Notebooks and pencils were some of the items that immediately caught Fernanda’s attention when she peered inside of her shoebox gift. She’d be going back to school in a few months and had no supplies to take with her—everything she owned had burned during a fire a few weeks earlier. The inferno had attacked the…
Operation Christmas Child
Making Disciples in the Philippines
The boys and girls knew to quickly pick up their chairs and scoot to the side, clearing the narrow alleyway anytime a bicycle or motorbike needed to squeeze through. These interruptions to the discipleship class happened often enough that they had become normal, and the children and their teachers carried on with worship and Bible…
Operation Christmas Child
Franklin Graham Thanks Processing Center Volunteers
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham today thanked the thousands of volunteers who are currently working in eight processing center locations across the U.S. to prepare millions of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts for international shipment. Headed to over 100 countries this year, the gift-filled shoeboxes will bring great joy and the Good News of Jesus…
Operation Christmas Child
OCC Schools 2025
Receive 50 FREE Shoeboxes Note: The complimentary shoeboxes offer is now over. Thank you for your interest. Thank You for Getting Free Shoeboxes! We're excited you're interested in packing shoebox gifts with your school or group! Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse, is a practical way for students to be involved in spreading the…
Operation Christmas Child
She’s Got a Passion for Sharing Christ Through Shoeboxes
The first thing you notice about 24-year-old Amanda Urgolites is her smile—bright, warm, welcoming, continual. That’s not so unusual, you might say. But Amanda’s radiant smile is all the more remarkable because she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a rare and incurable collagen deficiency disorder that causes her ligaments to stretch and malfunction. Her bones dislocate…
Operation Christmas Child
‘The Lord Loves Even His Enemies’
In a small town on the plains of Central Asia, most people are hostile to the small group of Christians living among them. Though these courageous believers are continually harassed, they faithfully persevere. Two Christian women named Aigul* and Dinara* were meeting regularly to pray for their town. Persecution flared up when Aigul’s mother died.…
Our Ministry
Newsletter October 2025
Franklin Graham Update | October Franklin Graham Update | October As Peace Dawns in Gaza, More Help Is on the Way Dear Friend, As I write this, the world is celebrating the release of the last Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire deal announced by President Trump between Hamas and Israel. The historic peace plan is also great news for nearly 2…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Encourage Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia
Well more than 2 million Venezuelans have left their nation over the past few years, many fleeing to neighboring Colombia. They’re leaving because the situation in Venezuela is bleak—with runaway inflation, increasing crime, and critical shortages of food and medicine. As the economy collapses, families simply can’t afford to eat. Some Venezuelans go back and…
Operation Christmas Child
Former Gang Member in Peru Trains to Be a Missionary
Luis Trevejo Peña, 20, had a rough start. Abandoned by his father at age 5, he, his mother, Ricci, and three older brothers were left to fend for themselves in San Martin de Porres, Peru. Luis resented seeing other children with their fathers and wished he could have that sort of love, too. Perhaps as…
Operation Christmas Child
Franklin Graham and Family Distribute Shoebox Gifts in Antigua
On Dec. 28-29, Franklin Graham and members of his extended family traveled to the Caribbean island of Antigua to distribute shoebox gifts to children in need. Two Operation Christmas Child outreach events took place on Friday at local churches and two more occurred on Saturday, blessing a total of 450 children. The Grahams continue the…
