pencils and pad before creating his first masterpiece.

Inside the orphanage chapel, the local Operation Christmas Child volunteer team shared the story of Jesus Christ in a child-friendly way. The children were excited and sang and danced joyfully as they celebrated God’s love together.

Amos had found another reason to celebrate. In addition to receiving his shoebox gift, Amos heard that he has a Father in heaven who loves him and created him.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14, NKJV).

Juana Reyes and her daughter Lady were asleep in their house as Hurricane Maria’s 155-mph winds lashed Puerto Rico on Sept. 20. At 5 a.m. their tin roof shook and then collapsed. Portions fell atop Juana and rain poured in.

Juana grabbed her daughter and some clothes and they raced down the outside stairs to the home below theirs. The neighbors graciously welcomed them. “[We] could barely make it downstairs because the winds were blowing so hard,” Juana said.

When the massive storm finally passed, Juana surveyed the damage. The roof was gone and her furniture and belongings were drenched. She slumped onto her waterlogged bed and started to weep. Then she prayed.

“God, You have been good to me in the past, help me to trust You again. Please help me and Lady survive.”

God protected them, and then He sent help through a Samaritan's Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team working in the Caribbean. Juana received plastic tarp and a hygiene kit that included toilet paper, soap, shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste, laundry bar, a comb, and a wash cloth. 

“I love the fact that this is done in our Lord Creator’s Name,” she told one team member. “It’s definitely God’s love and His faithfulness that are keeping me on my feet.”

Please continue to pray for residents of the Caribbean as they recover. Pray also for our teams as they distribute relief items, offer medical care, and provide clean water to thousands of people.