Operation Christmas Child 2019 Special Report Botswana Story
Doors Opening for the Gospel Among the Saramaccans
Romario grew up in the riverside village of Duatra, deep in the jungle of Suriname, along the eastern coast of South America. As a young child, he knew nothing of Jesus Christ, and there was no church for him to visit. Yet his thoughts kept returning to the idea that there must be a God…
Andy Castillo’s Story: Rescued by God
Andy Castillo, Operation Christmas Child regional director for North and Central America, was interviewed during a recent trip to his native Honduras. He and his team took part in several festive outreach events while there. You became involved in full-time ministry, and specifically children’s ministry, in a unique way. How did that come about? Castillo:…
It’s About Sharing God’s Love with Children
For more than 20 years, the Pacific Southwest District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has been packing shoebox gifts for children in need around the world. But, almost 10 years ago, they took their involvement with Operation Christmas Child to new heights, packing thousands of boxes each year through their association of schools across California,…
OCC Special Report Pacific Islands Story
Shoebox Gifts Go Even Where There Is No Road
Sixty bare-chested men started running towards Dian and Sandee. The group’s leader was waving his rifle in the air and yelling. Among the throng was a man carrying a black cooking pot and more men brandishing their rifles in the air. The two women froze. But to their surprise, the horde ran past them and…
Shoebox Gifts Bring Joy to Deaf Children in Namibia
The classroom was quiet as boys and girls opened their Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. There were no squeals of excitement or chattering, no shouting for friends to come and look at the fun gifts inside their shoebox. Yet, their smiles were so big and bright that verbal expressions weren’t needed to reveal the joy overflowing…
Planting Gospel Seeds in Ghana
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…
Pacific Islands Initiative Press Kit
Franklin Graham Hands Out Shoeboxes on Saipan and Guam
Feb. 22-23 UPDATE Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham and his wife Jane, along with musical artist Michael W. Smith, traveled to Guam on Saturday, Feb. 22, to help hand out gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes at Life in the Son Christian Fellowship in Tamuning. The day before the trio assisted in distributing shoeboxes on nearby…