Six-year-old Dara and her grandmother, Judi, knew no life outside of La Paz, Bolivia; their family had lived there for generations. When Dara was born premature, the doctors didn’t initially notice anything out of the ordinary with her heart. But a month later, Dara’s life was hanging in the balance. She was placed on oxygen…
Operation Christmas Child
Gergana and a Juggling Set
Gergana and a Juggling Set It still holds a special place in my heart and reminds me of God’s love. The set of colorful bean bags that I keep on display in my living room brings me joy every time I see it, reminding me of the shoebox gift I received in Bulgaria when I…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Operation Heal Our Patriots 2018
Strengthening Military Marriages Operation Heal Our Patriots Offers Physical and Spiritual Refreshment to Military Couples OUR SEVENTH SEASON: 16 WEEKS, 160 MORE COUPLES. PLEASE PRAY. Share Tweet Pin Emaily Subscribe Memorial Day weekend marked the start of the 2018 Operation Heal Our Patriots summer season. Each week for 16 weeks, a new group of 10…
Our Ministry
Operation Heal Our Patriots 2019
Strengthening Military Marriages Operation Heal Our Patriots Offers Physical and Spiritual Refreshment, Ongoing Care to Military Couples 2019--Our Eighth Season: 16 WEEKS, 155 COUPLES. Share Tweet Pin Emaily Subscribe From May 26-Sept. 13, 2019, each week for 16 weeks, a new group of U.S. military couples arrived in Alaska for a time of Christ-centered marriage…
Fifteen Years of Riding to Help Strengthen Military Marriages
Under blue skies and the full green foliage of spring, a convoy of motorcyclists cruised along the Blue Ridge Parkway of North Carolina for more than just a mountain joy ride. The riders gathered to show their support of military couples seeking healing for their marriages at the annual High Country Warrior Ride. On Armed…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Operation Heal Our Patriots 2023 Special Report
2023 Special Report
Operation Christmas Child
Good News and Great Joy Delivered—by Shoebox—to a Teen in Mongolia
When Dariya, 13, of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift in February, it interrupted her life with joy. ‘They Told Us About Jesus’ Dariya lives in an apartment in the Mongolian capital with her grandmother, Bebe Bakhpit, and 10-year-old cousin, Hannah. Her parents are divorced, and her mother works in South Korea—often…
Operation Christmas Child
Texas Teen Crochets for Girls Around the World
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…
Crisis & Disaster Response
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…
50 Years of Ministry
Discipling Boys and Girls through The Greatest Journey
After 16 years of collecting and delivering Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, Samaritan’s Purse launched its own follow-up discipleship program for the boys and girls who receive them. In 2009, this 12-lesson course called The Greatest Journey started at Good Shepherd Church in Pifo, Ecuador, located just outside of Quito, and today has grown to…
