The small island of Enubirr has no electrical power and no airport. Located in the central Pacific between the Philippines and Hawaii, Enubirr is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and home to just over 1,000 people. Most residents work on the neighboring island of Roi-Namur, which is leased to the U.S. government…
Operation Christmas Child
‘Thank You So Much for Bringing Me to Jesus’
Millions of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts are packed for boys and girls in need around the world each year, many of which include an email or physical address inviting the child to write back. If you have ever packed one of those boxes and wished you could hear from the child who received it,…
Operation Christmas Child
Bringing the Good News to an Island Off Ivory Coast
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
A Young Girl Comes to Faith and Family Follows
When Athena was 8 years old, she received a gift-filled shoebox through Operation Christmas Child. Living in an impoverished area of the Philippines, the young girl had never received such a present. Athena began to learn about how much God loves her when she read The Greatest Gift, a Gospel story booklet Samaritan’s Purse developed…
Operation Christmas Child
Celebrating 30 Years of God’s Faithfulness
Over 4,000 people from 112 countries and all 50 states converged on Orlando last week to give God the glory for His faithfulness over 30 years of Operation Christmas Child. Everyone praised God for providing more than 200 million shoebox gifts for children in need since 1993 and for the 50 million boys and girls…
Operation Christmas Child
Wheaton College Students Partner with Operation Christmas Child in Ecuador
Students from Wheaton College traveled to Ecuador in December with Operation Christmas Child, coming alongside the local church to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and joining in the joy as children pealed open their one-of-a-kind shoebox gifts. Samaritan’s Purse has long worked in Ecuador, first delivering gift-filled shoeboxes there in 1997 and in…
Operation Christmas Child
God’s Perfect Timing in Honduras
Guanaja is one of Honduras’ three picturesque Bay Islands, located 44 miles off the north coast of the mainland in the Caribbean. One of its cays is home to the densely packed tiny town of El Cayo: population 5,300. It’s known as the Venice of Honduras because of a series of winding canals that run…
Operation Christmas Child
Scaling Mountains with Shoebox Gifts and the Gospel
The steep footpath that ran alongside the cliff had become a trail of slimy, unrelenting mud. But it was the only way to reach a Filipino community nestled in the mountain forest—a nearly 35-mile walk from the nearest town. Undaunted by the conditions, Pastor Jacob*, together with his wife, daughter, and a small ministry team,…
Operation Christmas Child
A Kazakh Church in Mongolia Reaches Children with Shoebox Gifts
Nalaikh, Mongolia, is home to 40,000 people in the winter, but only around 30,000 each summer as herders head out to the countryside to care for their animals. A district of Ulaanbaatar located about an hour from the capital city center, Nalaikh has two mosques and 15 churches. However, only one of them is focused…
Operation Christmas Child
Pointing Children to Jesus in Slovakia
Katarina Horvathova used to live a nomadic life. But while she and her son, Daniel, lived in a shelter for a number of years, Daniel had the privilege of receiving a gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift. His 8-year-old heart delighted in the toy airplane he found inside because he wanted to become a pilot…
